People should hire me because the quality of my photography is better than my competitors, and because I'm fun to be around and make them laugh, which makes people comfortable and also makes for great photos. My branding needs work, both in terms of my visual identity as well as the cohesiveness of what I put out there. I've attempted to work with several graphic designers without much luck in terms of them getting me,
You being fun isn't a selling point you can explain in promotional materials. Seventy percent of all wedding photographers say this about themselves in promotional materials, so it is not a benefit that sets you apart. Moreover, "I'm FUN!" is a self-refuting claim. The more someone says he's a fun guy, the more that trait appears contrived or conspicuous, rather than subtly winsome.
To whatever extent you talk about being fun, you probably undermine the usefulness of that strength in an actual sales context.
By contrast, if "fun" is simply something you turn out to be when a bride finally gets in touch with you, it's a pleasant and attractive surprise.
Also on the subject, I suspect we tend to over-estimate the "benefit" to the client of our being fun. Most brides are not hiring clowns -- especially not in the price range you're aiming for.
I think one reason many brides see wedding photography as a commodity is that wedding photographers exhibit a profound failure of imagination when we talk about our own, individual value propositions. We all sound the same.
I tell them no worries, and best of luck in planning their wedding
this right here means you didn't find out what it could have taken to get their business. It is very possible you need to learn more about how to talk to people about their needs and what is important to them.
sherijohnson wrote:
this right here means you didn't find out what it could have taken to get their business. It is very possible you need to learn more about how to talk to people about their needs and what is important to them.
But what IF he IS just too expensive for them ? It's not a complicated equation. Although the potential client should know that up front before they even meet.
Ian Ivey wrote:
You being fun isn't a selling point you can explain in promotional materials. Seventy percent of all wedding photographers say this about themselves in promotional materials, so it is not a benefit that sets you apart. Moreover, "I'm FUN!" is a self-refuting claim. The more someone says he's a fun guy, the more that trait appears contrived or conspicuous, rather than subtly winsome.
To whatever extent you talk about being fun, you probably undermine the usefulness of that strength in an actual sales context.
By contrast, if "fun" is simply something you turn out to be when a bride finally gets in touch with you, it's a pleasant and attractive surprise.
Also on the subject, I suspect we tend to over-estimate the "benefit" to the client of our being fun. Most brides are not hiring clowns -- especially not in the price range you're aiming for.
I think one reason many brides see wedding photography as a commodity is that wedding photographers exhibit a profound failure of imagination when we talk about our own, individual value propositions. We all sound the same. ...Show more →
Nice to see you here. I've heard about you from Courtenay and Steve here in Nanaimo.
If friends of mine in Nanaimo can average 5 - 10k in total sales here, you can easily do that in Vic. You're work rocks, and from what I've heard, you're a rad dude. I think it's your sales approach. I can't really give you more than that though, I sort of in the same boat...
I tell them no worries, and best of luck in planning their wedding
Here is your problem. You write them off before you even have a chance to get them to see the value.
We average $4k for our weddings in PGH. Some higher some lower but 90% of our work is $4k with is mid-high to high in PGH.
When brides email or call us they say what they want and we quote them based on their wants. Example.
One bride wanted 2 photographers, all day coverage, engagement, album and 2 parent albums. We quoted her $6800. She said we were out of her budget. We said ok, what is your budget? She said $4800 was the most she could spend. I said to come in and let us show her some sample albums while we talked about what we can do for $4800.
She came in and we ended up booked her for $5200 and she almost got everything she wanted. We lowered the coverage and dropped the parent albums. She left happy and we were happy to book the bride.
Stop writing them off. Ask them their budget and see if you can work with it.
One more example. I had a bride say she only had $2000 but really wanted me to shoot her wedding. What can I do for her. Really? $2k I thought... Then I looked at my bookings and I had my goal met and no one else was going to book this date so I said ok $2k or nothing. I said for $2k I can 4 hours of coverage and a small press book (pressbooks cost me $35) She said ok. I met her at the church and did a quick mock getting ready, ceremony was 20 minutes and then we spent 1.5 hours on formals and fun photos. She did the cake, firstdance and parent dances all before dinner. I did the toasts and then was out. I made $2k for 4 hours of my time that I would have spent doing nothing that Sunday and she got the photos she wanted. I in turn booked 6 weddings along from this bride.
