So, do I get to call myself a professional now?

[sashbar]

You tax inspector will decide whether you are a professional of not That is where this question addressed.

 

[vintagesnaps]

That's good information and advice from John (Tirediron).

I think the pricing seems low but the quality of work needs to come up to a competitive level to be able to charge more. Look up professional, established wedding photographers in your region of the country (not the people with cameras listing themselves on Facebook and craigslist) and see what their work looks like and how they're priced. Otherwise you'd be likely to keep attracting customers who want cheap (that they'll probably edit themselves).

There's lots to learn, try resources on http://asmp.org or PPA. Find our for your state what you need to do; my state doesn't require a license but many apparently do, but where I live it's required to report income at a certain level.

In the meantime, you'll probably need to look at other job options and then see if you can work on building up a photography business in a way that can be successful.

 

[PersistentNomad]

Whoa, I should have clarified. When something officially gets booked and I know I'm going to get money, then I will take care of that. So far, the hooper is a trade deal and there isn't a confirmed money on the table thing. I've worked with clients in numerous industries long enough to know that talk is cheap and nothing may come of anything. With that said, I have already done the research on what I need to do and am ready to hit the go button pretty much at any moment. Fortunately in CT the process is fairly quick for this industry and all it requires to start is actually having filed.

As for "prices too low" and "leaving money on the table" I think that's a personal business philosophy that perhaps will change later, or perhaps won't. I pretty much know I'm never going to be the photographer that's trying to actively sell printed images. And when I was planning a wedding I was super annoyed that there are still so many photographers out there that don't give clients' rights to any images under any circumstances. I'm really drawn to the idea of being an affordable shoot and share photographer and I think that is informed by my time working in NP galleries. But @vintagesnaps makes an excellent point because right now my available portfolio doesn't reflect an ability to charge more.

@tirediron It is lacking formals because my portfolio is comprised of images were I was the 2nd photographer wrangling family members during those times, not actually getting to take the shots.

 

[tirediron]

@tirediron It is lacking formals because my portfolio is comprised of images were I was the 2nd photographer wrangling family members during those times, not actually getting to take the shots.

Fair enough, but why not try and get those: Check out MM and see if you can get some TFP images, or check out Craig's List for couples needing (Not wanting, but needing) a budget wedding photographer.

I admire your intent to be 'the affordable photographer', and if you have the alternate income that will allow you to do that, great. Ignore pretty much everything I said, HOWEVER... if you do feel that at some point you might want to actually try and make a living out of this, than it's very, very hard to go from that to full-on retail. One suggestion I might offer is to bring your prices more in line with your area, but offer discounts on an individual basis.

 

[PersistentNomad]

Also, thanks to everyone for calling attention to the fact that I still had "flash drive" written. Shortly after building I decided to go exclusively with PASS, which a friend uses and is pretty amazing. It also is a way for clients to order prints (very affordably and which I apparently get a percentage of).
Speaking of which, when I say "pre-sized" what I really mean is pre-proportioned, since the vast majority of ready-made frames follow the same proportions. But clients don't know what "pre-proportioned" means. But they do know pre-sized, and I have seen the wrath of more than a few brides who were SUPER pissed when I told them it was going to be $250 to custom frame the beautiful non-standard size portrait that they got from their photographer because they can only buy from the photographer and the photographer doesn't give two hoots about the cost to frame after they've printed.

 

[KmH]

since the vast majority of ready-made frames follow the same proportions.

We wish!

 

[table1349]

I will leave you with this one though. Your business model, as presented on your web page is not a new idea nor is it one that have see as being profitable. $90 and hour for 10 hours of wedding plus all the time for properly post processing all the images taken I think you will find will not be cost effective unless you like giving your time away.

As for changing your prices or pricing model in mid stream later on. This in all likelihood will alienate the type of clients you were serving and the kind of clients who would possibly be interested in you new model will have doubts as you will already have been established.

 

[Designer]

.. it was going to be $250 to custom frame the beautiful non-standard size portrait ...

Yet another profit center going by the wayside. If I were going into the business, I would also be making and selling custom matting and framing along with prints. Standard proportions or custom, whatever the customer wants. But that's me.

