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01/20/2007 08:07:20 AM · #1 |
First quote: "Now, one thing you should know Ă¢€” her session packages donĂ¢€™t include any large prints (we mostly use 4x6 prints), so she actually does have a 'back end,' and she does sell a fair amount of reprints."
Items not included in quote: 'her' sessions according to this article are between 500 and 4500 dollars. What I am confused about is I cannot see a photography business charging that much for a session and only producing 4x6 prints. Further on he states they "sell anywhere from 500 to 10000 prints a month." Do people really buy that many prints, especially if they are only 4x6?
Second quote: "You see, in this business, you donĂ¢€™t have to be a technical master. In fact, you donĂ¢€™t even need to be technically 'good.' You just need to be good enough..."
Again, considering the numbers above, can this philosophy really support a lucrative business?
Any thoughts, discussion would be appreciated. |
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01/20/2007 08:11:04 AM · #2 |
| What's the source of these quotes? A professional photographer's web site? Printed brochure? |
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01/20/2007 08:34:18 AM · #3 |
If it's a shoot for a commercial venture it could easily cost that much for the shoot. Probably depends on the amount of set up. Maybe the set needs extras or specific props or location rental.
Yes people do sometimes buy that many prints. I once printed well over 1000 5x5s at a lab I work in spotos to specifically hand out to fans of the person. Also that many might be printed to include in promotional material.
Hope that helps. |
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01/20/2007 10:34:42 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by strangeghost:
What's the source of these quotes? A professional photographer's web site? Printed brochure? |
The source seems to be the eCourse at 'Not Your Normal School of Photography' -- the first from Lesson 1 and the second from Lesson 2.
Originally posted by CEJ:
First quote: "Now, one thing you should know Ă¢€” her session packages donĂ¢€™t include any large prints (we mostly use 4x6 prints), so she actually does have a 'back end,' and she does sell a fair amount of reprints."
Items not included in quote: 'her' sessions according to this article are between 500 and 4500 dollars. What I am confused about is I cannot see a photography business charging that much for a session and only producing 4x6 prints. Further on he states they "sell anywhere from 500 to 10000 prints a month." Do people really buy that many prints, especially if they are only 4x6? ... |
The statement in the article is emphasising the importance of not depending on selling the large prints. That is, not everyone will want all of the larger sizes, but everyone will likely have a use for the smaller. The larger sizes are still sold, as reprints -- but don't rely on the customer to come back for more once they have prints in hand, even if those prints are only 4x6's.
The range from 500 to 10000 is quite large, I would imagine the average is closer to the 500 side of things. But even there, it wouldn't take many clients for the number of prints to rise above 500 in a months time. Even at 5 clients a week, it only averages out to 25 prints per session -- not all that many I would think.
A lot of the pricing, as is covered in the article, has to do with client perceptions of the business. It may not be true, but the perception is the more expensive something is, the better it is. If the client perceives you to be worth the money -- you are, and they will pay it without question.
Here's an example: My brother is an accountant, and works for a smaller firm (one owner, no partners), that has a price-point in line with what this article is talking about. The rates at this firm are roughly two and a half to three times what the other similarly sized firms are. The owner of the business explains the history of the business this way. He started out as a very low-level pencil pusher in a much larger firm. But he knew that to get where he wanted to be in his career he had to get others to view him as being there. So everyday, even though he was so low he would never have been allowed to interact with customers or the highest bosses -- he always dressed as well as he could afford (if not better). He made a point to 'be' a partner, even though he wasn't. That doesn't mean he pretended to be something he wasn't, just that he looked after his job (and the firm in general) as if his personal bottom line depended on it. The result is that in a firm the average time from beginning position to partner was well over a decade, he was made partner in just over two years.
A few years after that he left the firm to start his own. He started it by pricing his services at the 'going rate' for small firms -- and was soon working so hard he rarely saw daylight. After a couple of years of 60-80 hour weeks he had what refers to as a life changing realization, and it's the same realization that article eludes to -- If he doubled his rates, he would only have to do half as much work to make the same amount of money. So he drafted a letter and sent it out to every one of his clients, fully expecting to lose 60%-70% of them. It worked better than he expected. He kept about 65% of the clients, and those clients started referring their better-to-do associates to him. He was soon working long hours again -- and raised his rates again. Not double this time, but enough the flow of business was reduced to a managable rate. He has since taken on additional help, and is seeing the popularity of his business increasing faster than they can handle again -- rates have been bumped a bit, but just minor adjustments. He will likely be raising the rates again before too long.
Originally posted by CEJ:
... Second quote: "You see, in this business, you donĂ¢€™t have to be a technical master. In fact, you donĂ¢€™t even need to be technically 'good.' You just need to be good enough..."
Again, considering the numbers above, can this philosophy really support a lucrative business? ... |
To put it simply; the client doesn't care about the photo -- just the subject. The mother that brings her daughter in for a session doesn't look at the picture -- she looks at an image of her daughter, and doesn't care about the technical mumbo-jumbo that went into making it. Also, when paying the higher prices for the service, the client is more likely to give the photographer their lead in presenting the subject as they see fit.
David |
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