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People Will Spend Thousands On Your Photography, If …

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My typical morning starts out getting up early, and reviewing my social accounts. I also head over to my Google Reader, and check out new posts on some of my favorite blogs.

Right now I have over 200 feeds into my Reader. Yep, a lot, and I don’t look at all of them every day. Instead, I have categorized the blogs, and I usually head to a category, depending on what I feel like that day.

Today I visited a blog I hadn’t been to in awhile – Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich. He always has a wealth of information, a lot of great ideas, and many things that will make you think. I started reading his post 5 fascinating perspectives on money, and loved the different articles and links. But one really caught my eye – his link to an article about lavish spending by blogger Jesse Mecham.

In it he talks about spending $9 on a bag of chips, and loving them so much he’d be willing to spend $20 or more on them too. Sounds a bit extreme, right? Until you read his lesson:

Spend lavishly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.

Great advice. Yet very difficult. Most people don’t think about what they spend, and make the distinction so they can cut where they need to, and still save money overall.

As I read further, another paragraph caught my eye.

I’m remembering the example Ramit gave about having a newborn baby where you’re picking between two photographers. One takes pictures of everything (and does a great job). But this other photographer, his whole site has great pictures of newborns. Every single line of copy on his site talks about photographing newborns — about the different nuances taken into account…all of the details he mentions (that you didn’t know you cared about until now)…

The specialized photographer makes the sale nine out of ten times. And you know that’s true!

So…with the photographer pricing for people that know they really, really want his service. Or for the bag of chips that is remarkably delicious… doesn’t price become basically moot?

Yep. Every time. Whether it’s a great economy, and money is flowing freely. Or we’re in a deep recession, and every topic in the news is on cutting spending.

We find what we love, and we’re willing to spend anything on it … if we feel it’s worth it.

So as a photographer, your goal isn’t to shoot like everyone else, present like everyone else, and charge like everyone else.

Your job as a photographer is to find your niche. Find what you love, and do it so well people start talking about you. They can’t believe what you cost, but you must be worth it because so many people trust you and use your services. They save for you. They splurge on you. And they talk about you to everyone in their circle of friends and family.

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The Value Of Your Photography

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Who’s value system are you selling by?

One of the biggest reasons photographers fail at business is because they never learn the golden rule of a photography business.

Price it at its true value.

I’ve heard all kinds of excuses.

“Money isn’t important; I just love to shoot.”

“I pay $xx for an 8×10, how can I charge my client THAT much?”

“I hate sales.”
You probably have said something similar along the way.

Last night I was watching a travel show on Tokyo. One of the highlights was on the new malls being built throughout the city. They showcased a variety of products being sold to consumers, including fruit picked at the peak of perfection – and being sold for hundreds of U.S. dollars. A cantaloupe with perfect skin with zero flaws or marks, and just the right amount of sugar density was on display – and of course could be yours for several hundred dollars. Really?
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Are You Pricing Your Photography To Stay In Business?

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“I’m new at my photography business. A friend asked me to photograph her wedding. Because I didn’t know what to charge, I found a few sites online and used their packages to build mine. Then I lowballed it because they have been at it longer and have portfolios in place, plus a website and other marketing. So I have a couple of packages in place, but I’m not sure if this is the best method. What else should I do to come up with my pricing?”

I get questions like this all the time.

When you head into a store to buy a new pair of shoes, the store doesn’t guess at its price. The price is established by looking at: materials, expenses, production, marketing, and business expenses. It’s a refined process to make sure that every time a pair of shoes sells, all costs are covered AND the store makes a healthy profit as well.

Without a profit, there is no way a business can stay in business. And if you don’t plan for it upfront, you’re on the road to failure.

Guessing or using another photographers numbers won’t work because you don’t have the same variables as that photographer. You have to take into account many things, including:

  • Where you are located
  • What your competition is doing
  • What your clients expect
  • What you expect

You see, everyone has a different purpose for running a photography business.

Some people want to make a little extra cash to pay for a new lens, and bring the family out to dinner on Friday night.

Some people want to replace the income they lost when they faced a layoff from their companies.

Some people want to be incredibly successful, and be one of the best photographers in the world.

Each of these people will have different goals and structures to their business models. And they will approach their photography in many different ways.

So the only way to truly price your photography is by knowing up front what you hope to accomplish with your business.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from today?

