Price However You Want as a Photographer

Price However You Want as a Photographer // Confidence in Choosing Pricing that Works for You

If you’ve been around the photography industry for any length of time, you’ve probably realized that photographers have a lot of strong feelings about pricing structures, and which ones are good or bad or successful or not.

Many photographers actually look down on those who include digital files in their fee rather than selling collections and products, and say that ‘shoot and burn’ photographers can never be profitable.

Yet others view the photographers selling high-priced products rather than digital files as greedy, and even believe they’re doing something wrong by placing such a premium on a service that is now very accessible.

Like I said, there are a lot of strong feelings. And in my personal opinion, they’re all wrong. 😉

In my years in this industry, I tried several different pricing structures, until I finally found a favorite that works wonderfully for me. I’ve also worked with so many students who each have their own favorite pricing structure, which may or may not be the same as mine. And guess what? All of us are running profitable, healthy businesses while doing things very differently from each other.

Let me say that again: you can be a profitable, successful photographer who serves their clients wonderfully with any pricing structure that feels right to you and works in your local market.

You can be all-inclusive. Or you can sell products in person. Or you can offer collections of digital and tangible products. You can do absolutely whatever you want, seriously.

The only real rules are these:

• You must serve your clients well: honestly, ethically, and generously. Give them an experience above and beyond what you advertise, and value them greatly.
• You must enjoy what you do, and choose a structure that fits you well. Try out new ideas, and don’t be afraid to change what isn’t working.
• You must design your business to be profitable, so that you can stick around for the long haul. Make sure that you’ve worked out your business costs and that you understand how many hours you’re actually working, not how many you think you do when you’re feeling optimistic. You aren’t the only one who suffers when you’re undercharging and over-working: so do your kids, your significant other, your friends, and your clients. Don’t do it.

That’s it. Seriously.

Of course, choosing your prices and laying out the details of your structure can be challenging, and absolutely every market is different from the next. What works in one city may or may not work in another. But the most important thing to remember is that there isn’t a right way versus a wrong way to price yourself. One structure isn’t better than another. And if anyone tells you otherwise, honestly, they’re wrong.

My goal is to help all photographers drown out the unhelpful, judgmental voices and feel empowered to create the business they truly dream of. I hope today that you can feel more confident than ever that your business is your business. Make it what you want it to be! 🙂

Price However You Want as a Photographer // Confidence in Choosing Pricing that Works for You