I feel like I might be selling myself short...

When I do a set of senior photos, I shoot, edited, and distribute all in the matter of a couple of days, I charge $100 for senior photos (class of '10) and I feel like I might be doing too much work for what I'm charging. Is it unreasonable to charge $125 or $150 for...

-All day shoot which includes however many locations we can pack into a day and Speedlites/umbrellas/s​tands/hassle
-Proof CD with tons of photos small sized with a watermark (if customer wants), orrrrr....
-Final cut CD with AS MANY photos as they chose for me to finish editing (or if no proof CD was sent) (also, printable photos in .TIFF format, along with a little bit smaller, high-Q JPEG files for internet posting)
-Links and addresses on the CD of places to get prints from

Check out my Flickr and give me an honest opinion if I've got enough credentials to charge that up to $150 per shoot

http://www.flickr.com/​photos/sxsphotography/


I know you guys/gals have seen this type of thread a million kagillion times, but I'd definitely like to verify some stuff, I guess haha.

Recently I've been feeling the same way, I've been selling my self short. Judging your work, you could be charging 200-300+ depending on how you define a shoot. (hours and time)

dude your pics are awesome. 200$ min i would say. 100$ is a steal. i think 250$ would be a good price considering the quality of your work, but thats being conservative.

are you mainly booking the shoots through the parents or through the kids?

lighthalo wrote in post #9125329
dude your pics are awesome. 200$ min i would say. 100$ is a steal. i think 250$ would be a good price considering the quality of your work, but thats being conservative.

are you mainly booking the shoots through the parents or through the kids?

To the dude above Lighthalo: Thank you tons!

and to lighthalo

Ah,l now I feel like I'm being lame for charging 300 for weddings! hahahaha

It's about half and half, I HATE being 19 and a semi-legitimate freelance photographer!!!. When I tell kids 100 they're like 'Isn't 50 good?!?!', and that's a hard reaction to go off of. I've only been shooting seriously for about a year, and for me, it's difficult to convince people that I'm worth 200 bucks! D=

So guys, tell me how to grow a pair, now! bahahaha

wow dude, im 22 (the reference to kids was if i had some to shoot) and ive been taking pics for a few years, lately ive been getting into weddings and my pics/equipment isnt as awesome as yours and ive been making around 400-500ish per wedding (i've shot 3 so far).. i have a 1000$ wedding coming up relatively soon.. hopefully i can get a new camera by then (ive been shooting on a 40D) maybe upgrading to a 7D hopefully soon..

i guess its all about networking and people you know. i see you have a myspace, you should get a facebook and make a fan page for yourself, its what i have. im a little embarrassed actually to show you my work cuz ur work is so good but if you want to check it out here it is: www.facebook.com/ftwpr​oductions

good luck!

i think your self esteem will go up a few points when you see my pictures haha

Baha, I worked doubletime (80+ hrs a week) on a road crew this summer, so I had to push photography aside for a good five months (which killed me), so this equipment came from blood, sweat, tears, and a lot of other fluids that generally come out of the human body hahahahahaha.

Yeah, I've got a facebook fan page up and everything! It's crappy, but it gets me a little bit of play, haha. I'm from Nebraska and I'm shooting some kid from Kansas' senior photos tomorrow, his mom gave me a call on my celly and i thought she was the one getting shot, it was cockward to say the least :P. I've been in the hardcore and metal scene in nebraska for a couple of years now, and I promote a pretty okay sized tattoo shop here in Lincoln.... so I know a few people if you catch my drift :P.


And dude, I added you as a fan on facebook, SCORE!

PS: Thanks for the compliments! They definitely help me out tons!

You know what they say, you're only worth what the market will bear. Try to figure out if its possible to still get work in your area if you're priced for more..and if not, then try to figure out how to set yourself and your service apart from the competition (however that is).

There's generally two brackets of people who go for photos - those that need them, those that want them.

Need
A lot of people don't know the difference between what they want - they want to be shown, easily, conveniently and straight off the bat why you're the better deal. Consider when you go for a car wash..you're not really thinking about it, all you want is a your car washed. You may not car how it's done, whether they do it by hand or have a big machine..all you care about is getting it done and having your product (a clean car) in the end.

Want
Consider though, you have had bad experiences if you dont shop around for not only the best deal..but the best service. Car Wash Plus will not only wash your car in under 30 seconds they will also give you a lollipop and a free decal while you have a complimentary coffee in the waiting area. They charge 20$ a wash. Car Wash Limited down the street only charges 9, though they have a couple of kids with squeegees and it takes them a good 10 minutes to give your car a proper wash.

Often people are used to accepting the fact that you get what you pay for. Illustrate that when pushing up your prices..like I'm about to do as I re-evaluate my pricing structure:

A sample of me from my website
http://www.synergystud​iosphotography.com/por​traiture/

In my market people don't really see the value in something like that..not anymore, anyway, their tastes have changed (or perhaps I am just finding more of the paying clients want a change); they prefer a product they can see, feel, have in their hands within a few days after the shoot. Then there are those that don't have computers, so a part of the product is useless. The general consensus with my market is - they do not see the value in the product I am offering..so I either have to lower it (impossible) or manipulate it to increase the value.

