Not sure what to do with business :(

<p>Hello, I am writing to you all with a question about what I should do with my photography business. First, let me give you a little back story so you'll better understand my situation. I went to school at the Art Institute and graduated in 2012 with a degree studying Portrait Photography and after I graduated , I officially got my business license and opened my business the following year in January 2013. In school I took some business classes that taught us to calculate all of our expenses and figure out what we WANTED to make etc. and how much time we spend editing and everything and then to take all that into account and we had to do a project where we figured out much we "should" charge in order to cover our business expenses (as well as make SOME kind of profit to get by on...people forget photographers are HUMAN too)..and really I came up with I should be charging NO LESS than something around 600! (I forget the exact amount.. I think it was like $628 or something like that). WELL... I live in a small town where there are NOT that many jobs and LOTS of "stay at home moms", and over the last 6 years or so I have watched it go from being 3 "top photographers" in town that EVERYONE went to (and they charged like $500-$1,000 a shoot!) to now over 200 "photographers". SO many that I can't even count and I'm ALWAYS hearing about more. It is to a point that really, as one of my instructors put it to me, the supply is MUCH higher than the demand. I have tried to stand my ground and NOT lower my prices to "get more customers" and I have had many people also "not choose me" because I opt for professional lab prints instead of giving them a disc to take to walmart. Also, in my area there are SO many photographers who only charge like $25 for a shoot and will give away a print release!<br /> The problem I am running into is that I am also a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my editing process. In MY mind, this is a good thing because my work comes out the best that I can make it, but I know this is much more time consuming. I have done the math and for a regular portrait shoot (NOT a "mini session with only a few poses etc.) I usually spend about 1/2 hour setting up, 2 hours shooting, and then anywhere from 30-40 hours editing usually about 20- 30 photos over the span of 2 weeks. Now if I'm charging around $300-$400 for this shoot that gets me about $10 per hour of work...so about minimum wage in my state which I think is fair...right?...... But people have been telling me TIME and TIME again that I cost too much and going to people who only charge up to $100 . BUT ..If I only charged this much then I would get less than $3 an hour! That is NOT enough for ANYONE to get by on (let alone pay off my degree that GAVE ME the VALUABLE skill and knowledge I have!) ..and really..it's insulting.<br /> But now I find myself in a rut where I can only get maybe 2 bookings a year. I am advertising, I am talking to people in the community..and I HAVE had opportunities..(and Know to never just tell my people my pricing right off the bat)...but I keep getting more and more people turning me down and hearing about more people "through friends" saying "well she's good...but she just cost way too much!"<br /> HERE is my question now: Do I essentially "downgrade" my editing process and only do the bare minimum to cut down on my editing time? This way I am not wasting 30-40 hours of hard work and I don't feel like I'm cheating myself by only charging $100. $100 for 10 hours or so worth of work is $10/hour... so it's fair right?.... OR do I continue to stand my ground and keep my prices where they are KNOWING that I AM worth my rates but risking that I may get little OR NO business? SO TORN on what I should do..really..it's been tearing at me for quite sometime now and I just feel like I'm selling my soul and selling my self short...but at the same time..I CAN'T GET ANY BUSINESS! :( HELP!</p>

<p>Sincerely,<br /> This desperate photographer<br /> PS- Sorry for my novel ;P</p>

<p>Is there a way for you to secure portrait photography in larger local corporations...executive shots? Although it was years ago, I remember the company I worked for contracted for all of their officers (there were over 400) to be photographed by an outside specialist in portrait photography in his studio over the course of the year. The photos were used in directories, newspaper stories, press releases, and other PR work. When I retired, I was given a packet of 8x10 glossies of myself which hadn't been used, as well as a package of 8x10 glossies which featured me in various advertising campaigns..Same thing when I was in the military - except the portraits were in color. Many of the people who had their portraits done for the corporation, liked the results enough to go back to the photographer for personal work...this time in color, retouched, against super professional backgrounds of their choices. I may be wrong here, but I still see a lot of vanity among rising professionals, especially in large cities, who seem inclined to pay well to present the best side of themselves pictorially. I pass this along merely as a thought, as I remember a very successful photo company in the past in a city I lived in which did exclusively executive male portraits for astronomical sums...but their work was truly museum quality...and well fed the egos of their patrons.</p>

