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04/06/2007 01:46:59 PM · #1 |
I have my first wedding shoot tomorrow and Im sitting here just kind of browsing through the weddings galleries and forums etc... Im prepared, gear and ability, but I like to read so here I am.
Alot of the threads of people asking wedding questions end in some pro slamming them for undercutting all teh working professionals and taking food off their plate. This makes absolutely no sense, and I wanted to hear what people think about it.
If I book a wedding for $600, why would someone think that I took their work that they would charge $2500 for? It doesn't fit. If the couple wanted a $2500 wedding they wouldn't have posted an ad on craigslist, they would have just contacted a studio. I didn't steal this job. To me its like if someone wanted to buy civic, BMW isn't complaining that they took their business.
Its not just weddings, I did a product shoot for a client. He paid $1200 a day for the last photog and although he liked the work he didn't want to pay that much again. He asked me to do it and I gave him great results for around half the price. Did I steal another job or did I provide a valuable service.
I think the lower priced photography is filling a niche not stealing other pros work. Lower rates mean that I have constant work coming my way. I like the work, Im making good money, and people are happy because they don't pay the crazy inflated rates. Not to mention that some people tell me that they are either going to have disposable cameras on the tables or pay me under $1K. Im not going to turn that down if I don't have anything else that day.
In my opinion, there is a market for everyone, there is no such thing as stealing someones work. If someone feels undercut, thats is there problem. If I can make a profit and do it cheaper, that just means my business model is more effecient.
What do people think?
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04/06/2007 10:10:55 PM · #2 |
rock on,more power to you! stay busy dude, feed the monster,nothing wrong with that...everyones got thier price
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04/06/2007 10:19:22 PM · #3 |
Hell when i get my Pentax K10D my 2 flashes and a prime lens, im gonna volunteer to do weddings in my old hometown for anyone who cant afford them. You know small weddings at the local church their usually pretty quick sometimes no limo or reception.
Ill do the shooting and thumbnail sheets for free. If they want prints of anything then ill probably do it 25% over cost.
This will get me some experience and when i get enough of a portfolio together ill start charging around 500 or so and work my way up.
Worse comes to worse i suck totally and stop doing them before i even begin charging. The freebies cant complain, they are told what their in for when i start and they didn't lose any money. Maybe a bit of time but if they weren't gonna have a photographer (like my parents didn't) then theirs that extra chance of 1 or 2 or a few nice memories.
I just dont have any experience, creativity or skill.
But ill have the equipment... as soon as i get this car situation taken care of.
My 35mm equipment is about shot. 1973 Yashica FX-3 Super2000 and 1987 Canon AV-1.
Message edited by author 2007-04-06 22:19:57.
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04/06/2007 10:28:36 PM · #4 |
Not good enough to be doing stuff like that yet lol
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04/06/2007 10:38:54 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by RainMotorsports:
Hell when i get my Pentax K10D my 2 flashes and a prime lens, im gonna volunteer to do weddings in my old hometown for anyone who cant afford them. You know small weddings at the local church their usually pretty quick sometimes no limo or reception.
Ill do the shooting and thumbnail sheets for free. If they want prints of anything then ill probably do it 25% over cost.
This will get me some experience and when i get enough of a portfolio together ill start charging around 500 or so and work my way up.
Worse comes to worse i suck totally and stop doing them before i even begin charging. The freebies cant complain, they are told what their in for when i start and they didn't lose any money. Maybe a bit of time but if they weren't gonna have a photographer (like my parents didn't) then theirs that extra chance of 1 or 2 or a few nice memories.
I just dont have any experience, creativity or skill.
But ill have the equipment... as soon as i get this car situation taken care of.
My 35mm equipment is about shot. 1973 Yashica FX-3 Super2000 and 1987 Canon AV-1. |
,couldnt agree more,i aim to get paid someday myself,for taking pictures is something i enjoy doing,and like  Lonz said,if your doing something you enjoy-it stops being work and becomes fun! the money being bonus.....
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04/06/2007 10:58:21 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by xXxscarletxXx:
Not good enough to be doing stuff like that yet lol |
Scarlet if it was a self portrait wedding in the middle of nowhere youd do just fine.
