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Archive 2012 · My Prices define me.....

  
 
marti.g3
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · My Prices define me.....


I know this subject has been beaten to a pulp, but I think it's a very important one that strikes directly at the hearts of our businesses.

The mere fact of our prices defining our business.

Are the public's first impressions of our business based on how much we charge,
regardless of anything else ? Website, reputation, city we work out of, who we network and associate with ?

Is the PRICE, alone, our defining factor ?



Aug 21, 2012 at 12:39 PM
fabiocamandona
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · My Prices define me.....


i think price+pictures+recognition


Aug 21, 2012 at 12:45 PM
widjayaman
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · My Prices define me.....


Absolutely not. There are tons of photographers in every price range. Price should be the last thing that defines us.


Aug 21, 2012 at 12:46 PM
ricardovaste
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · My Prices define me.....


Broadly speaking, I'd say 'no'. But for some people price alone can be an important part of whether you're considered or not, but to say that it defines your business to everyone... I would have to disagree. I do not have the time to write everything, but I think one could make a valid argument (discussion) for any number of elements defining your business.


Aug 21, 2012 at 12:53 PM
imaginephotoaz
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · My Prices define me.....


Price doesn't define us as much as it helps a client define us.

If you are a person of a certain taste you see someone wearing a bespoke Savile Row suit, you are immediately impressed by that vs the guy in the $300 Men's Wearhouse Special that those of more meager means find to be a nice suit.

That being the case, if you are priced like a Brioni, have the look of a Brioni, and the work of a Brioni, you will likely have standing with those that can afford a Brioni.

If you are priced like Men's Wearhouse, have the look of Men's Wearhouse, and the work of Men's Wearhouse, you will likely have standing with those that can afford only Men's Wearhouse.

So it's not so much that you're defining yourself by your prices, but your clients are defining you by those prices IF you have the look and work to go with it.



My $.02



Aug 21, 2012 at 12:53 PM
marti.g3
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · My Prices define me.....


That's what I thought. Merely having higher pricing without having the goods to back it up is a fools endeavor.

So then why do members here, almost on a daily basis, tell other members " Oh just raise your prices and you'll have a better client " ?



Aug 21, 2012 at 12:57 PM
friscoron
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · My Prices define me.....



I think your attitude defines you.

It's pretty much true of all of us, but in different ways. I'm sure you'd say you don't bring your attitude into your meetings with clients, or into your shoots, or the way you present yourself on your website. Or here. But you do. You simply can't get away from it.

That's one reason -- not by any means the only reason -- that many of us are succeeding in this economy while others are struggling.



Aug 21, 2012 at 12:58 PM
ricardovaste
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · My Prices define me.....


marti.g3 wrote:
That's what I thought. Merely having higher pricing without having the goods to back it up is a fools endeavor.

So then why do members here, almost on a daily basis, tell other members " Oh just raise your prices and you'll have a better client " ?


I think it's implied, or stated (usually) to consider a higher market price and what that entails. I agree, simply saying "raise your prices" is misleading, but I'm not sure this is all that is implied. But you're right, perhaps this should be clearer... but perhaps people don't go into specifics because exactly how one improves other areas of the business in relation to the higher pricing can vary quite wildly for each individual?



Aug 21, 2012 at 01:09 PM
imaginephotoaz
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · My Prices define me.....


Yes, I tend to agree Ricardo. I can't tell someone else how to charge $4000 for a base eight-hour package, but I know how and why we do.


Aug 21, 2012 at 01:11 PM
othfilm
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · My Prices define me.....


marti.g3 wrote:
That's what I thought. Merely having higher pricing without having the goods to back it up is a fools endeavor.
True

So then why do members here, almost on a daily basis, tell other members " Oh just raise your prices and you'll have a better client " ?

The ones who are usually told that are the people that have the portfolio to be charging more, and yet aren't. And their issues are often a result of attracting clients those clients.

I think price defines your market; you'll occasionally get clients from outside that market, but most will come from how you've priced yourself. A budget bride is unlikely to grab the $5k photographer, and the $5k bride is likely skipping past the $1000 guys. So, I agree that it is a major part of what defines you to the potential client.



Aug 21, 2012 at 01:20 PM
Daboyle
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · My Prices define me.....


Price does not define us alone, but it helps define us. Referrals define me too, which are held by my past clients who know me by my great customer service, and quality of work. You recognize the name Kraft, Kellogs, McDonald's, Rolex, Ferarri, Apple, Kia, etc..... You can instantly, by their names, tell generally where they should be priced accordingly to their competitors.

