Makes for another portrait post.
It's cold today. Welcome to winter, these were all shot in the last month, most of them in the last week.
I read a blog posting by a successful photographer who said if you don't charge at least $300 a session your customers won't value you and are bargain hunters. I disagree, now supply and demand says there is only one of me and I need to value my time and if I have to increase my prices so I have more time and don't burn out, I will do so.
Trying my hand at newborn photography...
I have also been told I "shouldn't be that busy" or "shooting that many weddings" because I'm not charging enough. If I were charging enough I should not be busy. But, for me, working in an untrained art and making more than minimum wage for a one hour session of shooting with another two hours of editing is not bad at all. Now, factoring in my gear - I should definitely charge more. Yet, when I go to a new restaurant, I don't expect to be charged $75 for two eggs because the chef is using a $3,000 stove and went to culinary school.
I went to a photography workshop at Quartz Mountain, five years ago to the day. I was told the "photography industry" was "dead" by pros. Apparently business was good back in the film days. But, I don't believe it is dead now. I believe it is alive and well and is flourishing with amateurs with their purchased at Walmart entry level cameras and their "kit" lenses and their free Facebook Photography pages. I think there is a market for that, because someone with no knowledge will value their slightly artistic, heavily filtered compositions.
So my question is, am I valued if I charge $75 a session? Do these photographs matter if I'm not charging more than I would be willing to pay for them? I valued my photography enough to invest the time to learn the skills. I value it enough to invest in equipment. I value it because it improves my life. Does it matter how much anyone else values it?
I guess I'm insulted by the attitude of many "professionals" out there. I'm also insulted that there are people out there who would NEVER hire me because I'm not charging enought to be valued by them.
So, I do value my photography a great deal. I may not charge $300 a session, because I remember being the person who couldn't afford to have my portraits done and only having $20 and a baby, thankfully back in those days we had portrait studios with specials. I often only got the "one pose" and couldn't afford a $20 sheet of photos. This is why I love digital photography, we have so much more.
It's a huge compliment to have someone choose you to be their photographer, even if they are driven by cost. Because believe me there will be someone out there willing to take their photos for free.
This fall I've shot more than one wedding for under $200. That's not crazy, that's learning, that's business. The harder I've worked the more business I have, taking risks and making deals has ultimately led to more business. That's capitalism. Yes, I over deliver, I give more than 150 edits for a wedding. I try to be quick with service and get customer's discs out fast, because that is what I would expect as a client. It's risk taking, it's building a client base, it's gaining experience with portraits. My portraits are improving because I'm gaining the experience I need. My knowledge is changing so I can change the way I do business in the future. I am still constrained by my geography, I can never market myself as a sleek, pricey urban photographer because I live in a fairly poor rural community.
But, when you beg for experience you don't get it. That overnight success comes with years of hard work and learning.
Work is hard, even photography. If you value the experience you will work hard and grow, if not you will price yourself out of the industry, and be angry and bitter that you don't have business because someone undercutitng your prices is getting it. So let your fear, and envy go an learn.
Oh yeah, your lenses matter, your knowledge of how your camera settings work matter, you can't buy some other photographer's actions or filters and become a successful photographer! Learn to work, learn to edit, there is not a gimmick or workshop in the world that can make you someone else! It comes down to work, knowledge and a knowledge of your equipment. So now that my rant is over ---- I need to work on editing another portrait session so I can catch up and enjoy my winter.
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