Did I lower my prices for her? Nope! I just cut stuff out until I was in a price range she could afford and she got less from me. Now I wouldnt do this 20 times a year but once or twice I might. 20 weddings like this and I wouldnt be in business.
Someone in this very forum once said that if your client thinks you are 'too expensive' it just means they aren't seeing the value proposition in you (or you didn't do a good enough job to convey that).
Can't remember who but it is something I ask myself each time I fail to book due to cost reasons.
Price is by far the most powerful tool to shape demand and also the most often ignored .. by the time some wedding photographers finally wake up to this fact it's often too late. Chase the "value" rabbit if you like, but the real reason is often far simpler and resides in a brides budget.
If potential clients tell you you're too expensive .... well, this ain't rocket science. You're too expensive
So while you're pondering the best way of creating value other photographers are booking brides and making money.
If potential clients tell you you're too expensive .... well, this ain't rocket science. You're too expensive
This oversimplification is one of the top three reasons [wedding] photographers fail.
If potential clients tell you you're too expensive, then you might be too expensive for those clients. Your options include:
1) lowering your prices
2) finding ways to prove your value to those clients
3) targeting other clients.
In most instances, if clients tell you you're too expensive, I believe the problem isn't with your price, but with the prospective clients you're reaching (and failing to reach).
Ghost wrote:
Someone in this very forum once said that if your client thinks you are 'too expensive' it just means they aren't seeing the value proposition in you (or you didn't do a good enough job to convey that).
Can't remember who but it is something I ask myself each time I fail to book due to cost reasons.
Although true and a great point. Some clients just can't afford good photography. Where I live, PGH, most people make $30k-50K and a lot of people make under $30k. So when they have their weddings they are anywhere between $10k and $20k for the average PGH wedding. So I can see why a PGH bride might not be able to afford a $5k or $10k photographer. Like I said before. We average well over $4k a wedding. But do the occasional $2-3k wedding. The $2-3k weddings do not get anything near the amount of stuff the $4k, 5k, 6k, 7k weddings do. But the client values good photography but just can not afford it. So she gets at least great portraits and ceremony shots and some uncle bob does the rest. I am ok with doing a few of these a year since they require half or less of the amount of work and I get to make someones day by offering my services at a price they can afford.
But I do see your point. Most people that say we are too expensive do not value photography and are better off with a friend or craigslist photographer. Those people I would never customize a deal to shoot their wedding since my images wont matter to them anyways. Its the few people that truly can not afford us and value photography that get the taste of our work
Not everyone can afford 5K or higher wedding photography. They still value their photography and want excellent work. But just because that can't afford higher pricing doesn't mean they don't VALUE the photography. It just means they don't have the income to afford higher pricing, and won't go into debt to do so.
This entire "labeling" of clients due to what they pay for their photography is wrong. Just because they can't afford it doesn't mean they value it any less than some other person who has a higher income or parents who are footing the bill or ?
I have to agree with @marti.g3, I don't think people not spending the money is always an issue of not valuing something. I value many things that I can't afford. For example, I currently shoot with one 5D3 and one 5D2. Since I got the 5D3 I HATE the 5D2 but our budget for the year does not allow me to get a second one yet. We're being smart with the resources we have, doesn't mean I don't value it.
@Ian Ivey
You sure know how to make a guy feel dumb. In retrospect, yes, an awful answer. Go easy on me, I have no business training and started this job when I was 20, I haven't had to have an answer to that question previously. I think I have a better one now.
@spink Thanks! Great to see another islander on here. What vic show are you speaking of? The top 50 conference?
@sherijohnson You may very well be right
@inku I live in Victoria, not Vancouver. It's a 2 hour $70 ferry ride + 1.5 hours driving each way. I currently get a half dozen weddings in Van each year.
@Doug I appreciate your input. I'm thinking better SEO and vendor relationships is definitely something I really need to work on. Up to this point I have been so busy that I've had the luxury of not really having to put any energy into that. Bad habits... Haha and I definitely know plenty of Canadians with crappy jobs. Not everyone has the desire to go work on the oil rigs, Patrick is in the position of being unattached and has the freedom to do so, plus I don't want to work an oil rig, I wanna take pictures.