With photography, it is a little different. The general public doesn't know much about names in the wedding photography business, except from referral clients/ vendors. Since they don't, price somewhat helps define what bracket we want to market ourselves in. Yes, I wish quality of work was the sole reason people hired and looked at me, but it isn't. People have to have a baseline, and thats why price is key in marketing. In fact strategic pricing IS marketing....and if you can't market yourself, you arent going to succeed to your fullest potential.



Aug 21, 2012 at 01:29 PM
TRReichman
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · My Prices define me.....


Price defines us amongst photographers more than it does to the market I think.

- trr



Aug 21, 2012 at 01:43 PM
qwyjibo
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · My Prices define me.....


^ I agree with this in regards to the fine demarcations between price points, but for the market it is the first and often biggest filter.


Aug 21, 2012 at 01:47 PM
whtrbt7
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · My Prices define me.....


Lol Marti, do you ever get tired of these threads? It's a good topic. I think the key word here is VALUE. What are people getting for their money? I think it's important to price to the market and not to whatever pricing is prevalent to the current competition. Price shouldn't be the only determining factor in photography. It's only a single facet of a pricing model. There are many things that define a photographer such as personality, the type of work you do, what your beliefs are, what kind of business you run, and how you intend to service clients. Just raising the price isn't enough to put you in a separate market segment, you really have to have a good plan to raise price and quality to match. You'll have artists like Inku Yo who can book a $10k wedding no problem and you'll have newbies that will book weddings for free or for like $200. There's also full-time and part-time photographers. There's definitely a much larger mix out there and what defines a professional photographer are not only the photos now.


Aug 21, 2012 at 01:57 PM
swoop
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · My Prices define me.....


Just ask for what you feel your time, experience and skill are worth. Be fair with yourself and your client. Charging $8,000 just to charge $8,000 is insane. If you can get it, then by all means. But basically you have to figure out why you're charging $XX amount than just throwing out a number into thin air.


Aug 21, 2012 at 02:27 PM
TRReichman
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · My Prices define me.....


Price is basically an indicator. If doesn't define a business, it just indicates a position, quality, audience, etc. Like any other aspect of the business, it doesn't define on its own, it works within the rest of the brand.

On a business note raising prices tends to solve most financial problems since increased margin makes most business problems go away. Raising prices does not simply bring in better clients, though it helps in concert with other adjustments. I've raised prices often, aggressively and regularly in my history and it helped but was never the magic bullet.

Pricing the same as everyone else really isn't a help though...

- trr



Aug 21, 2012 at 03:25 PM
SloPhoto
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · My Prices define me.....


IMO, price sorts photographers into different bins.

Brides go in with a certain price range (or bin) in mind. They sort through what they can find in that bin, and only if they do not find what they want will they spend too much effort looking in a higher or lower priced bin. I have seen more brides go up in price during the search than I have seen go down.

(not a wedding photographer, so take what I say with a grain of salt)



Aug 21, 2012 at 03:33 PM
TTLKurtis
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · My Prices define me.....


I took my pricing entirely off of my website, so I'd say no it does not define me.


Aug 21, 2012 at 04:18 PM
marti.g3
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · My Prices define me.....


friscoron wrote:
I think your attitude defines you.

It's pretty much true of all of us, but in different ways. I'm sure you'd say you don't bring your attitude into your meetings with clients, or into your shoots, or the way you present yourself on your website. Or here. But you do. You simply can't get away from it.

That's one reason -- not by any means the only reason -- that many of us are succeeding in this economy while others are struggling.


haha...good try, no cigar. But thanks for that. Your attitude defined you.


Edited on Aug 21, 2012 at 04:26 PM · View previous versions



Aug 21, 2012 at 04:18 PM
marti.g3
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · My Prices define me.....


whtrbt7 wrote:
Lol Marti, do you ever get tired of these threads? It's a good topic. I think the key word here is VALUE. What are people getting for their money? I think it's important to price to the market and not to whatever pricing is prevalent to the current competition. Price shouldn't be the only determining factor in photography. It's only a single facet of a pricing model. There are many things that define a photographer such as personality, the type of work you do, what your beliefs are, what kind of business you run, and how you intend to service
...Show more

I understand what you are saying. But when a bride sees a photographer who is charging in the 5K and up range, does she automatically think " wow, this guy must be good to charge that ".....or else why would he charge that.



Aug 21, 2012 at 04:22 PM
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