10 Reasons Why Professional Photographers Charge What They Do!

[c.cloudwalker]

agreed.

There are people that can make a great deal of money in any field.

Yes, and that means you can do it in photography if you look at it the right way.

You can do it too. Granted, you need to have to have the basics down. Snapshot shooters are not going to make it.

 

[NateWagner]

yes, you can do it in photography. A point which neither I nor anybody else has disputed throughout this thread.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

yes, you can do it in photography. A point which neither I nor anybody else has disputed throughout this thread.

I'm not sure this is agreeing with me: "either way, if you are getting into photography to make big bucks, you might want to re-evaluate your decision."

And I find it funny that I am arguing about making big bucks when I couldn't care less. Yeah, really. I guess that is the insanity of today's world. A lot of us can live very nicely with less than we make. Yet we just want to make more.

 

[bennielou]

I always thought the price of photography is justify by the final products that they delivered. A photographer who charged 5 grand a wedding would deliver images that are worth 5 grand (at least in the eyes of the clients). However, there are hundred of reasons why people cannot such a service. Businesses survived because they figure out way to cut cost not justifying it so that article in my opinion, did not really help anyone. That say, how do you guys go about keeping your cost down?

You are right about that. For each delivered album for instance, I charge x3. The reason being, I have my cost, my design time, and just in case I need to redo it for any reason, I am covered and break even. If I don't have to redo the album (I have never had to), I make a nice little profit.

I charge a premium in the area that I am in. I didn't just make the number up, I reseached it. I looked to see what likewise skilled photogs charged, and went from there. I raised my pricing until the phone stopped ringing, and went back $200. My direct area has more than 500 photographers, so that was a lot of research. I've got a lot of "rockstars" in my area, and I'm no rockstar, so it took me a long time to figure it out.

I charge based on my time, which is based on real numbers other people like me are getting. Then I add in my services and expenditures, all of course marked up, because that is the way that business things need to be done.

No, not every bride can afford $5000. There are photogs out there for the $1000 bride. I'm just not one of them. I'm not being egotistical, but I just know what I'm worth because I researched it, and the phone still rings. That's really just how it works.

 

[bennielou]

yes, you can do it in photography. A point which neither I nor anybody else has disputed throughout this thread.

I'm not sure this is agreeing with me: "either way, if you are getting into photography to make big bucks, you might want to re-evaluate your decision."

And I find it funny that I am arguing about making big bucks when I couldn't care less. Yeah, really. I guess that is the insanity of today's world. A lot of us can live very nicely with less than we make. Yet we just want to make more.

Hey, I'll take all that I can reasonably make. Photography can be a blast, and a pain depending on the client, whether that be stock, or whatever.
I'm all about making money, but I don't let it control things. If I see red flags, I'm out.

 

[NateWagner]

yes, you can do it in photography. A point which neither I nor anybody else has disputed throughout this thread.

I'm not sure this is agreeing with me: "either way, if you are getting into photography to make big bucks, you might want to re-evaluate your decision."

What I think is humorous is this is something I didn't say. I believe that was Robertwsimpson. And beyond that, he didn't say you won't make big bucks, but rather that this isn't necessarily the field to get into if you are mostly concerned about making a ton of money. Is it possible? yes, absolutely. Is it likely? not particularly.

And besides that, most of the artists out there that end up being highly successful don't choose the profession because they could make a ton of money, but because they loved it.

 

[bennielou]

yes, you can do it in photography. A point which neither I nor anybody else has disputed throughout this thread.

I'm not sure this is agreeing with me: "either way, if you are getting into photography to make big bucks, you might want to re-evaluate your decision."

What I think is humorous is this is something I didn't say. I believe that was Robertwsimpson. And beyond that, he didn't say you won't make big bucks, but rather that this isn't necessarily the field to get into if you are mostly concerned about making a ton of money. Is it possible? yes, absolutely. Is it likely? not particularly.

And besides that, most of the artists out there that end up being highly successful don't choose the profession because they could make a ton of money, but because they loved it.

Nate,
I think it's a combo. I might want to be a dancer. I can dream, right? If I reallyreallyreally wanted that, I might do it just for the thrill of doing it.

If I wanted to make money, and only money, I would probably pick the thing I was best at that made me the most money. If that was the case, I wouldn't be in photography. I made more in big ticket sales.

So what I did, was picking a combo of what I really liked, and then made it worth a lot of money.

You can do both.

 

[mindundalk]

Here is an important point for portrait and wedding photographers to realize: Ninety-five percent of the time, the portrait and wedding photography purchasing decision is made by a woman. If you're a portrait or wedding photographer and you're not deliberately designing your marketing, product lines, sales techniques, packaging, and every other aspect of the "purchasing experience" (including your personal appearance) specifically for a female client, you're probably losing sales.

 

[mindundalk]

yes, you can do it in photography. A point which neither I nor anybody else has disputed throughout this thread.

I'm not sure this is agreeing with me: "either way, if you are getting into photography to make big bucks, you might want to re-evaluate your decision."

What I think is humorous is this is something I didn't say. I believe that was Robertwsimpson. And beyond that, he didn't say you won't make big bucks, but rather that this isn't necessarily the field to get into if you are mostly concerned about making a ton of money. Is it possible? yes, absolutely. Is it likely? not particularly.

And besides that, most of the artists out there that end up being highly successful don't choose the profession because they could make a ton of money, but because they loved it.

True