How To Price Photography: Set Professional Photographer’s Price
People nowadays really love to take pictures that serve as a souvenir, whether it is a perfect cup of coffee, a beautiful sunset, or a cute pet. The good thing is technology makes it easier to capture every moment by just clicking the camera on their phone. Some people discovered their photography skills by accident, and some people devoted their time to study and improve their expertise.
Photography that is not being paid for the skills and service is just a hobby. Turn your hobby and expertise as a source of living. Do you want to know more about how to price photography services for your start-up business? This article is perfect for you.
How to set the price for your photography?
Learning the process of your work is the first thing you need to know. Setting the price of your photographs will not depend only on the final product itself, but you also need to include in the calculations the time and effort you put on this work, your equipment, and your expertise as well. There are so many influencing factors that you need to take into consideration when it comes to pricing. Here are some of the things you should know when you want to learn how to price photography services and your skills.
Target Market
The first and most important factor that you should learn when you want to know how to price photography services is your target market. Know if there are photographers and studios near your area. You can also learn from them how much they charge a client for a photo shoot. They can be your guide or basis on how you can set the price of your work. Ensure that you will not just imitate their pricing or set a lower price for your work. Learn from them and analyze how they come up to that computation.
Cost of Materials
Take into consideration the materials and equipment that you will be using for your service. Whether it's a regular camera or a high-end one, you need to know the value of your service. Photography didn't end when you took all the pictures; there will be retouching and editing stage. The equipment and software you will be using for the editing process should also be considered when pricing.
Cost of Labor
There are a lot of calculations for this part. And here is one of the example:
Compute for your total annual wage, then divide into 50 working weeks, assuming that you will use two weeks of vacation in a year. Divide again to 40 hours per week then divide to 60 minutes per hour. This computation will be the basis of your per-minute wage. Your per-minute wage multiplied by how many minutes you spend working on it and will be the cost of a single photo. This is only for the raw file. Printing is a different computation, and it will depend on the materials you will be using or if you have a supplier that will provide your final product.
Know Your Client
Know what your client is looking for. Here are two types of client that you may be engaged with when it comes to pricing:
- Average Type: This client can only afford the basic service. They only want their events to be covered or simply to have someone who can take pictures of them.
- High-End Type: This client wants to have someone who can take their pictures professionally. This client is the one who will be willing to pay even if it is expensive because they can see the value of your service, and they are willing to work and put effort into you.
From this type of client, you can now determine the service that you can offer with them.
Quality
Make sure that you still improve on working with your services. Take time to learn more about photography and know the trends to convince more clients to avail of your service.
Package and Inclusions
After having the computations for the cost of materials and labor and knowing what you're client wants, you can now create a package for each service you provide. Here are some of the examples:
- Basic Package: This is the simplest and the most affordable package. You can offer five retouched photos and one outfit for the client for this service.
- Ideal Package: This is between the basic package and the high-end package. This package's cost is not too cheap and not too expensive, just perfect for clients looking for competent photographic quality but not spending too much money. You can offer up to 10 retouched photos, two outfits, and one location for this service.
- High-End Package: This is the most expensive package yet a complete and more competent one. This package is perfect for clients looking for the best quality of photos and a photographer's professional service. You can offer up to 20 retouched photos, three outfits, and two locations for this service.
Having these packages will help you a lot when it comes to closing a deal with a client. It is also one of the most important factors you should consider when learning how to price photography service. You can also save time explaining too much about your services because they can clearly see what you offer based on your package.
Conclusion
After knowing all the factors to consider on how to price photography services and your skillsets, you will still be confused if you're pricing too low or too high. Know that photography still requires continuous improvement. Always have confidence in your skills and services. Never doubt your ability, for it may affect your client's trust in you. Be open to changes and strive to learn more. Here's how to learn more about photography prices.