Rather I was planning on swapping out web CDs and DVD slideshows for custom designed albums; designed with a catalog feature so people can order from the catalog the prints and other options they want..and yet still have a quality product to keep in their living rooms or wherever. A lot of people I'm starting to see don't have access to the web or do not socialize on places like facebook or myspace..or are used to receiving prints and wallets. So in my case; i need to adapt or ...just not get any more business from those kinds of clients.

Short answer: If you can afford to raise your prices without sacrificing your business - by all means you're more than good enough of a photographer.


Though keep in mind..:If you have issues raising your prices with your clients and they have issues with the product they're now paying more for:

1) Change your target market
2) Convince your current market why you're a better investment (ie: in my case I am increasing the value of the package while at the same time answering to their need)


Hope that offered some insight.

PS: I'd be starving if I offered what you were offering though, I live in a really ...unique market...and it's (in)famous for having a unique climate for businesses of all kinds. No pun intended. As a student I can afford to live a little bit cheaper than a regular person...otherwise if I were completely on my own I would have to markup my time by triple, at least, otherwise I could not afford to operate. This is a big thing...consider how much business you can get for the amount that you charge and factor out how much you need to take away in order to live. If you can't live doing 99$ portrait sessions then there is no real point to doing 99 portrait sessions - it's just not possible.

If I didn't have a fine art segment in my business I would not be able to offer prices as cheap as I do. Consider that too...maybe if marking up senior portraits is not an option for you...perhaps you need to allocate or create a new product, service that will allow you to make up the difference and make ends meet.

Just some more thoughts

In the days of walmart, jostens and other mass corporations doing portraits for pocket change you need to set yourself apart and be unique. Target the people that want what you offer..and examine your competition. If Annie Applegate up the street is doing exactly what you do, for a better price, offering more prints and accessories then chances are you'll find it a bit more difficult to do this. If you can manage it, though, then you definitely should.

It's pretty straight forward - just target the want market rather than the need market. A lot of this mumbo jumbo is done in the back of your mind or on paper (try googling "marketing plans for photographers"..there used to be a website that held a few of them that taught me lot about all of this), it's not something you think about everyday, just once and a while it helps to draw out a map of where you want to go and how is the best route to get there. A lot of photog's its not their style to be behind a desk or jot down ideas, though for some it does help.

Old adage: Those that fail to plan; plan to fail.

I'm also in a similar situation as you...young, a student in college, freelancing all over to pay the bills, not really completely self-sufficient and solid but getting there ....the one thing that really helped legitimize me was: Consistency, professionalism, and just offering what I have been told is: "Good business"

It's my mantra, good business leads to good referrals, good quality of product means people will pass that on. Every shoot you do is an advertisement, every print you put out is an advertisement and when you think about it that way you do a lot better to ensure everything you do is done as best as you can do it as many times as you can do it. Been in business for less than 8 months, and for the first 4 I didn't know up from down.

Experience; learn it, teach it, pass it on and when you can..sell it.

I am sure you have researched this but I just browsed a few photogs in your area and what they charge. The average seems to be 200-350ish.
STANLEY JONES you are jipping yourself brother! Your are doing a lot of work for a little of nothing.

Good luck!

Jake

thanks for being a fan dude! i'd love to hear your critiques on some upcoming weddings i have.

on to the topic of what you charge, etc. You also have to remember that what you're charging for IS NOT pictures, its service. i took a look at your myspace (hey theres a link, why not?) and i noticed you have tattoos (im pretty sure thats you) my advice would be to cover them while interacting with the client. im sure you know this but being professional, acting and dressing professional are all part of asking a higher price.

also, it might help if you do tiered packages like Karl Johnson has, maybe one starting at 100 ranging up to whatever and have what is going to be delivered clearly stated.

hope this all helps!

$100 is just ridiculous for what you do. You're not a top senior photographer, but you're a heck of a lot better than a lot of them. $100/hr would be closer. Check out tricoast photography (google 'em) to see senior work, and they may have pricing around too.

Set your price at $500, then offer discounts. Personally I wouldn't even get out of bed for what they're paying you, it's HARD WORK. $1000 is more like what i'd charge, but you'd be better at senior photos than me. I just value my time.

I agree, your work is worth waaaaaaaaaaaaay over what u charge. Sweet az pics. Lookd through almost all your images. Superb.

Your girlfriend's cute too

I've only just realised that when the Yanks say they shoot seniors they mean college seniors.

I always thought they mean old folk.

I agree that $100 dollars is ridiculous. I would follow Karl's pricing structure in all honesty, I personally don't even list prices for sitting fees on my website, I ask that they contract me so we can build a package around their needs. When building their package, I always have cheaper alternatives.

Also what I would do, since you are looking to charge more, is invest in a full website along with your myspace. I dunno if you have business cards or not, but get into it hardcore. Advertise yourself and show off your work on a website your deserve. Your pictures are amazing and they need to be showcased as such, you are a prime candidate for something other than a Flickr and MySpace.

Personally your leaving alot of money on the table. You have talent and you really don't value yourself and what you are offering.

My average for a 2hr HS Senior is $800, but then they buy professional portraits from me and I don't just hand out a CD.

Ernst