Pricing Prints and Rates

[ACRPhotography]

This has been on my mind lately. Prints. I can't decide on a good price for prints or even go about it.

I had many ideas but I feel very overwhelmed and so many people are trying to give me ideas and I just can't decide. I know there's many fantastic photographers on this site, and I'd like some help.

How did you decide on your pricing?
Where do you print?
What sizes?
Special programs?
Packages?

Idea thats stuck:

I was going to offer the images on a CD. The first 50 images 20$ (or 10) and then every extra 100 goes for 10$ if I start out at 20?

Also session rates?

How much do you charge for this? Right now to get some exposure and time to work with my camera I don't charge anything for the session time (just prints) but these were some rules that I created. Thoughts?

**Please note: the total cost of your order will be the session fee + printing costs + any travel fees! **

**Half of the session fee is required a week prior to the shoot, the other half at the end of item delivery**

**If session is cancelled you will still be charged for the session unless you want to reschedule**

 

[manaheim]

20 images for $20? Yeesh.

When you're down that low, you're giving your stuff away. Can't imagine why you'd agonize over print prices when you're being THAT cheap.

 

[AUG19]

What are you photographing?

 

[AnthonyRyanPhoto]

The way I do it is I have a certain set of photos in a series that I sell, and then I have my "premium photos" where I up the price on my prints about 3X. I do not expect to sell many prints, but I do that so I can sell them the package, business students would term this as multi-tier pricing similar to vehicle upgrades, home builder upgrades etc. For instance, my regular 8X10 is 10$, but the premium one that has been worked on a little bit more is 30$

 

[KmH]

This has been on my mind lately. Prints. I can't decide on a good price for prints or even go about it.

I had many ideas but I feel very overwhelmed and so many people are trying to give me ideas and I just can't decide. I know there's many fantastic photographers on this site, and I'd like some help.

How did you decide on your pricing? My pricing is a function of my CODB - Cost Of Doing Business and COGS - Cost Of Goods Sold
Where do you print? I use 6 or 7 Pro labs, depending on the specific product I want. Most of my regular prints are done by Miller's Professional Imaging www.millerslab.com
What sizes? Nothing smaller than 5x7 with no upper limit on size. The largest print I have ever had made was 3' x 12'.
Special programs? No
Packages? No

Idea thats stuck:

I was going to offer the images on a CD. The first 50 images 20$ (or 10) and then every extra 100 goes for 10$ if I start out at 20? 50 for $20 is only $0.40 each. You cannot stay in business at that price, and if you don't value your work any higher than that your clients sure won't. My least expensive image (a 5x7 print) is $30 each.

Also session rates? How much is your time worth?

How much do you charge for this? Right now to get some exposure and time to work with my camera I don't charge anything for the session time (just prints) but these were some rules that I created. Thoughts?

**Please note: the total cost of your order will be the session fee + printing costs + any travel fees! **

**Half of the session fee is required a week prior to the shoot, the other half at the end of item delivery**

**If session is cancelled you will still be charged for the session unless you want to reschedule**

I recommend you get some business/marketing/sales training, ASAP.

 

[manaheim]

A "premium" print is $30?

Sheesh.

Again... way way too cheap, guys.

 

[AnthonyRyanPhoto]

Again, prints are not the basis of my business. Most people want a package and a cd of the images, and if I fail to offer that in my market, then I am going against the flow of business. My competitors do, so I do as well. One day I hope I can get away with charging more than 30$ for a print, but at the time being, I would price myself out of my market

 

[Overread]

I would price myself out of my market

That might not be as daft an idea as you think it is. Consider what you specific market is and who you are working toward. At the prices you are starting it sounds a lot like you are going for the near bottom market areas and that presents a lot of problems.Three key ones would be:

1) Thrifters - you'll meet a lot of them; and because you're cheap they'll keep trying to make you cheaper still. Complainging about the service, asking for more and more and even using the same line "Your competators do it so you do it to". These will be experienced thrifters and they'll make your life a lot harder for dealing with them.

2) Weekend Warriors - these people can afford to charge cheap rates on photography because its not their income, its their sideline hobby money. They don't have buiness overheads because they don't have a photographic business to have overheads and their main aim is just to pay for more toys (er gear ) and a little extra pocket money most of the time.

3) Market shifting - if you start low and build up a client base willing to pay your current low costs - when you do finally feel "confident enough" to increase your prices you'll lose that cheap client base. You'll have to start over, from scratch, again at building up a new client base willing to pay more for your services. This is because people that choose to pay $20 for a CD of prints are only able to pay $20 for the CD of prints.


In short I'd say you need to review your overall cost of doing business (somewhere around the net there is a handy calculator that I'm sure someone here can link you to that can at least give you a starting point for this) and then also review the product you want to produce along with the market you want to work for (and importantly the market that can afford the price of you making a profit and covering your working costs).

If at the end of all this you feel that you can't or are not in a position to deliver the product needed for the higher market clients then you need to rethink things again - maybe take a main job on and continue to work on your photography skills and portfolio until it and you are in a stronger postion. If you want to remain working in the photographic world consider working for another - working as part of a studio team/intership and other ideas (remembering to check the contracts for these as many can limit you - ie imposing a restriction on you leaving their company and then starting up your own business - eg not allowed to offer similar services within 100 miles of the studio for a 5 year period (total random example there)*).


At present you're offering too much for too little and unless you can make up the costs by charging more for your time (a method a few have shifted to since the digital age has cheapend the value of a print - at least in so far as the eyes of the uninformed masses of the general population) you'll quickly find the company unable to really get off the ground.