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04/07/2007 01:27:39 PM · #7 |
Rain,
sounds like a great plan, get the experience and take a bit of the pressure off. Only thing is that 25% over cost is pretty cheap. Think about it, a 8x10 from profilmet is $1, you could easily charge $10-$15 and still be giving them a deal.
Another thing I found is that free is often associated w/ don't know what the hell your doing. If you have the gear and a decent eye, charge what you are worth. For weddings, I don't have the experience yet so for $1500, the couple will find someone w/ experience for the same price, but at $600, they can't say no. I even tell them that next year my prices are most likely going to double. That tells the couple that I am confident in my work and that eventually people are going to pay $1500+ for what they are getting for $600. Also, the couple feels like they are helping you out by giving you much needed experience.
As of now, I have a website being built. In a few years from now, the couples that hired me for $600 are going to see that. They are going to take a little bit of pride in knowing that they helped me work up to the more expensive events. |
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04/07/2007 02:11:25 PM · #8 |
I hardly think you're stealing anyone's jobs or lowering the market, there will always be a wide spectrum of budgets for photography. But then again you have to know what YOU'RE worth.
And what I mean by that is not just how good you are as a photographer but think about the NUMBERS! How many hours do you spend with each client? On the phone, driving? do you do an engagement session, go to the rehersal? How about the editing- how much time do you put into that? What about your software? Your camera gear? Your computer? Is this a full time job? Do you need health insurance for you family? There is so much we put into our businesses that we forget about and if you want a hobby it's fine, but if you want to be compensated for your work then you have to charge the right amount. If you put 40 hours into a wedding (that's time only) that means you've made $15/hr. Now how do you pay for all those things you need?
I don't understand someone new in biz saying I have to charge less. Are your costs of goods any different?
You acn charge whatever you want just make sure you value yourself, your work and your buisness :0) |
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04/07/2007 02:30:11 PM · #9 |
It's called free enterprise. Also, just because they charge more don't mean the results will be better. Eighty percent of the couples will be divorced in two years anyway.
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04/07/2007 03:13:45 PM · #10 |
wonderbread, you are exactly right. the problems come when people price themselves only on what you mentioned, they charge $2500 because they need to cover certain costs. To me that is why there are the inflated prices that really are not totally justifiable. Just because you have high costs because of expensive software, gear, auto, insurance etc...doesn't make your photography worth $2500+. (not you personally, but you in the general sense of the word) My goal is to charge the higher rates because im in demand. I want to price myself high because there are 5 couples all trying to hire me for the same day. To me thats good business and thats pricing what Im worth.
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04/07/2007 03:18:55 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Jmnuggy:
Another thing I found is that free is often associated w/ don't know what the hell your doing. If you have the gear and a decent eye, charge what you are worth. |
Well i had that thought to a certain extent. Once i have what i need im going to do is have a talk with reverend douglas and let him know whats going on. If he has any small weddings at the church that arent gonna have a photographer maybe he can do me a favor and mention me. Most people in the area that can afford a photographer hire a local pro. But those guys are all money, id rather see local photographers get that business anyways.
I had thought about doing portrait and event work for the church also but 3 strobes is gonna kill me price wise. I could always cut some out of the budget by getting a K100 instead of a K10d.
My 4 studio shots are from a larger set of course and it was all borrowed equipment i had help. ( shown in my old signature above) |
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04/07/2007 03:39:00 PM · #12 |
As stated - there will always be a broad range of budgets for the same services and there should be a matching supply of providers to fill them. This applies to any professional service. My company builds websites for business clients - our average project is over $4k, but I hear all the time people can "get a website cheaper" - true, and more power to 'em. I am not looking for clients who are looking for "something cheaper". My new clients are really paying for TRUST. My existing clients pay for quality and reliability. over 75% of my clients came to me from horrible experiences with incompetent, unreliable firms or contractors. It's probably the same with any kind of photography.
I have no problem competing with anyone charging ten times less or ten times more than I do - MY market lies in between and there's plenty of business to go around and there is a natural progression for professionals to increase their pricing as they gain more experience or even if they feel their quality is worth more. Keep in mind the higher your fees, the narrower the market and the harder it is to find and close deals.
As Laura (wonderbread) pointed out, you need to set your price high enough to cover your costs and your time and to make a decent living (if that's what you are doing it for). |
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