If you’ve always struggled with how to price your photography, you’re going to be excited by my latest guide, Pricing Your Photography: How To Set Your Prices To Build  A Six Figure Business. I’ve kept this guide short and easy to read, yet powerful to walk you through an easy way to determine exactly what you should be charging for your weddings and portraits. I cover:

  • How much you should truly make as a professional photographer
  • Determining what the right price really is
  • Creating packages that sell
  • Setting up wedding packages
  • Setting up portrait packages

And a whole lot more.

My goal has always been to help 1,000 photographers break into a six figure income level. Now with Pricing Your Photography to help you develop the perfect package for your business, you’ll be one step closer to achieving your goals too.

Visit Pricing Your Photography: How To Set Your Prices To Build  A Six Figure Business today.

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How Much Do I Charge For A Second Photographer?

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Every morning I sit down at my computer and spend the first hour or so out on social sites answering questions and sharing information with my followers.

Today as I was out on one of the many photography forums I visit, I started answering a question:

If I add a wedding package that has a second shooter, how much should I charge the client?

There are actually several issues to this question.

First, there is a big difference between an assistant and a second photographer.  

An assistant is your “gofor” – they go for this and go for that. In other words, they are there to carry your bags, make sure your cameras are ready for you, help set up the family shots, gather groups for photos, etc. They may shoot, but only as an added bonus. And only if things are slow and it’s the best use of their time.

A second photographer should be capable of shooting the entire wedding by him or her self. You should be able to leave them specific duties, knowing full well their images will match your quality.  You can place them in an album next to yours, and the client will never know which photographer took the image.

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Thinking Long Term For Your Photography Business

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You’ve decided to go into the photography business. 11-wedding-photography

You set out to find your first client. But you don’t know what to charge.

So you hop online and pull up a half dozen photographers websites to see what they charge.

Since a friend asked you to photograph a wedding, you look at wedding packages. The sites you’re on show the photographers have been in business for quite awhile, and they have great portfolios. They charge anywhere from $1000 to $5000 for a complete wedding.

So you low-ball it. You’re new, right? Why not charge $500 for an all day event, just to get started in the business.

Sound familiar? I know a ton of photographers that start out that way.

So your first client comes in, and you photograph her wedding for $500. She now has certain expectations. She knows she gets you photographing all day for the price of $500. She gets whatever is in her package (prints, digital files, albums – whatever you promise her) and she’s happy she got such a great deal.

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Target The Right Clients With Your Photography

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jackolantern

Happy Halloween! This has always been one of my favorite holidays. It’s a great time of year with lots of color, and this year its still in the 70′s here in Denver! No snow tonight for trick or treating.

Every year our daughter gets excited to head out and gather candy. When she was little, we’d take her just to a few in our neighborhood. But as she got older, we started going over to some her friend’s houses. One year a few years back, we ended up in one of the top neighborhoods here in Denver. And it was amazing the [Read more...]

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Conforming Can Be A Painful Thing

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Do you create your own path? Do challenges excite you, or leave you shaking with fear?

Human nature says conformity is what’s best for us. We don’t want to stand out in the crowd. If a bunch of people are doing something, that must be the right thing to do. Right? Watch this video for a look at what people will do to conform.

The same thing goes with today’s professional photographer. Instead of breaking away, and creating a studio experience that is nothing like the competition, I’m willing to bet 90 percent of all studios do what everyone else does. They give the digital files because everyone else does. They charge very little for their work because everyone else does.

It’s time to change that around. Here are 5 things you can do that will help you break away from “doing what everyone else does”.

1. Make your photography an experience. If you bring them in to your studio, and stand them in front of a standard blue backdrop, you’re doing what everone else does. If you transform an entire magical room in your studio to look like like a garden, and your children are given wings and wands, and encouraged to become a fairy, that’s an experience.

2. Handing your customer a few 8x10s and 5x7s in folders is similar to what they receive at their local discount store. Handing your customer mounted and framed images in odd sizes [why not 12x12s or 10x30s] makes them look twice.

3. Walking out the door with a few photos in hand is ok. But walking out with custom designed boxes and bags in vibrant colors – making the packaging almost as exciting as the images – is an experience. [Ever received a Tiffany's box? I can guarantee you women now Tiffany's blue instantly.]

4. Heading to the local park is ok. But what about meeting at a dude ranch, with a sleigh awaiting to take you to a magical part of the forest for an incredible winter portrait experience?

5. Proofs, well it’s really not acceptable to use proofs anymore. Isn’t it much more rewarding to use projection and be in control of the entire selling process? You can show the difference between an 8×10 and a 30×30 hanging over the fireplace. I guarantee you’ll sell more large prints using this method.

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