<p>I respectfully suggest you consider revising your workflow and editing. An hour+ on each file is way out of scope for making any kind of profit.</p>

<p>Firstly I would say that what your business teachers told you is entirely correct. Secondly I would agree with Peter that the amount of time you spend editing is torpedoing your profit. Thirdly I note that you have done calculations which show that, even with editing cut to the bone, you would not earn more than $10 a hour gross, barely enough to live on on a daily basis and in no way enough to finance the replacement camera gear, computer, automobile etc. which you are certain need at some time or another. Digital photography is fascinating from a technical point of view, has democratized the photographic process and so on but unquestionably it has destroyed very many areas of activity in which it was previously possible to earn money as a professional, the public perception being that anyone can do photography and that high prices asked by pros are not justified in terms of the added value generated. Sorry not to be able to be more positive!</p>

<p>Stephen, your response was most helpful! Thank you! :) That is a good idea to reach out to local corporations to offer executive shots etc. I like what you said "I still see a lot of vanity among rising professionals, especially in large cities, who seem inclined to pay well to present the best side of themselves pictorially".. because I can totally understand that and see how reaching out to that kind of crowd would be good. I am going to start brainstorming some companies in my area that I can start from ..maybe some local reality offices? :) ...</p>

<p>Peter, I definitely know that I need to make some changes to my workflow to speed things up. ;) One problem I have is that my laptop is old and outdated..but being a mom and having my husband temporarily unemployed, money is tight so I cannot afford a newer faster running computer. :( With this problem I feel like photoshop and lightroom both take SO much longer for every little thing than they should so it really makes the whole process all together take MUCH longer . :P Also, I know that if I could buy some nice professional actions and/or presets that it would help speed up my process. But most of the ones that I really like that would suit my style and work well with my work are anywhere from $75-$300 for each set which I have never been able to have enough money to put aside to buy myself some of these. If you know of some GOOD actions/presets (there are lots of bad cheap looking ones out there) that are free or affordable, PLEASE let me know! :) <br /><br />David, I totally agree with you that although it is depressing to think about :(... our "industry" as professional photographers is going down hill with the growing popularity and accessibility of digital cameras and the fact that anyone can go to somewhere like walmart/costco and get a nice DSLR camera and call themselves a "professional" now..which makes it REALLY hard to try to make a living wage as an ACTUAL professional. :( I do want to try to at least make somewhere around $300-$500 a month with my photos so that I can help with bills and if I can make around at least $600-$800 I could put aside some money every month to invest in equipment..or possibly make payments on my college loans. But once I move into my new home later this spring and get my studio stuff moved over to my new space, I am going to look into doing reality photography of houses (I was doing this about a year ago and actually made some decent money for a little while..but things in my personal life got hectic with my son so I had to put that "on hold" for a little while.) We have a family friend who is also my parents Realtor that gets me good business in that field, and although I don't prefer to take photos of houses instead of people.. it gets me some extra income AND I sometimes meet portrait clients through meeting the owners of the homes I'm photographing :) <br /><br /><br />Thank you all for your input :)</p>

Figure out who has both community respect and social clout in your hamlet and start scheduling gratis sessions for

them or for he social organizations they have membership in and actively support.

 

Join PPA and start attending their classes on matketing.

 

Your goal needs to be to create a higher profile for yourself and your business.

 

Stop chasing after the bottom feeders.

 

You say your husband is unemployed. I am sorry to hear that. With wgatever free time he has, what is he doing to help you in your business?

