There was a bride here that went around asking photographers to reduce their price to several hundred because she was able to booked a high end venue. Of course, this would be a great opportunity for any photographer's portfolio.
misty23 wrote:
And you book enough jobs at your higher rates to live a comfortable life on, or is it just a part time endeavor for you ? I'm always interested in hearing from photographer who charge higher rates on what they make per year. Im not being sarcastic or anything, it's just that in my region, there's so much competition and everyone is always undercutting everyone else, if you don't "deal", you dont get the work. If you stick to your high prices, you starve.
Now if it's ONLY a part time gig, you can hold out for your price and if you only shoot one wedding every couple of months, it's no big deal because you have other income to get you by. I wish I had that deal going on in my life. ...Show more →
this have been discussed many times, but you cannot starve if you shoot high end weddings. At worst case you have too much time in your hands in which you can do whatever you want to do and people with so many skills required to be high end wedding photographers rarely have issue to sell their excessive time to get minimum moneys they need to live appropriately.
The only way to starve is to shoot cheap weddings. You end up with lot of work, not enough moneys and no time to do any way up. Undercutting is also no problem in art market. Because you can be undercut only if you are replaceable.
nguyencs wrote:
There was a bride here that went around asking photographers to reduce their price to several hundred because she was able to booked a high end venue.
I had one groom from the rich class use that on me: "Could you lower your price because the venue will look real nice in your portfolio?"
Rich Boy brought in a 20-piece tuxedoed orchestra for the reception!
I've been binging on episodes of Say Yes to the Dress for the last couple of days and it's amazing to me that these girls will walk in, say they have a $1500 budget for a dress and then when they discover that the dress they love is $5k... just figure out a way to come up with the money! Sometimes they'll say "oh well I'll just cut other parts of the wedding"... like what? The photography? haha... Hope you like the crappy pictures of your $5k dress! My favorite that I've personally seen is when they cut chairs and made the guests stand for the ceremony.
art market is relationship between customers who value/desire artistic photographs and art photographers who can provide such photographs. being it wedding or portraiture.
On this planet we have people paying 3 zeros for one awesome portrait and people saying that 200€ for 16h wedding is too much. It have nothing to do with value of wedding photography, it have to do with value of one's art.
misty23 wrote:
And you book enough jobs at your higher rates to live a comfortable life on, or is it just a part time endeavor for you ? I'm always interested in hearing from photographer who charge higher rates on what they make per year. Im not being sarcastic or anything, it's just that in my region, there's so much competition and everyone is always undercutting everyone else, if you don't "deal", you dont get the work. If you stick to your high prices, you starve.
Now if it's ONLY a part time gig, you can hold out for your price and if you only shoot one wedding every couple of months, it's no big deal because you have other income to get you by. I wish I had that deal going on in my life. ...Show more →
If people are booking based on your (low) rates alone, it's a losing proposition.
I saw your ad on _____. I am writing in regards to finding a photographer for my wedding on Ju__ __, 2013 at the Cathedral of St Cheapo the Lowballer from 9:30am to 2:30pm. A short brunch reception will follow after the ceremony about 2 blocks from the Cathedral.
Your photography is beautiful! Unfortunately my fiance and I cannot afford a lot and we were looking for a photographer willing to work with our budget and possibly a videographer as well, if you do could recommend anyone. My fiance and I have actually just been given a beautiful canon 60d camera. If possible we really just need a photographer to point and shoot, and zoom in and out to capture photos on our wedding day. We are so simple and just want someone to be there to capture the special moments. No editing or equipment required. What would you charge for such an occasion? My mother has never worked a camera in her life, and was able to snap a few photos for our unoffical engagement shoot. I've included a photo of our camera and a few photos from our engagement shoot.
Inku Yo wrote:
If people are booking based on your (low) rates alone, it's a losing proposition.
But if I'm bringing in enough income to live on and have the lifestyle that works for me, what's wrong with that ? Sure we all want to be the latest and greatest and get paid lots of money, but the truth is, we all can't be that. Someone has to work the middle to low end wedding market based on our skill set.
