mark_davidson1

When asked what I charge for interior and exterior photography I always say "As much as possible". It is a joke but not much of one as we all try to charge as much as possible. The real issue is that we all compare ourselves (some more, some less) to others. What some guy charges is often the benchmark for what we think we should charge. IMO offering different levels of quality is a destructive move in that you are implicitly saying "I know how to make this better but you are cheap so I will cr@pify this photo". Offer the same quality but vary the quantity. E.G. offer a basic shoot at $x with y number of images delivered. Then offer higher volumes for additional cost. It costs you almost the same amount of time to make poor photos than it does to make good ones. The problem is markets vary widely and some markets will not support anything but the most basic price points. I am fortunate that I have spent time in the business building up a client base that wants what I make. For me, many of the jobs I get are interesting buildings that make me happy to photograph. Sometimes not so much. However, I charge a basic fee and deliver a set number of images. I always try to make the images "magazine quality" as the properties are often published. Some are residences featured in magazines or for sale. Others are commercial businesses using the images in a promotional campaign. I also get a lot of follow on sales from vendors and contractors. Yes, it takes time to get those clients but they wont look at you if your portfolio has indifferent photos commissioned by a cheap realtor. My first jobs were all starter homes being marketed by a cheap developer. I was not too experienced but I killed myself learning lighting, composition and PP. Those early jobs got me referrals that still make money for me today. I do not shoot video or virtual tours. I explain that I spent 30 years learning still photography to offer the quality they want. I am not about to wave a camera around and make poor video for them. If they have a quality project they need to hire a quality video outfit. If you start as the cheap guy it is very hard to be the expensive guy.