Was I being too stubborn?

So I have a couple of weddings under my belt. Started second shooting and have done 3 on my own over the past year. No advertising...strictly word of mouth.

So I get an email from an acquaintance a couple of weeks ago about shooting his wedding. I meet him and his fiancée at a local restaurant. They have seen my work and I go along with price sheets.

My prices are in 4 packages. First is shooting only. Second adds a la carte ordering and an engagement session. 3rd and 4th include prints and albums and second shooter.

So they tell me they really dont want prints and just want the high res images on DVD. My price list says specifically that you can order a DVD of high res images if you order one of the top 2 packages.

They get back to me that they would like to use me and ask if I can put a package together that is shooting only, no engagement session, and adds a second shooter. But they want the high res images so they can make an album and prints on their own.

My reply back was that normally they need to order book one of the top 2 packages and then purchase the DVD for 1k (this means the minimum would be $3600 to get the CD). So I tell them I will waive that requirement and they can buy it in their package. My package with no E-session and adding a 2nd shooter would be $1800 + the cost of the CD.

I also give them the option to choose 50 high res images for DVD that I will add to their package for $250 if they dont want to spend $1000 on all images.

So they would end up getting the 50 they want for the album and likely the ones they will use for print, plus shooting, 2nd shooter, etc for ~$2100. I thought I was giving them a great deal. I only gave the last option because I knew him.

Thats where contact from them ended. No reply. No reply to my 2 follow-ups. Nothing.

So in this world where photographers are giving images away on DVD for nothing, was I being stubborn by not just giving them the DVD and taking the money for shooting only?

nah you're being true to yourself. Some photographers might drop down and meet the clients' desire and gain less.

Well, you gave them your price, so wait & see what happens. I wouldn't contact him again.
Suppose that you booked him at a cut rate & then someone else wants the same date at your full price?

How long has it been? There are two bugs making the rounds in this area that are knocking folks out days st a time.

If they don't like your options you weren't a good fit anyway. Not stubborn IMO.

Fernando wrote in post #11840537
How long has it been? There are two bugs making the rounds in this area that are knocking folks out days st a time.

If they don't like your options you weren't a good fit anyway. Not stubborn IMO.

From the time I gav ethem my price/package to now, it's been 2 weeks. Normally I would say this is normal but until that point their contact with me has been immediate. My 2 follow-ups were asking if they had any questions on the packages, etc. i would have thought a simple reply that they got it and would get back to me would be normal. But this is only based on how our conversations went before this.

I guess I could have included 50 high res in their original package, but I already felt like I was giving them a break. The $250 isnt going to break me, and I want to make sure I am not standing on my principals too much.

Yup, could be a number of things that's keeping them from responding. My friend was trying to find out if he got approved for her new house and was mad because she didn't get a response in 7 days and turned out the realtor died in a car accident.. If it's only been a little while then give them time to think. If it's been a logn time then cut your losses. You don't want to shoot someone's wedding if they don't think your a priority and deserve a response without a good reason.

Would you rather make some money or no money? Is sticking to your packages worth it if people aren't interested in what you are offering? Personally I don't have ANY packages. I ask what the B&G want and fit what they need.

I like trying to push a photo album on a iPad but nobody has taken me up on that yet.

Halliday wrote in post #11840849
Would you rather make some money or no money? Is sticking to your packages worth it if people aren't interested in what you are offering? Personally I don't have ANY packages. I ask what the B&G want and fit what they need.

I like trying to push a photo album on a iPad but nobody has taken me up on that yet.

I didnt come close to sticking to my package. I am at least $1000 lower than if they would have ordered "off the sheet". I customized a solution for them. 2 actually.

The only reason I have packages is so people get a general idea of my pricing and to give them some discounts on prints and albums.

No matter what you charge you will always be too expensive for some and not expensive enough for others. I'm not a big fan of asking clients to dictate the terms of how we will work together. I am the expert (or else they shouldn't be paying me) and I ought to have an opinion on how things should be done. Plus, clients don't understand my financial back-end and aren't particularly incentified to make sure I make what I need per job, so I don't want them telling me what they want to pay - again, as the pro that's my responsibility.

You have to stick to your guns and understand that over the life of your business you will lose far more prospects than you book. I can also understand where Halliday is coming from, but I also can tell you as someone that has to make their entire living from photography that you cannot just chase every potential dollar, and the companies that do so end up out of business inevitably. You have to put together what you need and figure out how to get that, rather than caving when someone complains about the price (which they will do, a lot). We need to run our business, not our clients.

- trr

Well then either your custom price was too high, they are still thinking about it, or they fell off the face of the Earth.

I see 75 images online at you site and you have shot "3 on my own over the past year." Your "About" page is not working in Firefox. It's hard to say but they be looking for someone with more experience for those prices. Or the price is just too high.

I bet they were looking for a better deal than you offered being acquaintances.

TRReichman wrote in post #11840938
No matter what you charge you will always be too expensive for some and not expensive enough for others. I'm not a big fan of asking clients to dictate the terms of how we will work together. I am the expert (or else they shouldn't be paying me) and I ought to have an opinion on how things should be done. Plus, clients don't understand my financial back-end and aren't particularly incentified to make sure I make what I need per job, so I don't want them telling me what they want to pay - again, as the pro that's my responsibility.

You have to stick to your guns and understand that over the life of your business you will lose far more prospects than you book. I can also understand where Halliday is coming from, but I also can tell you as someone that has to make their entire living from photography that you cannot just chase every potential dollar, and the companies that do so end up out of business inevitably. You have to put together what you need and figure out how to get that, rather than caving when someone complains about the price (which they will do, a lot). We need to run our business, not our clients.

- trr

I appreciate the feedback.

Halliday wrote in post #11840985
Well then either your custom price was too high, they are still thinking about it, or they fell off the face of the Earth.

I see 75 images online at you site and you have shot "3 on my own over the past year." Your "About" page is not working in Firefox. It's hard to say but they be looking for someone with more experience for those prices. Or the price is just too high.

I bet they were looking for a better deal than you offered being acquaintances.

I know my site stinks right now. It is more geared towards my music photography and I am in the process of separating my business and web sites into 2, one that will focus exclusively on the wedding/portrait side.

When they got my price list, they were very happy with it and told me my prices were very affordable compared to others they had seen. And this is a NYC suburb. My prices are cheap compared to more experienced photogs, and my work is probably better than others priced in the same area.

I told them there was more room for me to play with in the higher packages than the lower ones. I was happy to give them extra prints and discounts on parent albums, etc. They just wanted to print themselves. There's not much I can do lower than my basic shooting package. And throwing in a DVD of high-res images is not a throw-in for a "friend".

I think you did fine. Now, just wait and see what they say. I wouldn't contact them again until they contact you. If they come back and say that your price was too high, then I would work with them to see if it could be lowered a bit. I wouldn't pursue them with e-mails where you're dropping your price without hearing back from them first. The pricing may not even be the issue. Maybe they just found someone whose style they like better.

Just give them sometime, they are probably looking around at other wedding photography prices. They will most likely come back when they compare prices and packages with the others.

It's your business, you run it how you want. Of course you have to adapt to a client's requirements but you have to draw the line somewhere otherwise you'll end up shooting weddings for $500 and giving them the moon on a stick as an extra!

Don't be put off by a lack of reply though. I'll happily wait a month after an email before emailing again. As others have said there's a good chance they're looking around at other photographers / florists / caterers / venues / tailors...

You're right to stick to your guns though. Once a precedent has been set future clients will expect the same, if not more.