initial pricing of services...

[brian_walsh7]

this might be a long one..

 

i'm aware that many people starting in the business set their initial prices

low and raise them gradually every year or six months or whatever. however my

question from a marketing standpoint is that would it possibly be better to

just initially set your prices at the level of your demographic and business

plan. for example if you're ultimately targeting the 2000-2500$ price range,

instead of breaking into the game at $1200-1400, should you just set them at

$2000-2500 and go from there?? Why waste time starting low and gradually

raising when you can establish yourself and start in your desired range? make

sense to anyone else or is the stagger step method preferred?

 

i think that even though how much experience people have they for some reason

think that just because they are a new business they have to start low.

thoughts??

[conraderb]

most people set their prices low b/c they need the portfolio or because they aren't very good in the first place.

 

if you want to set the prices where you hope to be for a long time, good luck. if you have the portfolio, then you should get bookings. if not, then the market will tell you that you are too expensive.

 

conrad

[nancy s.]

What Conrad said.

 

I will add this. I worked with someone for a number of years. This person started out charging quite low to get business and get established. It was not a working wage. As this person increased prices the # of clientele dropped.

 

 

Many things could be blamed for this but one that could not be said.. you could not say the person did a bad job. The work was very good.

 

 

Oh, one could blame the advent of digital and every other person on earth getting a DSLR and becoming the latest second wonder to wedding photography.

 

 

I don't think that was it.

 

 

I think there were a number of other issues but one that stands out for this thread is that this person had established himself as a "budget" shooter, regardless of the quality of the product. Since this business is referral based, when the price went up accordingly (still undervalued IMO) the # of bookings dropped off. Dramatically.

 

 

The point is this: If you need to establish a portfolio, do some weddings for FREE. I am serious. GET your portfolio built then, when you have work to show, charge enough. If you don't, you may get a label and a clientele that may keep you in a price range you do not want to stay in.

[mark_ridout1]

Conrad nailed it. If your work is as good or better charge for it. If you charge more then your competition and your work is not strong you'll be flipp'in burgers.

[William Michael]

Yes I agree that many do not have a business plan which takes into account all the variables.

 

It is poor MARKETING and BUSINESS to set prices lower than what your marketplace can bear for your PRODUCT or SERVICE and then increase them without any perceived CHANGE to that PRODUCT or SERVICE.

 

Which basically restates the above posts but from a different angle.

 

On another issue, not asked but brought up by Ms Stock: I disagree with covering Weddings for free.

 

It is better to get a portfolio together whilst working for another studio or excellent photographer.

 

I note that this is difficult. In some very few instances it might be not always possible. But still IMO is the better option.

 

If however a decision is made to shoot Weddings for free, it would be seriously disadvantageous to do so in the precinct where one was intending to open a business.

 

Such a decision could in fact, cause a greater business `problem` than that which was outlined in Ms Stock`s response.

 

WW

[William Michael]

> It is poor MARKETING and BUSINESS to set prices lower than what your marketplace can bear for your PRODUCT or SERVICE and then increase them without any perceived CHANGE to that PRODUCT or SERVICE. <

 

Sorry, I meant to add here ` and Ms Stock`s story of her friend is a good example of what can happen.`

[sandra_schaffer]

I don't know about your area William, but around here you can't GET a photographer to take you on and allow you to shoot and allow you to build YOUR protfolio with images from a wedding he/she booked. He knows you are going to become his competition.

 

Yes, working for someone else is a great way to get the experience and if you can work out the rest, GOOD, but most realize that their studio will soon be in competition with the "hired help" if they let out images etc.

 

If they DO allow it and actually help you, they already have enough "help..."

 

It is the best advice if you can do it.

[dave_thielen]

First you should price your services at fair market value based on your particular costs.

 

That doesn't mean looking at what everybody else is charging and then charge in that ball park or less to get the business. That is actually a good way to guarantee losing money. You have no idea what their costs are compared to your's. They may be renting a huge space and paying top dollar just to keep the doors open while you work out of the basement of the house - or the other way around - it doesn't matter, because either way the costs are not comparible. So don't worry about what others are charing - look at your costs and make your price list accordingly.

 

As your prices rise you volume will drop - that doesn't mean that you make less money.

 

Actually it's one of the ways that you can control volume - you get too busy, raise your prices. Yes, you will loose some customers, but in general, you will find the customers you loose are those on the bottom end, and the ones that are the most problems, and the increase in price will make up for the decrease in volume.

 

To put numbers to it. Let us say you want to make $100,000 a year and you do so by booking 50 weddings at $2,000 apiece. If you raise your price by 10 per cent ($2,200) you then only need to shoot 45 weddings to make that same $100,000. If you raise your price 20 per cent to $2,400 then you only need to shoot 41 weddings to make that same $100,000 for the year.

 

The other advantage to lower volume is that it gives you time to think, breath, and plan. All vital elements if you want to stay in business for the long term.

 

If you want to maintain the same number of clients, then use a smaller increase in price on a more frequent basis. A three per cent increase in price on a six month basis should have a negliable impact on volume so you will see a net increase in $.

 

The disadvantage to this method is that you are still working just as hard, which doesn't give you the recharge time.

[conraderb]

Brian - by the way, remember that unless you have a wicked awesome portfolio, people will ask what your experience is, and people do NOT like to pay $2000 for someone who hasn't photographed under 10 weddings.

 

not sure why, but that's the case. it probably has to do with the fact that a few clicks on your camera in manual mode can make the photography go quickly from 'awesome' to 'horrible'. especially on a canon 20D if you suddenly go from ISO800 to ISO100, or even worse, from ISO100 to ISO800!

 

they pay photographers the big bucks b/c at the end of the day, most people don't understand the technical parts of photography and how to take a good picture and the supply of people who can do the above is relatively limited.

 

if you are just starting out, you need to really wow people if they get the sense that you don't have as much experience - you need to convince them that you are so good that there is zero possbility that you will shoot the entire wedding at an inappropriate ISO or "f16, 1/125th, direct flash" or whatever people do that makes for less than professional quality pictures.

[William Michael]

> Sandra Schaffer wrote: around here you can't GET a photographer to take you on and allow you to shoot and allow you to build YOUR portfolio with images from a wedding he/she booked. <

 

Yes, I acknowledged there seem to be difficulties and it seems to me, to differing degrees according to custom and geography: we allow employed assistants to use some images in their own portfolio, provided the studio is credited, along with them personally taking the photograph.

 

But we also have two long term assistants, and a small staff turnover.

 

I think also a different approach by the up and coming might work: perhaps a unique proposal, something different, a win / win idea. There are still many `apprentice` plumbers, doctors, dentists and electricians, some of whom start their own business later: why is it seemingly not so in your area for photographers?

 

WW