Tuesday

The Truth About Pricing – Photography

This information has been created to help answer some questions to curious clients and is aimed at photographers who want to get down to the nitty-gritty of the photography market and price themselves accordingly.

Pricing strategies are not easy to come up with, considering all things. Our environment changes all the time, and we are always moving with the ebb and flow of the economy. It's a challenge not to overprice or underprice, but to also make sure that we are considering any and all overhead so we can stay afloat as a sustainable business. But above all, our job as a personal photographer should be to ensure that we produce extraordinary work that exceeds our clients expectations, and that our clients walk away with a positive and enjoyable experience to share with their family, friends, and coworkers. People talk. Make your work share in that conversation.

Thank you for stopping by and taking your time to read this!

Okay, let's look at all the actual work that entails a one-hour photo shoot.

Meetings & Travel Time – Average 2 hours
  • Communicating and clarifying details with clients over email, by phone, and often in-person. This is a really fun process where we get to know each others quirks and build idea castles!
  • Location scouting, prop shopping.
  • Travel to and from on-site location. I like to drive. I'm also really good at it.
  • Reviewing photo-sessions, placing orders, dropping off orders. This is another fun process we get to do together!

Session Time – Average 2 hours (1 hour or more of which the client will be present)
  • I employ an assistant to help carry equipment, setup lights, adjust exposure and positioning. My assistant also acts as a security guard for myself and my gear, especially good for when I have a camera shoved in my face.
  • Scout for the best section of location site, unique landscapes, etc.
  • Set-up lighting equipment, make adjustments.
  • Engage with the client or group, make them feel comfortable, etc.
  • Plan poses, organize people
  • Shoot the photos

Post-production, Processing, Photo Management – Average 4-6 hours
  • I have a personal office in which I conduct amazing photo-processing magic and other superhero stuff! This nook includes a filing cabinet, bookshelves, computers, a printer for contracts and fancy invoices, and other business related stuff.
  • Then I download, backup/archive and name-file all of the images so they can be found later.
  • Color correcting, spot retouching, color/contrast, re-sizing, sharpening and otherwise perfecting each image (4-6 hours)
  • Advanced editing, depending on client needs/requests. Repair blemishes, Eye-enhancements, Smoothing skin/wrinkles, Whitening teeth, Changing Eye-color, Lip color, Hair color, Make-up, Slimming body parts, Enhancing body parts (breast lift, add cleavage, larger lips/eyes), Inserting Logos and/or Type (time varies depending on needs)
  • Processing and converting each image into a format that can be easily printed at a professional print lab

Printing – Time varies depending on orders
  • Employ Professional Printing Services (catering to professional photographers)
  • Order prints (ship or upload)
  • Receive and Verify prints
  • Package prints
  • Schedule Shipment and Ship/Drop-off to Client

These next few categories are not directly tied to a one-hour photo shoot, but are essential in running a successful photography business and are paid for immediately by the photographer, but only paid back by clients in very little bits over a long  s t r e t c h  of time.


Equipment & Software – Cameras, Lenses, Lights, Stands, Modifiers, Bags, Computer and computer guts, Hard-drives, etc.
  • The equipment I use is very expensive to repair and occasionally I will have to upgrade, but only as absolutely necessary. Every shoot wears on my equipment more and more. Eventually, my equipment will break, sad fact. A small part of my fee covers the estimated wear and tear on the equipment.
  • Photo-editing software updates occur approximately every year or so, and if I keep up with it, I get a discount each time I upgrade from the latest version. It is sometimes necessary to upgrade when new features are released to ease work-flow and gain new attributes.

Insurance, Copyright & Legal – I need to protect myself, my work, and my business.
  • Disability and health insurance: We need it when we get sick or, god forbid an accident takes place. Plus, I want to be able to retire.
  • Equipment and business liability insurance: Carry insurance, or be out of business.
  • Malpractice protection: Lawyers protect my business and my self. They organize and authorize my contracts, and are there if I ever need an update or other business-law advice.
  • Copyright assistance: Wow, just a small fee to protect all of my artistic and photographic work!

Web Presence, Marketing & Branding – I have a presence and an essence to maintain. A place where people can learn about not only my services, contests and giveaways, but where people can get to know me personally, even if we've never met before.
  • I chose to use my First and Last name as my business name for a very good, honest reason: I take myself seriously, and I want you to take me seriously, too. That is why I chose NOT  to hide behind a moniker.
  • Maintaining multiple social networking web sites, a blog, and a showcase website. I run them all by myself, of course. All of the content you find on my website is created by me in some way or another. A blog gives personal commentary about a specific shoot with accompanying photos, and shows consistency of my photographic work to visitors and potential clients.
  • To have pretty cool logos for the site, it takes time and skill to conceptualize and create. I do this myself because I am trained in graphic design, therefor it is more cost effective than to hire out.
  • I also design my own websites, personal and social networking (where available) but I typically hire hosting, while managing my own content.
  • My goal is to become a global and international brand. I want access. In order to gain access, I need to research many different avenues and network with the right people.

Professional Associations & Continuing Education – One of the perks in life is loving what you do!
  • Annual conventions are a great way to hobnob with other professionals and businesses from all over the world, who are full of insight and encouragement!
  • Classes, Books, Seminars, and Workshops: All of these wonderful things help me keep up to date with technology, and get creative.
  • Eventually, I want to be able to hold my own classes, web seminars, as well as local and international peer-to-peer workshops teaching new photographers.

Taxes – Don't forget! Everyone has to pay Uncle Sam.
  • I am happy to be a contributing member of society by paying my dues.
  • I am here to run a business, not just any business but a successful one.
I hope this helps you see how a one-hour session can easily turn into an eight-hour day or more. When a client hires me, lots of work, love, and time goes into the session. Each and every one of the photographs are hand-touched, with the eye of an artist that really, truly loves what she does, day in and day out. I work very hard for my clients, and I always want to provide exactly what my client wants: heirloom photos, and an awesome experience, to boot!

So you see, being a professional photographer is no different than any other profession. But a personal photographer often becomes a friend, someone who documents a family for generations with professional, personal photographs of cherished memories. And, versus a portrait mill that department stores provide, the added attention and quality that a personal photographer gives you is worth every penny.

Thanks again!


All My Best,
KellieAnn Reynolds

1 comment:

  1. Thanks a lot for posting this up, it put things into perspective for me. I get tired of the wanna-be photographers out there undercutting the craft just to make a buck. It's gonna happen, I know but it still bothers me. And most of those wanna-be's aren't even going to be in business a year later, so it's not really that big of a deal. But there's always going to be someone filling their slot, LOL. I don't want to worry about those photographers, but it does become hard to price yourself in a market area where people don't know what the heck they are doing, most are just tossing numbers around. So this post has helped me a bunch because it's pretty cut and dry.

    Thanks again, I'm a new visitor and have really been enjoying your blog so far.

    ReplyDelete

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