* actual legalities and enforcement thereof can be a very grey area and trained legal advice should be your main port of call (ie a lawyer not people on the net) to get reliable and accurate advice on this matter should you wish to look into it further.

 

[KmH]

Again, prints are not the basis of my business. Most people want a package and a cd of the images, and if I fail to offer that in my market, then I am going against the flow of business. My competitors do, so I do as well. One day I hope I can get away with charging more than 30$ for a print, but at the time being, I would price myself out of my market

When you did the research for your business plan, what did your market analysis indicate as the market segment you should tailor your marketing strategy to?

In other words, what competitive advantage do you have over your competitors? Because if you're doing exactly the same things they are, you're just one of the cows in the herd.

Do you know how much revenue you absolutely must have each month for your business to break even?

How far ahead do you plan your promotions?

Edit: some very quick research I did: According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city of Santa Clarita was $79,004, and the median income for a family was $91,450.

Santa Clarita is the home of the California Institue of the Arts. (The file director Tim Burton is a graduate)


The largest employers are:

• Six Flags Magic Mountain (3600+ employees)
• Princess Cruises (2100 employees)
• Henry Mayo Newall Memporial Hospital (1200 employees)
• Woodward HRT (850 employees)

 

[ACRPhotography]

20 images for $20? Yeesh.

When you're down that low, you're giving your stuff away. Can't imagine why you'd agonize over print prices when you're being THAT cheap.

Well it was the CD of images not prints themselves. What would you suggest a good way to price the CD as?

 

[ACRPhotography]

Thanks for taking the time to give me advice guys!! Sorry it took me ages to reply have had a ton going on. But I think I'm going to look into business courses ASAP deffinately.


Because I am just starting out and really learning my camera I havent been charging people for a session (i only have done one so far like serious session) and I"m just using friends to model for me right now.

I'm looking at the rate ideas I had originally and I realize I'm charging wayyyyy to little. T_T Business courses here I come...I hope haha

 

[Overread]

Because I am just starting out and really learning my camera I havent been charging people for a session (i only have done one so far like serious session) and I"m just using friends to model for me right now.

This kinda rings a big warning bell to me - a really big one one two fronts. First up if you are only just really getting to grips with the camera then I think that, whilst valid to research, your concerns over working pro are jumping the gun way in advance. Before you even think of really going pro on your own you need to have a good solid working of the camera. Otherwise you'll have to be a business wizard to market lowgrade goods to your clients (and therein comes the question of the quality of your product).

You might consider doing in internship or second shooting or even working for a separate company before striking out on your own. In the very least you don't want to be sitting clients down for shots when you youself lack the skills and also the confidence in your own skills to deliver the product.

 

[ACRPhotography]

Because I am just starting out and really learning my camera I havent been charging people for a session (i only have done one so far like serious session) and I"m just using friends to model for me right now.

This kinda rings a big warning bell to me - a really big one one two fronts. First up if you are only just really getting to grips with the camera then I think that, whilst valid to research, your concerns over working pro are jumping the gun way in advance. Before you even think of really going pro on your own you need to have a good solid working of the camera. Otherwise you'll have to be a business wizard to market lowgrade goods to your clients (and therein comes the question of the quality of your product).

You might consider doing in internship or second shooting or even working for a separate company before striking out on your own. In the very least you don't want to be sitting clients down for shots when you youself lack the skills and also the confidence in your own skills to deliver the product.

I'm not just learning my camera, I'm learning how to focus in to make good portrait shots. I'm not worried about working pro. I'm asking how to price my prints if someone asks me to print them for them. I never once said I wasnt confident in my work at all. I'm very confident. I'm using my friends to build a portfolio.I don't see how this is a wrong thing to do? I also don't think that charging people for prints is the wrong thing to do. I'm already giving my time up for free.

Maybe I'm not understanding what you're trying to get at...hm... well thanks

 

[KmH]

Because I am just starting out and really learning my camera I havent been charging people for a session (i only have done one so far like serious session) and I"m just using friends to model for me right now.

Here are some basic facts about the retail photography business, the type of photography business you have been describing.

Here in the US the average income for a retail photography business owner that does not have a studio, is about $32,000 a year. That income is based on having about $120,000 in total yearly revenue.

In other words, to have $120,00 a year in revenue you would have to have an average of $2,307.70 coming in each and every every week, if you work 52 weeks out of the year.

But it's nearly impossible to work all 52 weeks. A more realistic number is 46 to 48 weeks you can work (and we are assuming you have a studio or perfect outdoor weather all the time).

Next lets look at how many days a week you can actually shoot.

It turns out that the most important task you'll have as a business owner is keeping up with your marketing. Marketing will require at least 1/2 your work time. Then there are the other routine business tasks that have to be accomplished like record keeping.
It usually works out that you can only shoot 3 days a week. Most of your time goes to doing the daily routine business tasks, organizing your work product (the photos you make), editing, ordering products, packaging products for delivery, etc.

At this point if you shoot 3 days a week and shoot 48 weeks a year you will have 144 shooting days. If we breakdown that $120,000 of yearly revenue by shooting day we find we have to sell $833.33 worth of product for each of those 144 shooting days.

Lets expand this a bit more.

Lets assume you are able to do 4 - 1 hour sessions each shooting day. That might be tough to do if on-location shooting is your only option because you don't have a studio.
$833 divided by 4 = $208. In other words, your average sale to each and every client has to be no less than $208. Plus you will need to have -144 shooting days times 4 = 576 - clients during the year. Certainly some of those clients will be repeat customers, but the vast majority of the 576 will be new customers.

And that goes back to why marketing your business is so important. Marketing is how you get all those people to choose you as their photographer.