prof_fate
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jcolman wrote:
So what I did was to book a couple of $500 weddings where the brides took a chance with me. I never once thought about shooting for free. Why? Because I'm too good at what I do to give it away.
I mentioned your situation. Comes under attitude. "I'm too good to give it away, but I'm not working for free". But you say you're good, just not good enough? You have much to learn it's true - charge the proper amount or don't charge at all. It's fine to be $100 under your comp or offer a bigger album - give the bride a reason to try the new guy. It's also to OK to improve and find out that your work is worth $4500 instead of $1500. It happens but not all that often.
Look at what a photog that is charging $3000 or $4500 is giving a client in style, product, etc. Can you do that too? If not you're not getting that price as brides do shop around and will compare what you have to offer to others in your price range.
But you need to give the bride a reason to choose you other than price. Someone else will always be cheaper. There are no winners in the war of who can do it for less. Ask the wedding photogs in Philly that last year got $500 to 600 for shoot and burns till that big studio went under. Now a shoot and burn, experienced photog can be had for $250 and there is a line of them to work for that. Add more photogs and that price will drop even more.
jcolman wrote:
As my wedding skills continue to improve, my rates will go up. By this time next year, my rates will probably be up around $1700 or more. Two years from now I'd like to be in the $3000 range and that will come with time and skill.
Ever had a new business open up around you? I don't mean a chain deal, but a mom and pop restaruant, pizza joint, coffee shop? What do they charge compared to the competition? Same price huh? They may run a few grand opening specials and pay their employees less cause they are new and learning. But they do not sell their products for less. Never.
Key here is they didn't open for business until they had a plan and knew what they were doing. They're not asking their clients to pay them for their education.
So the first question they need to answer is, are they going to compete with McDonalds or Chilis? Both sell burgers and fries but they are after different market segments, service is different, presentation/experience is different and pricing is different. They are not going to start out competing with mcdonals then next year, you know, when teh cook gets better, double prices add waitresses and compete with Chilis. Doesn't happen in resturants, retail, hair salons - any business.
WOM is the number 1 best way to grow your business. Shoot a lot of $1700 weddings and WOM will bring you clients - at $1700 per. Now double your prices and what happens? You have to start this WOM all over again! (that means brides, parents, guests, venues, other vendors - all of it)
Believe me, I totally understand the 'need' to start small or simple and grow. I understand the desire to gain experience. I understand the need to buy gear and that it costs money.
I also know a few other things you may not, but will if you survive long enough to find out. It takes about 3 years for WOM to get moving. It costs what it costs to run a business - in time, office space, software, supplies, accounting - any business be that making hoagies, cars or pictures.
You are starting from scratch and there are no policies, procedures, filing system, paperwork, etc. And as you get busier that will have to evolve. (This is the hardest part for me to deal with BTW)
But I know it's better off to spend a year learning for free and planning all the stuff you need - prices, packages, products, filing, workflows (editing and paper and marketing, etc) then step into the business where you want it to be. Trying to figure this out as you go takes a HUGE amount of time that should be better spent marketing and schmoozing customers.
Let me share what I know about this first hand.
I'm in year 4 starting from nothing. Literally. I shot 3 weddings for free and then opened shop. I started with a 0% credit card and at the rate of about $1000 a month I bought stuff. I paid about $1000 a month off too - so I'm sorta paying as I go.
What I got, what you'll get is Cheap Weddings ($1200 say). CHeap weddings have cheap venues, no limos, etc. You DO NOT get the kind of images that a $5000 bride will want to see. Not gonna happen. She's at the Marriott your at the VFW. This is the reality. You work with other cheap vendors ($400 florists, $500 DJs, etc. All are often weekend warriors. None are good for referrals).
Around here the average wedding costs $25,000 and photography is $1800-2400 (first time 20 year old bride and 30 year old or second time professionals are the low end/high end quoted here - it DOES make a difference on who's paying also. Mom will spend more than Jane and John)
Granted, I do more than just weddings, but for 08 I've got some 18 weddings on the books at just above $2100 per. I've got like crap for next year at this point.
Scenario 2 is Don. He got bumped from his job when his company merged and left town. He took about 16 months to get into teh wedding biz, taking his photo hobby and turning it into a business. He joined the local PPA group, got active and met the members. He took a couple of PPA weeklong classes. He offered to second shoot for free if he could use the images for his portfolio. He second shot under 6 different photographers over a 5 county area. From cheapie deals to where the photog got $10,000. PJ, traditional, film - he's seen it all at this point. He's been to (and has pics of) every major venue in the tri state area. He can talk the talk about all of them to a bridal prospect - "yeah, I'v been to The WCC, John is real nice there" - goes a LONG way to getting a booking, let me tell you!
He had a year to see how it's done - many ways of doing it. What gear works, works for him? What gear isn't worth the cost and hassle? What kind of lighting works for formals in a church? Outisde? What happens when it rains? Best way to use a limo for pictures, in teh day, the dark, etc?
So he worked for free for that year. Then he signed up for every bridal show he could and started his pricing at $2000, aiming for $3500 average. He's booking 30 a year at about $2700 per.
Lets do the math, shall we?
3 years in I had shot 30 weddings at $1600 each. $48,000, right? $16,00 a year avg.
Less than 3 years into it (including the year he spent working for free) Don has shot 28 weddings at $2700 per..That's $75,600. More than $25,000 a year, average.
Did he work for free for that year? No, not really. He showed patience, planned well and it's paying off very well for him.
I'd be better off to close up shop under my current name and relaunch under a new name at a new price point and start over! It'd be easier than trying to move upmarket.
It would seem to be common sense to do your homework before you try and open a business. Just because you own a camera and take a picture does not mean you are qualified to open a photography business any more than having a toaster and making toast means you can open a restaurant or that if you can wash clothes you can open a laundramat.
You would not invest in a strangers start up business if he told you "I want to open a pizza shop. I'm gonna charge 1/2 what anyone else charges until I can make really good pizzas, then I'm gonna double my prices! And then in another year raise them 50% more cause I'll be good and everyone will know it! Now lend me $50,000 so I can do it, OK?" Why not? Cause you know instinctively that the idea of selling for 1/2 price and doubling prices won't work. So why in the hell do you think it works in photography?
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