Required Reading

I came across this blog post this morning and I personally think it should be required reading for all new photographers or for any start up business for that matter. It is a bit long but brings some interesting points. I am sure there are those who will disagree and say this is not possible but as the author points out how much is your time away from family worth?

http://mcpactions.com …f-advice-from-jodie-otte/

Thanks! I'll be adding it to the list

Like so many of these articles the time and costs bloat effect comes in to play when talking about time spent per client and expenses. What I mean by that is every single one of these articles is seemingly written by business owners who are running one of the most inefficient on the planet.

"3 hours between phone calls and scheduling and emails and questions from client and client sale finalization, packaging, ordering etc" being one such example.

$70k to run a non-studio based business? Anyone spending that much running a non studio based business is not spending well at all. Very inefficient.

As is always the case in order to try and make a point figures get banded about which are way over the top compared to what they could be. And you know why? Well the article writers want people charging higher prices for two reasons. 1) Because if they can create a seemingly insurmountable barrier to entry into the industry they somehow think less people will enter it. 2) Because the article is actually really about them being able to try and justify their own pricing in the public arena.

And the typical whine type line at the end "IF WE DON’T VALUE THIS INDUSTRY, NO ONE WILL". Newsflash the value of photography has gone down because of a massive and ongoing increase in supply... because everyone has a camera in their pocket. Basic economics are determining market values.

imo, the figures are irrelevant to the overall point. But you also did not read correctly, 70K is her annual expense for her studio business.

Realizing that her example is for portrait studio work, i find that nearly everyone here assumes that every discussion is about portrait work. I only mention it because folk have a tendency to make these kind of assumptions all the time. The fallacy of familiarity. Just as her business is not like yours, mine is like neither of yours. Again the overriding point of the article is to know your business and understand P&L and other accounting reports. From what I have seen here you are keenly aware of this fact and run a tight ship. I'd wager you are in the minority, even of photographers who have been in business for a couple of years.

BTW, like the final edit of the eyeball shot. Softening up the skin made a huge difference.

edit nevermind, i see that it is a different eye.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17373879
But you also did not read correctly, 70K is her annual expense for her studio business.

My mistake.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17373879
Again the overriding point of the article is to know your business and understand P&L and other accounting reports.

I have to disagree here a bit. The final sentence gives away what the real emphasis is about. It should have nothing to do with "valuing the industry". It is about "If you don't work out was it an acceptable and sustainable business model / income no one else will". And even then if people do work out their minimum sustainable pricing level that still doesn't mean others (the general buying public) will value (be prepared to pay) that amount. Even saying "If you don't work out your pricing properly chances are your business will fail" would be better. Our value is not determined by what price tag we slap on something, it is determined by what someone is prepared to pay for it.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17373879
edit nevermind, i see that it is a different eye.

I've got a few of them

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17373901
I have to disagree here a bit. The final sentence gives away what the real emphasis is about. It should have nothing to do with "valuing the industry". It is about "If you don't work out was it an acceptable and sustainable business model / income no one else will". And even then if people do work out their minimum sustainable pricing level that still doesn't mean others (the general buying public) will value (be prepared to pay) that amount. Even saying "If you don't work out your pricing properly chances are your business will fail" would be better. Our value is not determined by what price tag we slap on something, it is determined by what someone is prepared to pay for it.

i think what you are saying is that there are a whole lot of photographers feeling sorry for themselves and blaming others for their problems. I totally agree with that point of view, and have seen it first hand with a couple of business associates. It's unfortunate that a decent article ended exposing that kind of attitude, but IMO it doesn't take away from what was said earlier in the article.

There is room in the market for both cheap "McDonalds style" burger photographers as well as "grass fed Kobe beef served on artisan rolls with cucumber infused aioli" burger photographers. One just needs to know where they stand and know how many burgers they need to sell every week.

I don't think it is so much about if we don't value the industry, no one will. The big take away from the article is definitely understand your business and what it cost to run the business. REAL costs! So many people don't have a firm grasp on the costs of running a business and even those of us who do can slip from time to time. As a case in point I was working on our 2015 budget last month (non photography business) and was shocked to see that we were averaging $6,000 a year in office supplies. I went to my purchaser and questioned him telling him that $6k a year was completely out of line. In response he was able to lay out perfectly reasonable expenses and I was shocked to see they totaled just under $6k. When I say it now it is still hard to believe but the facts are the facts.

Memories - I am curious have you ever logged every minute you spent on e-mail / phone / conversation with a client? I can't say for sure if 3 hours is way to much or way to little, the only way to really know is a time study. There are a number of cell phone apps that would allow just such a study. (not trying to argue, just curious as I am considering part time photography)

I was on a friends page this morning and was shocked to see that he charges $30.00 for a portrait session. This guy is a full time photographer and someone who I would consider to be good at his craft. He sells all of his prints and digital a la carte but I wonder what happens when he does a shoot and the customer buys little or nothing. The way I see it best case he has a minimum of 2 hours invested between contact, shooting, processing, uploading, etc.

Bottom line in any business - know your TRUE costs.

I would like the article better if it didn't sound quite so angry and patronizing.

It sounds like a transcript of her shouting at a young photography business owner while shaking them by the shoulders

I have to agree it does sound like someone is being scolded