Kittyk wrote:
this have been discussed many times, but you cannot starve if you shoot high end weddings. At worst case you have too much time in your hands in which you can do whatever you want to do and people with so many skills required to be high end wedding photographers rarely have issue to sell their excessive time to get minimum moneys they need to live appropriately.
The only way to starve is to shoot cheap weddings. You end up with lot of work, not enough moneys and no time to do any way up. Undercutting is also no problem in art market. Because you can be undercut only if you are replaceable. ...Show more →
Not everyone can be a high end wedding shooter. What percentage of photographers would YOU say are high end wedding photographers ? What's wrong with servicing the mid to low end wedding client ? If one is bringing in enough money to live off of, what's wrong with that ?
Not everyone can be a high end wedding shooter. What percentage of photographers would YOU say are high end wedding photographers ? What's wrong with servicing the mid to low end wedding client ? If one is bringing in enough money to live off of, what's wrong with that ?
Not a damn thing.
You will find people on this forum encouraging you (sometimes in unnecessarily curt language) to develop your business over time and improve your profitability. It's good to aspire. But there's nothing wrong with serving budget brides an honest product.
misty23 wrote:
Not everyone can be a high end wedding shooter. What percentage of photographers would YOU say are high end wedding photographers ? What's wrong with servicing the mid to low end wedding client ? If one is bringing in enough money to live off of, what's wrong with that ?
Yeah, nothing wrong with that... it just seemed like you were frustrated in another post. Seemed like you wanted to be "high end" but couldn't get there due to the "undercutters."
Inku Yo wrote:
Yeah, nothing wrong with that... it just seemed like you were frustrated in another post. Seemed like you wanted to be "high end" but couldn't get there due to the "undercutters."
Oh no...lol....no way would I ever be high end....i dont have the skills or talent for that...im happy servicing the low to mid range bride......along with shooting family portraits, grads and some business and commercial, i can bring in enough revenue to get by on.....wish I could be high end....but im a realist and know where my ducks lie.
I guess it's a difference in personality but I just can't imagine being satisfied with not having the skills or talent to be better than I am. Am I a major player among the "best"? Hell no. But do I believe that I can get there if I apply myself? Hell yes! I'm capable of being better tomorrow than I am today... I think I would be doing my clients a disservice to just be content with mediocrity.
misty23 wrote:
Oh no...lol....no way would I ever be high end....i dont have the skills or talent for that...im happy servicing the low to mid range bride......along with shooting family portraits, grads and some business and commercial, i can bring in enough revenue to get by on.....wish I could be high end....but im a realist and know where my ducks lie.
I think it's great that you understand who you are and where your talents are, but that shouldn't prevent you from trying to achieve higher goals. When I started shooting weddings, I didn't say, "I can't wait to be a middle-of-the-road wedding photographer." I knew when I got into this, I wanted to be among the best of the best. I still have a long way to go, but if you reach for the stars, you'll land on the moon.
ckhagen wrote:
I've been binging on episodes of Say Yes to the Dress for the last couple of days and it's amazing to me that these girls will walk in, say they have a $1500 budget for a dress and then when they discover that the dress they love is $5k... just figure out a way to come up with the money!
Thank you! I've been pointing that out to photographers for some time when they moan about their inquiries being price shoppers.
The thing to note on Say Yes To The Dress is just how the store sales staff purposefully orchestrate the sale to achieve that outcome. The dresses don't really sell themselves.
Inku Yo wrote:
I think it's great that you understand who you are and where your talents are, but that shouldn't prevent you from trying to achieve higher goals. When I started shooting weddings, I didn't say, "I can't wait to be a middle-of-the-road wedding photographer." I knew when I got into this, I wanted to be among the best of the best. I still have a long way to go, but if you reach for the stars, you'll land on the moon.
I totally understand what you're saying. But i compare it to a sports figure. We train, we learn, we strive, but in the end, we can only attain a certain level of success due to our limitations. We can't all be Kobe Bryant. There are always the bench players. I'm a bench player. Of course I wanted to be a star, but after many years realized "that ain't happening". So I try to be the best that I can with what I have.