@TheGE The difference between persistence and pushiness is a very fine line. Something is certainly amiss, although it's entirely possible people just don't check my little pricing outline before emailing me, or they email expecting a discount for a myriad of reasons ( they are a friend of a friend, their wedding isn't on a saturday, their wedding is in February, they just really like my work and can't afford me etc... )
It's worth noting that I've spoken to numerous other local photogs who have made the same observation, the Victoria market is cheap. This isn't a town with a lot of young businesspeople in high paying jobs by the time they get married ( compared to somewhere like Calgary which is nothing but that ) this is a government town with a lot of retirees and old money and younger people are struggling to afford mortgages. We're pretty much the Florida of Canada, people come here from across the country to retire or just to get away from the cold.
I obviously need some help with my image/branding but simply don't know where to go for it.
What does my site/brand convey? Do I appear cheap or unspecialized?
@Ian Ivey You sure know how to make a guy feel dumb. In retrospect, yes, an awful answer. Go easy on me,
, dang, mate, that was not my intention at all. I seriously do NOT think this is intuitive.
Quite the opposite, in fact. Otherwise, why would SO MANY PEOPLE be saying THE SAME STUFF? I actually think understanding and articulating your own value proposition as a photographer may be the single most challenging problem we face. Until you conquer this problem, I think you're doomed to keep hearing "you're too expensive." Once you wrestle this alligator into submission, you'll see pricing in a whole new light.
I sent you a PM, but Todd Reichman's photography business workshop sorted this very issue out for me and a number of other folks on this forum, and I think you'd benefit from it tremendously.
your splash page does not convey the same feel as when I clicked on "the greatest", I would have had a better first impression if I landed on "the greatest" first and do away with that splash page... OR make major changes to it, the other thing is each of those links from the splash page are not cohesive, they all look majorly different, they should all have the same look and appearance, the links on your smugmug are messed up, you need to fix that.
I don't think anyone should ever feel dumb for not having a great handle on marketing and branding. The impulse to create and the discipline to package/market/sell that creation are two very different things.
sherijohnson wrote:
your splash page does not convey the same feel as when I clicked on "the greatest", I would have had a better first impression if I landed on "the greatest" first and do away with that splash page... OR make major changes to it, the other thing is each of those links from the splash page are not cohesive, they all look majorly different, they should all have the same look and appearance, the links on your smugmug are messed up, you need to fix that.
Thanks for the feedback. I agree, a web designer would be a good investment for me.
@Todd One of your workshops may be in my future, any plans of going to Seattle?
sherijohnson wrote:
your splash page does not convey the same feel as when I clicked on "the greatest", I would have had a better first impression if I landed on "the greatest" first and do away with that splash page... OR make major changes to it
I agree with this. I understand why you have that splash page (launch into flash, filter some to the blog, etc), but the impact of going there is I get a vision that isn't as clean and sophisticated as your flash page. I'd do away with the "Everything" link, as what you have on both of the other sections should be more than enough to convince any bride to contact you. You dont want them going through every photo ever before contacting you; especially not when your booking rate after a consult is 90%. You can link clients to that page via email, etc.
If they enter through the flash page, they can find the blog through the navigation there (with corrected links), and that is the more standard approach. All your current approach is doing is asking them to click more things, and it's potentially burying the nicest part of your web presence (since they probably click "the Latest" and go to the blog first). If I were you, I'd want them entering on that image of the bridge being lifted in the air, not a few headshots
I understand why you have that splash page (launch into flash, filter some to the blog, etc), but the impact of going there is I get a vision that isn't as clean and sophisticated as your flash page. I'd do away with the "Everything" link, as what you have on both of the other sections should be more than enough to convince any bride to contact you.
+1
Your blog has a very sophisticated look. Flash page is good, too.
One note: the "BLOG" link from the flash web page takes me to your OLD blog -- you wanna fix that link.
? 
, dang, mate, that was not my intention at all. I seriously do NOT think this is intuitive. 