what do you think about my prices

[eden_soto___dallas_tx]

I'm just starting I'm in the Dallas area :

9 wallets: $12

4 by 6: $3

5 by 7: $5

8 by 10: $10

8 1/2 by 11: $12

9 by 12: $14

11 by 14: $20

14 by 18: $40

16 by 20: $50

18 by 24: $60

[eden_soto___dallas_tx]

there it is

[laurenm]

I think they sound low but it depends what they are for. Weddings? and depends what your charge is for the photography to begin with. Having just had to come up with some prices myself. I started wondering, would it be better to charge more to begin with and keep the reprint prices low hoping for more quantity of sales.

 

For my sister's wedding, the photographer charged like $10 for 4x6's. I loved some of the shots but when I saw the price, I quickly dismissed getting any. Had they been $3 I may have ordered like 20 prints.

[al_kaplan1]

A way around Lauren's problem is to charge more for the first print from a particular photo in a certain size. Maybe $10 for the first print, $5 for additional prints ordered at the same time. Your prices are way too low. Some quality labs charge nearly that much.

[todd frederick]

I simply don't enjoy itemized pricing.

 

For wedding and portraits, I charge a flat fee, by the hour or by the job, and I include all my time, proof print album and CD.

 

For me, that is just so easy for all concerned.

[eden_soto___dallas_tx]

yeah I will lso have pakeges and sitting fees this are just prices for like a la carte pictures...

[chris m., central florida]

If you are offering online fulfillment through a lab, then as long as your prices are at least 5X total cost (print cost, transaction fees, etc) then you should be low enough to attract sales and high enough to turn a decent profit. For something like a 4X6, you could go higher, like 8X cost, etc.

 

My viewpoint is that many people are very hesitant to purchase prints these days. It's not the same as it was 20 years ago. We now have a ton of digital cameras showing up at weddings, and that set of images on their computer is good enough for most people.

 

To make print sales, price your prints reasonably (wallet through 8X10), charge a premium for 11X14 and 16X20, and get the images online quickly. Online galleries and turnkey print fulfillment work extremely well if you do things correctly. If people can afford the prints, you'll get more sales. Sometimes the sales will add up to be more than what the family would have purchased alone if your print prices were higher.

[bill_clark___minnetonka_mi]

I haven't got my arms around the reprint pricing & sales but I know it is changing fast. The average person looks at photography differently than many of us. I know we consider that they are buying our talent and art but I find that only goes so far, especially now in the digital age where having reprints made is pretty easy. Even the folks who are "higher end" are changing their thoughts on purchasing prints.

 

Just take a look at all the places people can now upload their files and get things done. Why, here's an example, a place where my son participates:

 

 

http://www.imagestation.com/

 

He sends home batches of pictures and, to be quite honest, they do a pretty darn good job.

 

What does that do for our businesses?

 

Just some observations from this old guy!

[rdkirk]

Have you figured out exactly how much it really costs you to produce the prints?

 

Let's presume you actually intend to make some money. If so, your time is worth money. How much does it really cost you to produce when you include your time?

 

I find that with ALL costs calculated, I have to charge a minimum of $350 for the first print. Subsequent prints are fairly cheap, but that first one bears the load of the entire process.

 

Of course, $350 is a heck of a price for one 8x10, so my marketing strategy must be based on a minimum package that is palatable at $350+ and yet is profitable. For $500, I can provide a nice framed 16x20 and a package of smaller prints, for instance.

 

But you have to start with a close and complete calculation of what it costs you to produce the product, plus what you need to earn above costs to pay for your time, buy more equipment in the future, pay taxes, pay insurance, et cetera. The whole exercise is worthless unless you know what it costs you to produce and what you have to make to survive.

[jmichaelc]

Bill,

 

I'm hearing exactly what your saying.

 

What are some of the changes, that you feel, photographers need to re-prioritize and concentrate more in order to meet the demands of the new digital generation of brides?

 

Eden - your prices looks ok, but only you can determine what the value is of your art form. IMO, it's not about the cost of material, it's about the value of the art form that's on the material. We all have to determine what that is for ourselves.

[wedding-photography-denver]

Cheap :)

[chris m., central florida]

Jammey,

 

I'll take a stab at answering you...

 

Orders have fallen for many photographers across the board in my area. That's why most photographers build the lost revenue from print orders into their package prices up front, and many are willing to hand over CDs of the image files.

 

If you want to sell, you have to make the print prices attractive to a broad spectrum of people. It's got to be worth it to them to buy from you, vs. scanning prints, printing something substantially inferior that they caught with their own camera, or even going through the trouble of printing from CDs provided by their photographer. So while someone may balk at spending $10 on a single 4X6, they may very well by 10 4X6 prints from you at $4 each. I'd rather get some orders than none at all. You can set a $25 or $50 order minimum if you'd like to keep the single 4X6 print orders to a minimum.

 

Most of my orders are for 4X6 and 5X7 prints. 8X10 and above are usually purchased by the bride and groom or immediate family.

 

Please note that I'm not getting involved in a discussion on what you think your art is worth. I'm seeing a distinct local trend in that most photograhers are valuing their art in the initial package price and then print sales are just gravy.

 

Also, I'm going to tell you that you can't really sell larger prints consistently unless you show them. If you want to substantially increase your bottom line, start showing framed 16X20 or even 20X30 prints and maybe 1-2 canvas prints in your presentations. If you have the wall space (assuming you meet in an office) those can sell at a decent profit level.

[al_kaplan1]

Another point that makes the big price on the "first print" more attractive is to include shipping within the U.S. People hate figuring out shipping charges. Of course this would only be when the prints are shipped to one address.

[colleendonovan]

I think it depends on the client. I've had over $700 in reprints from a wedding I did in February (from two different people). Who knows why some poeple buy them and some don't.