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07/01/2009 06:09:41 PM · #26 |
Originally posted by LadyK:
plus, i hardly think i am worth $200 a session. im not even sharing what i charge per session. |
Well, don't sell yourself short! In this world of craiglist-posting "all your wedding photos for FREE" photographers, sometimes it's hard for clients to grasp that the old adage "you get what you pay for" applies to photography, too. At the same time, I understand and fully appreciate "doing the right thing" and only charging what clients can afford if you want their business, or just to help them out. Case in point for me -- for a number of my community theatre companies, I don't charge anything at all for my time for their shows. They operate on a shoe-string budget as-is (I know all-too-well, as I'm on the board of one of them) and sometimes it's just good for the soul to do something for someone out of the kindness of your heart.
Just be sure you know where to draw the line between pro bono "doing the right thing" shoots and actual get-paid-what-you're-worth shoots. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but remember that just as important it is to keep clients happy, because they'll refer you to others; they'll also most likely refer you to others who expect to pay the same...
Originally posted by LadyK:
i do like the 8x10 idea, ill have to calculate it up and see if its around the $200 i was thinking for the disk. |
I like that formula, too -- the idea, obviously being, that if you sell someone the full-res image, you're not going to be making any profit from future print sales (why would they bother to go to you for prints if you gave them a master they can print from) -- so charge the same as your largest "reasonably-priced" print -- i.e. an 8x10. An 8x10 scanned at 300dpi is 2,400x3,000 (7.2MP), so they are still getting a better deal with the digital version, either way. But, any sale is better than no sale.
Originally posted by LadyK:
and no, the agreement was not in writing, but around these parts a verbal agreememnt or a handshake is worth the same as a contract. |
I was just going to make a point in that if you had it in writing, you might have a clear answer as to what you had both decided up-front. That's always the benefit of getting things in writing, and in-the-end, I think really benefits both you and your clients. Regardless of how your local community considers the bindingness of verbal agreements, remember that if, heaven forbid, you end up in court with a dispute over what-costs-what and who-did-what and who-was-supposed-to-do-what, that verbal agreement probably won't help for squat. Even if it's some scribbles and signatures on the back of an event flyer, it's better than nothing.
Originally posted by LadyK:
plus, like spirspat and mpeters said, if i screw someone over(in other words say the verbal agreement didnt count) im going to have to deal with the backlash of losing other potantional customers via badmouthing by this client |
Yes, absolutely understood and agreed. Just remember as pointed out before, this goes both ways, though -- if you sell yourself short and give your work away, you'll get more customers expecting the same thing, and it's makes a harder case for you to tell a subsequent customer it will cost "X plus something" when you only asked for "X" from someone else. Not trying to be snarky (that's my word-of-the-week), just trying to offer something helpful to keep in mind. :)
Message edited by author 2009-07-01 18:59:13. |
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07/01/2009 06:28:58 PM · #27 |
i just received a huge long email from the woman saying all the same things you guys have been saying essentially. shes actually a pretty big marketing person. i told her that even though i know i cant stop people from stealing and printing images, i might as well offer myself a bit of security by pricing full res photos higher then one might expect.
so yeh, she a very reasonable person and i enjoy doing business with her. better her then one of the mums that screams and yells to get it right. i need practice before i cant deal with that(oh right, i already have. fun)
heh, snarky:) |
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07/01/2009 06:39:16 PM · #28 |
| hmm, now she wants the low res. ok well, thanks anyways guys:) |
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07/01/2009 06:43:25 PM · #29 |
Originally posted by mk:
... set your prices at what they should be and give an introductory 50% - 75% off or something. |
I strongly agree with this method. |
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07/01/2009 06:44:51 PM · #30 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by mk:
... set your prices at what they should be and give an introductory 50% - 75% off or something. |
I strongly agree with this method. |
my packages offer about that much off. is that what is meant here? |
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07/01/2009 06:49:24 PM · #31 |
I mean develop a written retail price list for your products and services, so that people will know how to (and how you) value them. You can then give "discounts" to people or organizations you want to help out, without jeopardizing your ability to later charge full price to those who can afford it.
The "first-time discount" is good because it will not only lead to word-of-mouth advertising, but helps improve the chances of getting a repeat customer if they liked your work the first time. |
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07/01/2009 06:51:20 PM · #32 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
I mean develop a written retail price list for your products and services, so that people will know how to (and how you) value them. You can then give "discounts" to people or organizations you want to help out, without jeopardizing your ability to later charge full price to those who can afford it.
The "first-time discount" is good because it will not only lead to word-of-mouth advertising, but helps improve the chances of getting a repeat customer if they liked your work the first time. |
i never thought of just having a discount for my senior portrait people. damn, thats a good idea too.grawr |
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07/01/2009 09:54:27 PM · #33 |
ok, i know i'm late to the party and will probably say some things that have already been said, so bear with me ;-)
when i started out five years ago, i had different prices for just about every different type of thing i could shoot or print. it drove me nuts. in a short time, i developed a very, very simple pricing policy. i used an online professional rate calculator to come up with a target hourly rate. next, i got real good at estimating total job time (which also required me getting a serious handle on workflow). lastly, i stopped giving prices and rates when people approached me about work. instead, i'd get them to tell me exactly what they were looking for and what their budget was. it doesn't take me very long to figure out whether or not what they're offering is reasonable, or if i'm going to have to get them to understand that they need to either scale back what they want or bump their budget. sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't--and, when it doesn't, it's usually for the best for both parties.
regardless of what i'm shooting or who i'm shooting for, i'll try to put together an online gallery, even if it's only a handful of images. for all intents and purposes, my reprint prices are the same, with few exceptions, no matter what i'm shooting. that keeps things very, very simple, easy to understand, and fair.
one thing i started offering is a dvd slideshow of whatever's in the gallery (as long as it's more than just a handful of images). i use proshow gold to generate the slideshow and i DO NOT include original images of any resolution. since it's a video, i'm able to put in a title sequence that also points out that the images are not suitable for printing, but that they can order reprints through the website.
the nice thing for me is that the dvd is a built-in by product of my workflow. since i batch process everything, it's only a couple more steps for me to make a dvd--the files are already ready to go.
so, in a nutshell, get your workflow down so that you can quickly put together an online gallery. only sell through the gallery (or in the rare instance that someone doesn't have access to the internet, burn them a dvd slideshow that has image id's and give them an order form (use word or excel) and let them put the size and quantity next to the pre-printed image id's.). and never process anything for printing until an order is made.
hope this helps, good luck! |
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07/01/2009 11:40:10 PM · #34 |
Originally posted by mk:
A few things...
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Excellent advice here |
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