<p>You absolutely have to speed up your workflow. The way you're doing things now, even if people were beating down your door to pay $600 a shoot you could only do one job a week because you're taking a week to edit. And the answer isn't actions or presets. You need to work on your shooting so that the file that comes out of the camera is the final product or very close to it without the need for a lot of work afterward. And if your laptop isn't up to your needs, you have to replace it if you're actually running a business.<br /><br />One factor may be your location. No matter how good your product, a Rolls Royce dealerhship can't survive in a Ford and Chevy town. You can try to concentrate on whatever carriage trade there is -- even the smallest town has doctors, lawyers and business owners. If you're good enough, expand your range beyond your own town. But if you want to do high end business you have to be in a high end market.</p>

<p>@Sarah - Just a thought - take a look at this:<br>

http://www.annabelwilliams.com/<br>

This is someone from the UK who is not the most highly trained of photographers but who apparently has a personality to whom clients readily relate and is above all phenomenonally skilled in marketing. She has made a fortune in the UK in recent years both through her own photography and by running workshops (I note that her blog says she now intends to concentrate on nutrition, health and meditation - does this mean that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is now empty? Hmmm ...). Anyway, make of it what you ill!</p>

<p>Hi Sarah,<br>

I think Craig hit the nail on the head. If you can eliminate the need to do too much post processing, this will save you a lot of time.</p>

<p>Sadly it is a truism that we are all photographers now. But, if you want to charge a higher price, make sure you are delivering a product that no Mom with her iPhone, point-&-shoot (or even a DSLR) can do. That means creative use of depth of field, sophisticated lighting, great backgrounds, etc. The problem seems to be that your potential customers do not see anything fundamentally better from you than your cheaper competitors.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I would suggest you have a really good look at your local market. For the regular trade, offer a neatly packaged, low-cost option (with minimal editing and standard prints). Don't waste your time on lab prints - the market does not seem to care for this. Give them a CD (but only medium res files).</p>

<p>For the upper end, offer a more bespoke package, with more scope for using interesting locations, special techniques, etc. and charge MORE than you do at the moment. Yes, much more, but justify it by the quality of your post-processing and your creativity. If people really value what you do, they will pay. Not everyone, mind you, but enough that you will not feel guilty or worry about going out of business.</p>

<p>I also agree with targeting corporations and maybe special events like award ceremonies.</p>

<p>I wish you luck for the rest of 2016.</p>

<p>David</p>

<p>Hi Sarah,<br>

I think the advice to improve the workflow really hit it on the head. I know you responded that you were working with an older laptop, so I have a couple of comments/suggestions.<br>

First, is the laptop really that slow? Do those annoying pauses between when you click the mouse and wait for something to happen add up to the better part of an hour? If they really do, why not get a used desktop for a couple of hundred dollars? I had an old desktop that I literally threw away 5 years ago (it would now be 10 years old), it was so worthless, but only because it was getting slow on batch processing, not because it took too long to process individual photos - and these were raw files from a Canon 7D.<br>

Secondly, what exactly are you doing in your post-processing? Are you adding special effects or correcting for exposure, fill light, etc? Are you "worrying" the pictures to death? I've been in that boat myself, and basically found there is a diminishing return on the amount of time spent on a picture. Also, is there a way to create the effect you are looking for when you take the picture versus adding it later? Are you working on a lot of the pictures or just the ones they will ultimately purchase? I usually do a basic batch conversion for preview and then spend more time on the ones they select for purchase.<br>

Finally, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (the customer). Maybe some of what you are doing would not be appreciated. Some of the things that we take for granted as photographers are what really distinguish us. For example, I have had many people comment on how much they like the shallow depth of field and background blur (not that they used those terms!) that they never see anymore with their I-phone pictures. </p>

<p>Just my two cents worth, hope it helps.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

<p>George</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi Sarah,</p>

<p>Just another thought to add to the previous comments - would it be worth expanding your scope to other cities / areas? I understand there will be additional travel costs to cover but the broader pool of clients may be what it takes to get your business back off the ground again?</p>

<p>Good luck,<br>

Steve</p>

<p>WELL... I live in a small town where there are NOT that many jobs and LOTS of "stay at home moms", and over the last 6 years or so I have watched it go from being 3 "top photographers" in town that EVERYONE went to (and they charged like $500-$1,000 a shoot!) to now over 200 "photographers". SO many that I can't even count and I'm ALWAYS hearing about more<a href="http://www.vantageacceptance.com/">.</a></p>