ssim wrote in post #14762557
I think this is probably more likely to be what is happening. We've seen this same story many times on here and no matter how many times people are warned about giving it away for free they continue to do this. If you believe in your abilities as a photographer set realistic prices that will give you the returns that you feel you deserve. Setting your prices too low also sends a bad signal, IMO. If the current rate for product X is 200.00 and all of sudden you see a someone doing it for 30.00 people will think "what is wrong with this person's work". You don't have to be at the top echelon of the price range but somewhere in the middle seems to work fine.
When people ask me about going pro or at least getting a few paid gigs I always urge them to make a plan on how they want to gain that experience. My suggestion is to see if they can gain that experience on family and friends that you can trust and work with. If you post on social networking, Craigslist, etc. that you will do portraits for free or a fraction of the normal going rate you are setting yourself up as a budget provider. Even people that have the disposable income to pay the higher levels will choose you because at the end of the day why should they spend money they don't have to. If you have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances this becomes known and it is hard to dig yourself out of that hole. It is a difficult situation in how do you get that experience. The camera club that I belonged to once used to have a session where they would hire models each calendar quarter and you could book time with the model and have a pro there assist you. There is also the option of digging your wallet out and paying someone to model for you. Consider it an investment in your future. While I realize that everyone wants to do everything on the cheap, we go out and spend thousands on our gear and accessories but won't spend a couple of hundred dollars to get better. I've never gone to a shooting workshop but I have spoken to some that have and they gained valuable lessons and great images to use.
Once you have the portfolio that you feel proud of and you still are not getting the kind of paid jobs you want you can consider adjusting your pricing moderately. There are lots of things such as value added items like DVD's of the images that you can package together to make the pricing look more attractive. Offer a free print as the cost to us is minimal. I've packaged a free 8x10 in some portrait promotions that I did last year. The cost to me was around 2.50 at the lab I use but they thought they were getting something worth 35.00 for free. You have to make sure that they can see your normal price list when you do something like this though.
You are the master of your own destiny. It can be done but sometimes it might take a few dollars but dollars well spent. Other times you can get that experience for free. No matter which method you use when you decide to start advertising your services more globally you won't have to hear, "You did the shots of Nancy for free last month".
While many others in this thread have made valid points, this post drives the point home the best. While photography is strictly a hobby, I also do auto detailing. The two of which, have many parallels. Everyone wants a "free car wash", but auto detailing is really an art form, much like photography.
Like any business, identify the market players. Are you in a saturated market? Is there a niche that you can fill regardless of whether your market is saturated or not? But like the above poster has said, never sell yourself short from the get go. Determine how much your time and efforts are worth in proportion to your skill set--and relative to the other photographers in your market--and price yourself accordingly. Echoing the above post, starting somewhere in the middle is good. Why? Because the amount of people that can afford your services are much greater than the upper echelon of people, therefore you're accessible to more of the market. If you price yourself too low, people may overlook you entirely without getting enough clientele to showcase your work; reiterating the mindset of, "what's wrong with this person's work?" Having a higher market share depends on the cost relative to the quality of your work.
The flip side of that though, is a volume based business model. If you are priced lower than the rest, and people like your work, then you'll get more clientele, and thus more income, BUT...will your work suffer because you've bitten off more than you can chew? Potentially, but also potentially not. As in auto detailing, the best possible product/service is served with adequate time to perform the job and not taking on more than I can handle in a day. As a result, my prices are set accordingly, and it really does weed out those people that are just looking for a cheap car wash. Many times, I get told, why are you so much more expensive than Business X, or Business Y. But those clients that have been with me from the beginning have all come around to realize the value in having their automobile properly and well taken care of. The same with peoples' photographic needs. It has to be said though, that with detailing, the customer needs to be educated on the process and the differences between merely getting a clean car, vs a car that will look new, or better than new.
Photography, like detailing has a high start-up cost. Tens of thousands of dollars invested to do your work. But in photography, there are very few consumable resources, as you'll use the same equipment over and over again with infrequent replacement costs. And the resale value of photographic equipment yields much better returns than detailing.
Moral of the story: You'll get repeat customers so long as you deliver a quality product and are priced accordingly. By accordingly, I mean, not exuberantly, but with enough compensation for your time and efforts. If you deliver a high quality product often times people will not flinch at how much you charge. Remember, you're worth something too. And you're offering a good/service that is an art form. Something only a specialized individual can do. Anyone can take a picture, but only you can capture a moment.
