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Several years ago, I took a course about how to start up in wedding photography...and many of the lessons apply to all sorts of photography.
The number one lesson was that experience should not play a factor in your price. I'll say that again... experience should not play a factor in your price.
If you are good, then you should be charging as much as you can (read up on the law of diminishing returns).
As for how much you should charge...that depends on your business model. How much do you need to charge to cover you expenses and earn a profit? Can you support your family, earn a living, pay your bills, cover your equipment, advertise, pay taxes, insurance and put food on the table with what you charge?
As for the photographer who E-mailed you...he has a point that you are probably undercutting his price and probably running your business at a loss (once you figure in the things mentioned above)...and yes, that does hurt the industry as a whole.
On the other hand, good photographers should constantly be striving to improve and should find a market segment that is willing to pay for how good they are. Most 'successful' photographers aren't threatened by $40/hr photographers because they want (market to) people who are willing to may much more.
^^I agree with most of this...BUT...saying the OP is probably undercutting the expensive photographer is like saying Kia is undercutting Mercedes. Their target audiences shouldn't overlap at all. But I love you mentioning experience not playing a factor. experience does not necessarily equal quality, It just means you've been doing it longer, not better.
No.. the target audiences should not overlap.. at all! BUT.. when A sees a "Pro Photographer" charging B this much... A is going to wonder WHY this other "Pro Photographer" is charging them so much more. Some people really don't the difference between a bad photo and a good one. This can impact a pro... when he is charging more than others... even if he is worth it.
again, it goes back to buyer beware, and more importantly, clients doing their research, just like buying anything else. if you buy a Kia, but EXPECT a Mercedes, and you go crying about it...what kind of sympathy are really going to get? I don't hear anyone complaining about how Kia or Saturn need to raise their prices because Mercedes and BMW are losing business.