Business – Refocus Your Career – The Price is Right

PRICING IS ONE of the hardest things for photographers to get their heads around. Not only can it feel like plucking numbers out of thin air, but a whole load of self-doubt can creep into the process. The end result is that, unfortunately, the figures you finally arrive at will most likely result in you woefully undercharging for the services you’re offering.

I’ve sat on a few training courses over the years, from lead photographers and industry experts, sharing how they price up their products and make a tidy profit. They all used to say the same thing; whatever you think you can charge clients, you can probably charge more.

There’s that old saying, “something is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it,” meaning that there’s no right or wrong answers when it comes to pricing. However, it also means that just because one person might think you’re too expensive, another one – your dream client – will be waiting right around the corner ready to pay what you (and they) think it’s worth.

Pricing a fresh offering

With this in mind, and with the reinvention I’ve just undertaken, I’m now tasked with pricing up my latest offering for new clients. This time last year I moved from north London to live by the sea in Kent, and I’ve spent the last year developing a new offering in a fresh studio. Before the move, I used to photograph newborns in a studio, which was ‘my thing’ for over a decade. But then when we moved to the small seaside town of Whitstable, I felt a calling to try something new. Now I’m offering creative adult portraits, often outdoors, which are very different, style-wise, to what I used to offer.

I’m not simply picking my old business up and starting again with it in a new location; everything I’m doing has changed, from the type and look of photography, to the client base and beyond. Judging by my research, I figure I can no longer charge ‘London prices,’ and yet the same amount of work and time will go into each photoshoot. So, how do I package up what I’m now doing and how do I charge clients something that sits right with me but also with them?

The first thing I look at is what everyone else is charging. Although I don’t think there’s many people providing the services and images that I am in my area, it still helps to see what the local photographers are doing and how they price their products. If you start by Googling your competitors, those businesses that look high-end and are offering quality photoshoots – so no ‘shoot and burners!’ – you’ll see what their average price point is, and that’s a good starting point.