DGMPhotography
Been spending a lot of time on here!
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2012
- Messages
- 3,160
- Reaction score
- 718
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
Hey guys,
So I've been doing photography for almost 6 years now. And I've been here on The Photo Forum for almost as long. About 1-2 years ago I began pushing the business side of things, and about 3 months ago I quit my full time job at the bank to pursue photography and acting.
The other night I went out shooting the Perseid meteor shower with a photographer acquaintance and her husband. They both gave me a lot of insight on how to really step up my business. For one, I've been way undercharging myself. And I've been doing that because I've been ignorant. I didn't think the Richmond market had people who could afford more than what I'd been charging. But a testimony from her told me otherwise. She does mostly weddings and is charging $2,500/wedding (which I know is about standard) and has about 20 booked this year. To date, I had been charging about $600 for a wedding. She looked at my work and told me I could be charging way more. She and I have been shooting for about the same amount of time, and our work is on a similar level of quality I think. (Hers: Kourtney Smithson – Wedding & Lifestyle Photography | Richmond, Va ; Mine: Daryll Morgan Photography | Richmond Photographer). I guess I had never really thought about it. I thought I wasn't good enough. And who knows, maybe I'm not, but at least now my eyes have been opened so I can try new things.
And charging more is also inspiring me to do my best with each shoot, and to add on things that make working with me not just a way to get a photos, but also a pleasurable experience. I plan to do things like sending a gift basket to the brides to be with stuff to help them prepare for the wedding, and to thank them for working with me. I plan to upgrade to a digital gallery system instead of Google Drive. I plan to go above and beyond what I've been doing to make sure the client is happy. Until now, it had just been a job to me. While the art form has always been the primary focus for me as a photographer, whenever I had a gig, I considered it just a source of income. But now I'm inspired as an entrepreneur and want to make the client's happiness a priority of mine as well.
I also learned from the pictures we took that night just HOW much of a difference good glass can make. I thought my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 was good, but comparing my shots, to hers (she had an L-series 16-35mm. 2.8/f) showed me what an amazing difference the quality of glass can make. I always knew it was important, but never tangibly realized how important. And charging more will allow me to invest in things like that (here's looking at you AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm F2.8G ED from Nikon)
This post doesn't really have much of a point. I just wanted to vent. But if anyone has any thoughts, comments, or advice, I'd be happy to hear it.
Thanks!
So I've been doing photography for almost 6 years now. And I've been here on The Photo Forum for almost as long. About 1-2 years ago I began pushing the business side of things, and about 3 months ago I quit my full time job at the bank to pursue photography and acting.
The other night I went out shooting the Perseid meteor shower with a photographer acquaintance and her husband. They both gave me a lot of insight on how to really step up my business. For one, I've been way undercharging myself. And I've been doing that because I've been ignorant. I didn't think the Richmond market had people who could afford more than what I'd been charging. But a testimony from her told me otherwise. She does mostly weddings and is charging $2,500/wedding (which I know is about standard) and has about 20 booked this year. To date, I had been charging about $600 for a wedding. She looked at my work and told me I could be charging way more. She and I have been shooting for about the same amount of time, and our work is on a similar level of quality I think. (Hers: Kourtney Smithson – Wedding & Lifestyle Photography | Richmond, Va ; Mine: Daryll Morgan Photography | Richmond Photographer). I guess I had never really thought about it. I thought I wasn't good enough. And who knows, maybe I'm not, but at least now my eyes have been opened so I can try new things.
And charging more is also inspiring me to do my best with each shoot, and to add on things that make working with me not just a way to get a photos, but also a pleasurable experience. I plan to do things like sending a gift basket to the brides to be with stuff to help them prepare for the wedding, and to thank them for working with me. I plan to upgrade to a digital gallery system instead of Google Drive. I plan to go above and beyond what I've been doing to make sure the client is happy. Until now, it had just been a job to me. While the art form has always been the primary focus for me as a photographer, whenever I had a gig, I considered it just a source of income. But now I'm inspired as an entrepreneur and want to make the client's happiness a priority of mine as well.
I also learned from the pictures we took that night just HOW much of a difference good glass can make. I thought my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 was good, but comparing my shots, to hers (she had an L-series 16-35mm. 2.8/f) showed me what an amazing difference the quality of glass can make. I always knew it was important, but never tangibly realized how important. And charging more will allow me to invest in things like that (here's looking at you AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm F2.8G ED from Nikon)
This post doesn't really have much of a point. I just wanted to vent. But if anyone has any thoughts, comments, or advice, I'd be happy to hear it.
Thanks!