How to Price Your Photography
There are several factors to consider before you decide on your
pricing.
How to Price Your Photography – Business Expectations
Do you plan on your photography business being your
full-time job and your only income?
Or
Do you plan on doing photography casually to make a bit of
extra income here and there?
This is your biggest factor. If you plan to make any real
money as a photographer, you have to be in it full-time.
Finding time to edit and schedule shoots on your down time
from your 9-to-5 job is harder than it seems, and things fall through the
cracks.
Full time photographers need to charge a minimum of $200 per
session just to make a living.
Part time photographers are able to price a simple portrait
session for around $100.
How to Price Your Photography – Skill & Experience
If you are just starting out, and you don’t have the skill
and experience of a professional, you absolutely cannot be charging $2,000 for
a wedding.
Clients who pay those high prices are expecting top notch
shots & edits. If they get anything less than that, you can ruin your
reputation as a photographer before you get your feet off the ground.
How to Price Your Photography – Time
Photographers who edit every single image from a session
need to pay themselves for that time. Photoshop takes time, plain and simple.
If you spend 1 hour on a session, then 3-5 hours editing,
but only charge $100, you’re making less than minimum wage at the end of the
day.
How to Price Your Photography – Packages
Offering inexpensive packages seasonally is a great way to
get new clients, who will then (hopefully) fall in love with you and your work,
then book you at full price in the future.
2-3 times a year, photographers will offer ‘mini sessions’
at a reduced price. These sessions usually have a time limit.
Having your packages clearly listed on your website is a
great idea. People hate having to reach out to find out how much your services
cost.
Photographers also need to clearly list what each package
includes.
Some photographers only give clients 35-50 images per shoot.
They do this to keep their time spent editing to a minimum. But clients find
this confusing as to why they only get so many.
What I do, is offer them all of their raw images, with
several of my favorite images edited. With this they also have the option of
picking out a couple they would like edited.
So, I have the benefit of not spending 5 hours editing 300
photos, they have the benefit of having every single shot.
How to Price Your Photography – Overhead
If you have a studio to support, you need to charge more for
your sessions across the board to help with that expense.
If you have already expensed your camera (after you choose one) and computer you
edit with, you can sustain yourself at a lower price.
You need to figure out how much your operating expenses are,
and how many hours you spend working on your business to decide if you are even
breaking even at $100 a session.
How to price your photography – Final Thoughts
As a photographer your friends and family will always try to
get you to do sessions with them for free.
To prevent this, you need to have a uniform, established
price for friends and family. For me, it’s $60. I don’t make any money on
these, but they pay for my bare minimum time and some expenses.
Happy Shooting!
28 May 2017
Laura Rose-Grabinski
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