In this video I answer a question that comes in a lot from our subscribers. What do I price my packages and prints for the Holidays?
Watch the video...I'll give you some tips!
As always..leave your comments below. We would love to hear from you :-)
Scott
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12 comments:
Thanks Scott, This is just what I needed to hear. Would you be able to post for download some sample order forms. I'm not sure how to best set one up.
Ric
Where do you get your christmas cards done?
Scott, what do you suggest doing for this if you don't have a studio? I like these mini-session ideas but don't have a house setup for an in-home studio. I usually for full sessions go to their house and set up or do on location but for only 15 I don't see this being worth the drive & setup time.
Scott,
Thank you for the video! Not that I have little to no faith in my gift of being a creative, motivated photographer or members in my community, but $169.00 seems WAY out of the ball park in terms of price. Without sounding cocky, I can truthfully say that my unique photography skill and creations are miles beyond other photographers in my area. With that said reality sets in which points me to less expensive alternatives to my "pricey" but stellar photography price tag as mentioned in this video($149/$169). Even though the Picture People (in the mall) with their dull and boring plain white background, I found that many people are inclined to spend $40.00 there (with NO sitting fee charged) for such unflattering, boring and typical photography. Why? A) The economy is rock bottom right now (No, this is not an excuse- it is a sad reality). B) It (the mall- Picture People, Sears, JcPenney, etc.) is convenient due to their hours of operation. Please do think I am being negative, faithless, nor unrealistic; however, the mall's pricing- including WalMart ($19.95)seems like a more "reasonable" option when compared to your suggested pricing @ $149/$169. How can I justify this price? By your own admission, the larger pictures will not be displayed all year around so I can use that rebuttal to a client. Believe me, I would love to earn some serious income this holiday season and I am one of the most optimistic business-owners/photographers I know; however, I am experience a reality check right now. I am curious to hear your and/or others comment about the points I have raised here. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to ensure that we ALL are doing well in our photography business as well.
Hey Scott,
Thanks for the info.
Question for you is, how do I post the pictures on line without them being able to upload it to their own computers, burning it to disc and taking it to the photo store to do themselves?
I have Photoshop CS3.
I was told to save as web but am not sure that will really reduce the quality.
Thanks a lot!
Marti
In response to whoever was too chicken and posted themselves as "anonymous" if you're not able to collect that for your portraits, 1. you're work isn't so stellar or 2. you don't truly believe enough in your work to charge that. Scratch the first comment, I see photographers who can't shoot worth a damn charge that all the time. The point is if you aren't confident in your prices and back up your prices with great customer service, and why your customer should book with you and what they get, whether the economy is good or not you'll never be able to collect that! I get full time students who are single parents working part-time spend $300 with me because I explain that this is an investment and they're paying for my experience and dedicated customer service. I deliver their stuff in cute bags with little treats inside. I go above and beyond to deliver an "experience" for them and that's how you'll be successful in any economy. I have quadrupled my business this year despite the massive layoffs and decrease in income. Work with your clients, see what it is they want and deliver that. If their finances are tight explain that you want them to have photos that they'll treasure and price isn't a problem you'll work with their budget, work out a payment plan if needed so it's not putting so much pressure on them. As far as your comment about larger prints not being displayed year round you need to learn about selling art galleries. I have my packages set up so that we create grouping to create personal art for their home. I get them to update that grouping yearly and customers love it! I live in a small city with an overly saturated market and on top of that the median income is $20,000 a year and I've managed to continue to succeed so the question is, "Are you just afraid?" You can sit on the sidelines for the rest of your life being timid and saying I can't or you can change you personality into a more positive one and live the life you want to.
Marti, I suggest you creating a website/blog with www.portfoliositez.com. They are really affordable and offer secure online proofing for your clients. Their templates are easy to use and they have great customer service! I also suggest you purchase Adobe Photoshop Lightroom it will save you HOURS of time retouching your portraits. It gives you the option to export your photos at full rez as well as resizing them for the web. I suggest if you get the template I suggested to use Lightroom. I resize them to 750x500px at 300dpi and they look great online. You can check out my website and see that quality isn't compromised www.infinityimage.net
Brooke - thanks for that Great response to "anonymous" - I was feeling the same way as him/her - until I read your response. Still 149 seems high for my location. I know I wouldn't pay that - although I do have no trouble laying out $125 every year for a pet photo with my 2 kids in it, so having a niche does add value. My niche is I have a 900 sq ft comfortable studio (my finished basement) and will offer Scott's custom layers and also chroma-key digital backgrounds - kids or pets - and no waiting for their prints - with my iMac & Epson 4880 pro printer. Hmmm... maybe I should charge 149.
Scott,
Thanks, this is a great idea! Where do you get the christmas cards? Do you provide them to the customer along with envelopes?
Thank you again,
Olger
Steve, I don't know how long you've been taking photos but I felt the same way when I started as an assistant. In fact I still feel the same way but the reason I don't want to pay that now is because I'm a photographer and want to do it myself :-) Is that maybe why you're thinking it's too much? I don't know what you charge for your photos but I charge $35 for 8x10, $25 for 5x7, $20 for 8 wallets and 25 greeting cards are $25. While you do get a different pose for each one, that adds up to $180. So maybe if I was doing "same pose only" I would offer it for $125 or even $95. I know that I've never only sold 1 pose, people usually have a hard time narrowing it down to 10 images so if you're looking to get people in the door I've found that offering them a reasonably priced package gets them in there and then of course you SELL them more once they are looking at their images. Of course if you're posting them online that might not help your bottom line but who's to say you can't have them come back the following week to view their images since you have a location it wouldn't be too difficult and you could then sell them wall portraits etc. I've found that only 15min is too short, I suggest at LEAST 20 if not 30 but that's me because I want to sell them an album with 10 great images starting at $125 depending on the size. If you do good work, charging that should be no problem. When figuring out your price list you need to factor in the time and cost of producing an image and times that by 3 I think. If you're wanting to increase your sales google search easy as pie pricing. It's very inspiring and helps to know what to charge. Hope I've helped and haven't pissed off too many people :-)
Olger, your lab should have an option for christmas cards. www.colorinc.com or www.whcc.com offers them if your lab doesn't.
Thanks Scott,
When you offer the package with "one pose" and put them all one the web, is the customer choosing the "one pose" or do you choose that yourself?
Beverly
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