 

[The_Traveler]

I can only speak from my own experience, never having done weddings, but I've done lots of 'events';
I usually charged little or nothing because I looked at it as a pro bono exercise to support the small organizations I did this for.

Last year I was asked to shoot a dinner for a non-profit at a local hotel pro bono for their use as ongoing PR and web stuff. After getting to the dinner and seeing the way they spent money on flowers, table favors, etc, I began to feel used.

How will you feel earning little, almost giving your effort away, when the wedding spends big bucks on food, liquor, etc.?

I think you would be better off displaying higher prices and giving 'special prices' for the first year until you understand how the business goes.

 

[Vtec44]

Last year I was asked to shoot a dinner for a non-profit at a local hotel pro bono for their use as ongoing PR and web stuff. After getting to the dinner and seeing the way they spent money on flowers, table favors, etc, I began to feel used.

How will you feel earning little, almost giving your effort away, when the wedding spends big bucks on food, liquor, etc.?

Yep. I will do free shoot for deserving couples on case by case basis but I have never announced it. People always tell me their wedding is low budget or their photography budget is low and all that good stuff but then you see open bar, 18 people wedding party, huge guest count, expensive flowers, multi tier cake, etc. The point is that if people feel it's important and see the value in something, they will find a way to pay for it. Obviously some people don't see the value in photography, but I'm not go to make sacrifices of my own so someone can pay for steak and lobster dinner for 250 guests, then have a nice honeymoon in Bora Bora.

To each their own I guess.

 

[SquarePeg]

Not a pro but I do live in New England and have seen first hand the cost of weddings around here. I have to agree that your prices are much too low - you could easily double these and still be "affordable" by most standards.

 

[robbins.photo]

The correct answer, in case anyone was wondering, is "none".

So you shoot the wedding, get paid, and don't give them any pictures. Say... you know that sounds like something I could do... lol.

But ya, point taken, probably a bad idea to obligate yourself to a set number of edited photos in writing.

 

[PersistentNomad]

How will you feel earning little, almost giving your effort away, when the wedding spends big bucks on food, liquor, etc.?

I just don't have an issue with that. 1- it's not my place to judge or question how couples prioritize the facets of their wedding and the money they spend on those things. 2- I know that in a lot of the other facet industries for weddings there is very little wiggle room for what they can spend. Food and drink is either expensive or astronomical, there is no affordable. Venues are the same way, unless you go for places that aren't primarily/typically function venues.

Also, @The_Traveler, you may be surprised at how much a non-profit didn't pay for that expensive dinner. I've been a part of numerous fundraisers where we had elaborate spreads and outlandish entertainment, all of which was provided by the vendor as a sponsorship of the event, for which they received commensurate recognition in all event promotions, and depending on the monetary value of the service a high end membership benefit, logo recognition on non-event promo materials, and often a ticket suite or entire table at the event for guests of their choosing. Not to mention a super sweet tax write off. If you're shooting no-cost for NP's, for sure hand them an invoice indicating the value of your donation of your service and ask for a tax-deduction receipt. They should not even question it because it's no skin off their nose, it's an in-kind donation. And get the recognition that goes along with the level of your donation/sponsor

EDIT: you have to be very specific that your donation isn't just for your time and services, because those are not tax-deductible. But photographers do provide a product: the images, whether it's prints or digital files, so you have to make sure that the invoice and deduction letter you receive indicate that your product is what was donated.

 

[PersistentNomad]

The correct answer, in case anyone was wondering, is "none".

So you shoot the wedding, get paid, and don't give them any pictures. Say... you know that sounds like something I could do... lol.

But ya, point taken, probably a bad idea to obligate yourself to a set number of edited photos in writing.

I think what Tirediron meant was you never give away a digital file, which is just not my style.

 

[Designer]

I can see we're not going to change your mind, and I'll stop right after this:

Your question was "can I now call myself a professional photographer?"

As someone wrote; (paraphrasing) "anyone can call themselves anything they want" , but the general consensus was that a "professional photographer" earns most, if not all, of his income from photography. If that continues to hold true for you, then by all means, you are a professional photographer.