tiffany_robbins

<p >my question wasn't asking for people to put a value on my work. as you can see from the comments there are a vast number of opinions from people with varying talents and backgrounds. I'm willing to take the comments for what they're worth and form my own opinion about how I should conduct my business. this whole forum has given me a lot to think about and I thank you all for that. some very insightful comments and answers here, even going beyond what my original question was. </p>

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<p >truthfully, pricing my work always leaves me with questions and frustrations. and whenever i search for answers there is never any clear solution. it's frustrating but i guess it's all part of the business. i see both sides of the story that people are communicating here. one photographer i talked to put it well saying that my situation was what he called a "lose lose situation". any way i priced it to begin with the "prospective client" would feel like he's paying too much and i'd feel like i was charging too little. i had no idea when i sent my estimate to the restaurant owner that he had never paid a photographer more then $35 for an image before. maybe he had never paid for an image in the past, or maybe he had paid $300 per image. it was a guessing game to figure out a price that he might go for. my frustrations lay in not ever having anything concrete to base my rates on. and from what some people have said here it seems as though i have to also take into account the costs and profits of my prospective clients. even more to think about….</p>

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<p >again thank you all for the time you took to respond to this. </p>

<p >greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p > - tiff </p>

<p>i recently shot a wedding reception at a restaurant. the owners of the restaurant liked some of the photos i took and expressed an interest in purchasing some of them. after mulling it over, looking at forums, and talking to other photographers i settled on a price of $140 per image. this would include unlimited usage rights for 1 year, including but not limited to web and print use, and would include hi resolution images on disc. i also offered him a discounted rate if he wanted to purchase more then 2 photos.<br>

most of the photographers i talked to said to do it for no less then $200 per image. i agreed but had a feeling this would be way over budget for what the restaurant would want to pay. <br>

he wrote back to politely decline my offer saying that they have never paid more then 35$ per image for photos in the past and my price was out of their budget.<br>

i'm over getting paid so little for what i do. i try to make a living off of photography and i offer a quality product. i need the cash, but i really don't want to lower my price.<br>

so, do i send a reply email back? should i mention why my prices are more then he's paid in the past? i feel like people should be made aware of what these things really do cost. just not sure how to go about explaining myself while still sounding professional.</p>

<p>thanks.</p>