Business on a college campus

Ok I know about whole selling yourself short lecture and I never do that, but I am a college student and I am still failry new to photography as a business, i have just recently started to charge for my services.

My question is, i am about to go back to school. I think there could be a market for my services on campus. The catch is that a know for a fact that college students can not afford my prices. Would it be a bad idea to try to get business from college students (ie couples, and idividual portraits) and charge them much less than i would anyone else. Keep in mind i really dont have any over head at this time except for the gas it takes to get to the location. I also plan to setup a small studio in my apartment.

Any advise on the matter would be a great help thank you

If I were you, I wouldn't lower prices, but I would do a "college student special" that gave a discount for anyone that had a current college ID if you find you aren't getting any business at your current rates.

Tuscaloosa has many good photographers, partially due to a pretty good photography program at the university. Looking at you website, I would say you're just as good as many of the local photographers, so you have that part covered.

I would check the other locals out and make sure your prices match up. If you have trouble drumming up business, I still wouldn't lower your prices for all clients. I would just offer a student discount.

It's going to be hard to get students to put up much money up front. Because of this, I would lower the sitting fee in hopes of getting more clients and selling more prints. Maybe once they see the photos they will feel more comfortable dishing money out. Finding enough paying college students to pay the bills is going to be tough. Good luck.

OooOoOoOoooh, good thread I was just thinking about this recently

I would bet that a college student that is getting a portrait done, mom and dad are ultimately paying for that. If a student is getting it done for a significant other, then it is important to them. I agree with the comment about have a student special but not lowering your base pricing.

Take virtually any technical trade, plumber, electrician, etc., and when they enter the workforce they are charging market rates. I don't buy into this concept that because a photographer is just starting out that they should charge less. That can be made on a marketing line of thought but you are either good or you aren't and if you are then people should pay for that.

ssim wrote in post #8497920
Take virtually any technical trade, plumber, electrician, etc., and when they enter the workforce they are charging market rates. I don't buy into this concept that because a photographer is just starting out that they should charge less. That can be made on a marketing line of thought but you are either good or you aren't and if you are then people should pay for that.

I don't buy that. I think virtually everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up as their name and reputation makes its way around. Unless of course the opposite happens.

Charging what the experienced professional with 20 years' experience charges is only going to send more business to that experienced professional. There's really no incentive to go with a newbie unless his rates are low enough that it's worth taking the leap of faith or he possesses a savant-like ability. But even if you are good right out of the gate, you can't prove it until you get some clients.

Most people also improve over time as they gain more experience. Very few people know everything right from the word "go." Personally speaking, I feel my moral compass is too strong to tell someone I'm an expert and deserve a high fee when I'm really not and don't.

cdifoto wrote in post #8497951
Personally speaking, I feel my moral compass is too strong to tell someone I'm an expert and deserve a high fee when I'm really not and don't.

since when did you get a moral compass and where can i get one?

ps: that new avatar is creeping me out.

cdifoto wrote in post #8497951
I don't buy that. I think virtually everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up as their name and reputation makes its way around. Unless of course the opposite happens.

Charging what the experienced professional with 20 years' experience charges is only going to send more business to that experienced professional. There's really no incentive to go with a newbie unless his rates are low enough that it's worth taking the leap of faith or he possesses a savant-like ability. But even if you are good right out of the gate, you can't prove it until you get some clients.

Most people also improve over time as they gain more experience. Very few people know everything right from the word "go." Personally speaking, I feel my moral compass is too strong to tell someone I'm an expert and deserve a high fee when I'm really not and don't.

Certainly people improve over time but if you are going to go out and act like a business then charge like one. If you stack up the work of the newbie and the 20 year dude side by side does it stand the quality test.

I get the impression that perhaps you are mixing what a business should/can charge versus salary. Everyone starts at the bottom with respect to salary but a business (supposedly the OP is acting like one) can still charge market rates irrespective of what they take as a salary.

Certainly if one thinks that their work is sub-standard to more established shooters in your service area then continue the race to the bottom. It is so much easier to go down in price than it is up.

I can appreciate your point of view cdi, this is just mine.

cdifoto wrote in post #8497951
I don't buy that. I think virtually everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up as their name and reputation makes its way around. Unless of course the opposite happens.

Charging what the experienced professional with 20 years' experience charges is only going to send more business to that experienced professional. There's really no incentive to go with a newbie unless his rates are low enough that it's worth taking the leap of faith or he possesses a savant-like ability. But even if you are good right out of the gate, you can't prove it until you get some clients.

Most people also improve over time as they gain more experience. Very few people know everything right from the word "go." Personally speaking, I feel my moral compass is too strong to tell someone I'm an expert and deserve a high fee when I'm really not and don't.

Yea except when you are right!! If the younger person / newbie has real, unique and individual talent - then what? HMMMM lol (wish it was me hehe).

I think that real talent is the key to all of it, as awful as the market is in this country, and really all over the globe at the moment, real solid talent is still pretty rare.

We get exposed to hacks, wannabees and xerox machines all the time, when someone with true unique vision pops up I want them to charge TOP $$$.

Some of the real crap we see from NAME Photographers really galls me to no end. Famous such and such just had to sell an entire gallery of prints just to maintain there lavis lifestyle and the images shot? Mostly famous folks - big whoop.

If a shooter has REAL talent, is not out to copy some others style but cuts a path all their own, I think they can charge what ever they want and need to get paid for it.

The "paying your dues" crapola went down the crapper with film, and B&W Darkroom gear. It's over, and it is now a level playing field. The gear is the same for everybody so now it is the person with the REAL talent who gets top $$$. PRO/AM shooter on this very listserv are shooting some top drawer stuff, images that rival those pub'd in science, travel, and sports rags from the last 100 years.

So I say charge up the wazoo and see what happens, it may just suprise yourself and bring home a check - or ya could go hungry