Want To See My Pricing For Sessions & Weddings? Here It Is
I get messages asking about my pricing all the time from fellow photographers who are trying to gain some insight from someone who's developed a pricing strategy that works. Pricing is hard. it's difficult to put a price on yourself, your art, your time. And pricing is often the reason photographers feel like they don't have their business set up correctly. They feel like they are throwing numbers out there, in hopes to book clients but the truth is that most people who guess on pricing, aren't booking clients, at least not in a way that they would like to. That leads photographers to change their pricing, in hopes that the changes they make end up helping the book clients, but there's never a real strategy placed behind it. It ends up being a vicious circle of changing pricing, not booking clients, discounting sessions, and in the end, can lead a lot of photographers feeling pretty discouraged about what they're doing.
I want you to pretend like we are sitting next to each other. I'm going to ask you one important question, and you have to answer it;
I can tell you exactly what my pricing is, or
I can help you figure out what your pricing needs to
be in order to make a profitable business.
IF YOU HAD TO PICK JUST ONE, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
You see, a lot of photographers are searching to answer the first question (what my pricing is. I'll add this to the end of the blog post since that's probably why most people even opened this article). They are not asking me to help figure out what their pricing needs to be because their thought process is that if my pricing works for me, then it could also work for them which couldn't be farther from the truth.
I want you to think about it like this;
There is no one price fits all business strategy, and anyone that tells you that there is doesn't understand pricing, or how to help others build a profitable business. Pricing has to be personalized; it has to be built around your vision, your business, your time, your life. There are a million aspects of pricing you need to consider, and you are the only person who can answer those accordingly.
Pricing strategies are actually pretty simple, but the most important aspect of figuring out your pricing is your vision behind your business. With that, I can help you figure out exactly where your numbers need to be. I can go over them with you until you see why this pricing makes sense and you'll understand that numbers behind pricing have to make sense. In short, I can't tell you how to price yourself, but I can explain to you the strategy on figuring out what you need to charge. In turn, you'll then understand your pricing and can move forward in the right direction.
When pricing makes sense to you, you'll be confident in it. You'll be able to tell potential clients about it without questioning it because you know now exactly what you need to make. You'll no longer feel like discounting sessions is something you need to do to keep clients coming through the door.
One way I love to explain the issue on pricing comparison is this;
I am the sole income for my family of 4. My pricing can't just cover props, and camera gear, but also needs to be enough to cover my mortgage, all my bills, everything business related. So to some, my pricing could look like it's up there, but for me, it's exactly where it has to be, for me.
Same goes the other way; a lot of photographers get frustrated with photographers who charge very little and are undercutting others in the same location. The thing is, those people probably don't have it as their sole income, and can easily get away with charging next to nothing and find clients that way. That same pricing wouldn't be a good fit for someone who is trying to have their business full-time, and they certainly won't be able to be the sole income for their family with those prices. It would be impossible to have a sustainable business with low pricing and a manageable work schedule.
My pricing was a lot lower when I first got started. I had just started my business and was happy to be buying a few extra props each month with the money I was making. It wasn't much, but it was enough for what I needed. My pricing was on the cheap end, and it worked for me at the time because, at the time, it wasn't a full-time job for me. I didn't need my business to be the sole income for my family like it is now.
Comparing pricing, and implementing someone else's
pricing without knowing their complete picture is one
of the biggest mistakes you can make for your
business.
When you see someone's pricing, and you think to yourself it's crazy that they can get away with charging that much, also think to yourself that this photographer could be the sole income for their family and have to charge this much.
And when you see that photographer who just started their business and is charging next to nothing for their work, understands that for them, it's where their pricing will start. You might know the hardship that comes with low pricing and being overworked and knows that it is impossible to build a strong business around low pricing without getting burnt out in the long haul.
To have a successful pricing strategy that allows you to create a profitable business around something you are passionate about, you have to clearly understand the strategies of pricing yourself accordingly. Once you do that the possibilities are endless. You'll have an actual goal on paper that you can work towards.
Another important thing to remember is this; JUST because you change your pricing to what it needs to be, doesn't mean that you'll have new clients flooding in. Pricing yourself accordingly is only one aspect of building a sustainable, profitable business. Pricing alone won't make clients come to you, but with the right pricing, you're guaranteed to end up exactly where you want to. That's really what you want, right? Set some big goals, make the right changes, create a plan, and work towards that until you get to it and can set some even bigger goals.
Aren't you ready to start pricing yourself correctly? To truly understand the strategies behind it all and see a plan to get from where you are now, to where you dream to be? Pricing does not need to be complicated; it just needs to be personalized to your goals.
READY TO RUN YOUR OWN NUMBERS?
READ A CAN'T-MESS-IT-UP-WAY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU SHOULD BE CHARGING:
https://www.modernmarket.co/blogs/business/118285701-a-can-t-mess-it-up-way-to-figure-out-pricing-find-out-what-you-should-be-charging
Don't forget, just as promised I listed my pricing below. Although I do hope you all look at my pricing and realize how useless it is to someone who does not personally know every aspect of my life, time, business, relocating demographic, price adjustments, and goals.
As promised, here's a look at my photography pricing. I hope that by reading this blog post, you can understand that simply seeing my numbers won't help you turn your business into a profitable business. Sharing pricing is no different than me showing you the cake I just baked without giving you my recipe. I would much rather help you bake your favorite cake so we can both always have cake when we want.
For those of you that read this article and understand how my pricing is 100% unrelated to your business and success, take the time to sit down, write down where you want to be, and create a plan to get there. I would love to help you get there!
ALL PORTRAIT SESSIONS
- Pay in Full $1500
- 12 monthly payments of $125
- 20 monthly payments of $75
WEDDINGS
3 Hour Collection
- Pay in Full $1500
- 12 monthly payments of $125
- 20 monthly payments of $75
Add on sessions: (For Wedding Clients; Engagement, Boudoir, Day After)
- Pay in Full $1500
- 12 monthly payments of $125
- 20 monthly payments of $75
6 Hour Collection
- Pay in Full $3500
- 12 monthly payments of $290
- 20 monthly payments of $175
Add on sessions: (For Wedding Clients; Engagement, Boudoir, Day After)
- Pay in Full $1500
- 12 monthly payments of $125
- 20 monthly payments of $75
8 Hour Collection
- Pay in Full $5500
- 12 monthly payments of $460
- 20 monthly payments of $275
Add on sessions: (For Wedding Clients; Engagement, Boudoir, Day After)
- Pay in Full $1500
- 12 monthly payments of $125
- 20 monthly payments of $75
More importantly than charing my pricing, I hope you enjoyed reading this article and have some more insight on how you too can set up your pricing to reflect your goals and dreams.