Getting Started & Setting Prices

[Jayson Prentice]

Been reading through a lot of this business section lately trying to get some ideas and knowledge. Starting up my own part-time business this spring and summer to try it out and see how things go; not to mention it could be a nice job for the off-season of college.

I'm starting up a webpage for my 'business', currently nothing flashy but it'll get the job done and I've done it all myself so it's no extra cost to me. I have Flash CS3, hopefully I can get some knowledge in that and setup a spiffier site for later on. However, my initial question is going to be pricing and fees, etc...

I plan on having a base scheduling/sitting fee, but then something unique I'm going to offer is allowing the customer to simply pick and choose the prints they want to have. Many of the places around here only offer packages which usually leave them with several prints they will never use. So I'm in search of finding the general sitting/scheduling fee and then how much above cost the businesses around here charge for the prints. The dilemma is of course that nobody really lists their prices online, so this brings up a couple of questions.

Does it seem reasonable for me to list my prices online, or should I follow the trend and keep them to people who are only interested and request them? Also, is it ethical to use a few family/friends of mine to request the price sheets for the other local businesses to see what they are charging? I don't want to price myself too high as of course then I won't have much of a business, but I don't want to cut it low and cheat the others... Any help/suggestions appreciated!

[sevillafox]

Been reading through a lot of this business section lately trying to get some ideas and knowledge. Starting up my own part-time business this spring and summer to try it out and see how things go; not to mention it could be a nice job for the off-season of college.

I'm starting up a webpage for my 'business', currently nothing flashy but it'll get the job done and I've done it all myself so it's no extra cost to me. I have Flash CS3, hopefully I can get some knowledge in that and setup a spiffier site for later on. However, my initial question is going to be pricing and fees, etc...

I plan on having a base scheduling/sitting fee, but then something unique I'm going to offer is allowing the customer to simply pick and choose the prints they want to have. Many of the places around here only offer packages which usually leave them with several prints they will never use. So I'm in search of finding the general sitting/scheduling fee and then how much above cost the businesses around here charge for the prints. The dilemma is of course that nobody really lists their prices online, so this brings up a couple of questions.

Does it seem reasonable for me to list my prices online, or should I follow the trend and keep them to people who are only interested and request them? Also, is it ethical to use a few family/friends of mine to request the price sheets for the other local businesses to see what they are charging? I don't want to price myself too high as of course then I won't have much of a business, but I don't want to cut it low and cheat the others... Any help/suggestions appreciated!

I have mine listed online and have found the prices of others in my area online as well. Be careful of enlisting the help of family members as the photog whose prices you get, may end up figuring out what you did and give you some bad press via word of mouth. I'd suggest just asking them and explaining that you want to make sure that you are not undercutting them with your prices. You could also take a peek at other members' sites here and get some ideas as far as packaging/pricing. Feel free to peek at mine.

[Jayson Prentice]

I searched throughout the morning at several of the photographers sites this morning to no avail in finding pricing information. I will likely list mine online, just wondering what the purpose is of not listing them online if you have a website. Surprisingly, not even half of the photographers even had a website around here. I may have to just search around on here and look at others webpages/prices, I'm not too concerned about the photogs around here finding out about it as I only have two people looking at price sheets for me. One of which actually needs senior portraits done for their daughter...

[Jayson Prentice]

Another question has came to mind as I'm setting up my website with all of my offerings for prints, etc... I've heard many great things about metallic paper and its' look for printing things such as landscapes. I'm wondering if I should offer metallic printing for other images, such as portraits and my sports shots? Some printing companies say that metallic printing doesn't look great on portraits and they don't recommend it. But, figured I'd get the opinion from some of you who may have printed some pictures on metallic paper. Thanks for any replies!

[Oneslowz28]

I had a client order some basketball shots of his son the other day and he wanted them done in metallic. (he saw a metallic sunset of mine.) I tried to talk him out of it and had him sign a small release stating that I was not liable if he didn't like the prints on metallic paper. Needless to say he wound up ordering more because the metallic prints didn't turn out as expected. I have used metallic paper on many sunsets, waterfalls, and other landscape "artsy shots." But for sports they are a no go. I have yet to try the metallic paper mpix offers for portraits yet. Kodak claims that it warms skin tones and "makes the image pop" I may order a few 8x10's from them with the next order I have to place.

[Jayson Prentice]

Thanks for the info... I didn't believe that metallic was a good option for anything besides the landscapes, but I had heard a few people state they used them on portraits and other things. I'll likely spend some change and get a few prints of metallic portraits just to see how they look and for examples.

I've found some pricing from nearby photography studios in the area and am beginning to look into the prices. The one main question I currently have is how many options should I really be offering? Some of my options include having lustre prints, glossy prints, then the lustre w/ lustre finish, etc... Should I get rid of the plain lustre at all to help not confuse people, also the texture are another thing. I currently plan on offering only one texture, or should I offer more, etc?

Just looking for a bit of experienced help if anybody is willing to hand it out.

Jayson Prentice Photgraphy (http://www.iowachaser.com/photography)

[Jayson Prentice]

Alright, I have to bring this thread back up as I want to get a few opinions from people on my potential options. I now have some of the prices from my area photographers to compare too, as well as what they offer for printing.

I plan on mainly using WHCC for my printing, used them for quite a few other orders I've done and I love their service. Can get prints printed and delivered in 2-3 days usually! One problem is that there are just so many options to choose from and I feel like I need to trim them down otherwise I'll just be confusing the customer. So out of this list of options, which was are likely the best to actually offer?

1) Basic Glossy (Not that professional, thus leaning towards not offering)
2) Basic Lustre
3) Lustre w/ Additional Lustre Coating (Not sure if anybody really uses this or if it is useful?)
4) Lustre w/ Texture (Would definitely like to offer, mainly for any nice 8x10" or larger)
5) Any other options that are not listed?

Also, I plan on offering a basic lustre print on masonite as well as canvas prints on masonite as I've read that seems to be the better option. Makes them prepared for framing, etc.