Price comparison - Your opinion on my prices needed.

[jeffc1]

Can those of you that can spare a few minutes take the time to look at my

website and let me know what you think about my pricing? I only have 12

weddings booked for this year so far, but last year about this time I had at

least 20 booked.

 

http://www.prizmphotography.com

 

I live in a small town community in Ohio and I switched from a career in the

medical field to doing photography full-time as of last July as business was

requiring my full-time attention. I had to increase my pricing a bit to get

closer to the income I had been use to. I mainly shoot weddings, but I also do

portraits (families & seniors). Your input would be very helpful.

 

Jeff

[russ_konrad]

Do you ever get asked to cover the wedding dance?

 

First dance - father/daughter dance - mother/son dance - bouquet toss - garter toss - etc.?

 

There is no mention of any dance coverage at all in your pricing descriptions and there are no pictures of any dance coverage in your galleries.

[srrf]

Hi Jeff,

I don't know the market well in Ohio, but your prices seem relatively inexpensive compared to where I shoot (Boston & New York). The pricing page makes it difficult to read- there are not bullets, bold headings, or even just headings at all. I think the packages are fair overall, if it's what the market can offer you.

One note- why would you charge for "photojournalism" if that's the type of photographer you are? Isn't that your style? I'm just curious, because I've never seen a photographer who charges extra for "traditional" if that's their style.

 

Lastly- on your "About Us" section- you never actually mention your name, and with the company name being Prizm, I only knew that you were the male in the photo because of your post here on photo.net, not because of any other reason. You may want to explain who you are, and definitely include your name.

[russ_konrad]

What is the difference between Package 2 and Package 3?

 

Both paskages are priced the same - $1800 - and looking at them quickly (as a prospective bride might) - I didn't see any differences.

[www.withheart.ca]

Hello there!

 

1. I also find that your packages are hard to read/see what they include. Try reading this article for some tips. http://www.webmonkey.com/webmonkey/01/45/index3a.html

 

2. I think you need some different images on your home, pricing and contact pages. More people pictures than detail shots. For example image #4 in gallery one (of a bride holding flowers with whitebackground). She's gorgeous and every bride wants pictures of herself looking gorgeous. I'd suggest that for the pricing page.

 

In your second gallery the #1&2 thumbnails are also very nice.

 

3. Also the style of the about us picture doesn't seem to fit with the style of pictures in your gallery. Perhaps taking a shot of the two of you like you would of a Bride and Groom. Sorta leading by example. Also, on my screen it looked a bit underexposed.

 

4. Overall your prices seem really reasonable and your galleries look great.

[jeffc1]

Thanks for the input so far! I really appreciate you all taking the time.

 

1.) The difference between package #2 & #3 are the albums. In package #2 you get 40-5x7 images, and in #3 you get 120-4x5 images, so it's the image sizes and quantity that make the difference between the two, so they have an option of larger/less images versus smaller/more images. Hope that makes sense.

 

2.) Yes, there are couples dancing and a bouquet toss, but I have 4 more weddings to update into the galleries, and I will make sure that it's more obvious. I also plan on updating the images on the home page as well as images on the other pages.

 

3.) I will see what I can do about making the pricing information easier to read. That's always been an issue for me too.

[russ_konrad]

Maybe change your package descriptions to:

<p>

<b>Reception/Dance (3 hours)</b>

<p>

to make it more clear that you do cover the dance portion of a wedding.

[jeffc1]

I don't know Russ, I just feel that bouquet/garter tosses, dances, toasts and cake cutting are just all the reception norm. I have never had a client question what we cover at receptions.

 

As far as the photojournalism coverage goes, and why I charge for it, is because not every couple wants photojournalism. Even though it's what we prefer to do because it allows us more time to spend with the couple and capture more images in a creative manner, some clients just would prefer not to have the extra time and images. For those clients that prefer not to have it, they can save a bit more money.

[russ_konrad]

Not all receptions include dances.

 

But you can do what you want - I was just offering suggestions since you asked.

[jeffc1]

I appreciate the suggestions Russ, and understand where you're coming from! I believe the next galleries on my website will continue to show the variety of images that I capture. I am still working on that but had to pull off to get caught up on orders.

[russ_konrad]

Another thought - You could add "dance" coverage with maybe an hour more of time to your top package and increase the price of that package upwards.

<p>

We do set up our three lower packages strictly on what portions of the wedding the couple wants coverage for - ceremony, reception, and/or dance. Go to our website to see how we offer our services.

<p>

Here is a quick link directly to our Investment page: <a href=http://www.almariphoto.net/services.html>Almari Photography - Investment</a>

<p>

Again - just food for thought.

[conraderb]

jeffrey - just wanted to say that your work is much better compared to the last time I visited your website. congrats.

 

my only comment is that I find the music to be both unromantic and boringly generic. i would suggest getting some good licensed stuff or just not do music at all.

[mtrejo6]

I guess as your prices increase, the natural tendency is for the # of jobs to decrease but in the end it should balance out. I figure once your local customer base sees more of your work, business will get better.

 

I had a comment on your site. I would add images of the bride and groom with big smiles and having a good time. The images you have seem to static and emotionless along with the black of the background and the monotone music tend to depress the viewer...or at least it did for me. The images you have are nice, but you have tons of more lively (more emotion) and brighter images to showcase.

 

Best of luck!

[jeffc1]

I agree about the music. I have never liked it, but wasn't sure how to change it even though I was told that I could. I will work on that. Where, and how, do I come up with licensed music?

 

I will see what I can do about showing more emotions too.