One of the most stressful topics for photographers is…

PRICING

Seriously, it messes with our heads.

How much should I charge? 

Am I priced too low?

Will everyone think I’m cheap? 

Am I priced too high? 

Is my pricing why I’m not booking?

It makes us all feel like this…

Then, add the chorus of holier-than-thou voices of photographers in online forums saying things like…

“You need to value yourself!”

“Your clients need to respect you!”

“Charge what you’re worth!”

“All you new photographers are killing the industry with your low prices!”

That kills us.

We can’t remember the last time Tiffany’s told Target they needed to charge more for their jewelry because they were devaluing the industry.

You’re never going to see someone from Starbucks walk into Dunkin’ Donuts and tell them how they should price themselves.

But for some reason in our photography industry, that actually happens, doesn’t it?

Here’s the truth…

Whether you’re a new photographer or a seasoned veteran, when it comes to pricing, you have one main job:

Charge what you need to charge to accomplish your goal.

Your goals will be different –– and that’s okay!

They should be.

If you’re someone who is just starting out, your goal is likely to shoot a lot of sessions and get a lot of reps under your belt.

If you’re someone who is experienced and you’re booking sessions all the time and feeling overwhelmed by all the work on your plate, your goal is likely to shoot less and make more per session.

These two people should not have the same prices.

The internet is an amazing way to connect, learn and be inspired by people all over the globe.

But it has also become a way for a sea of voices who have different experiences, values, business models and locations to get in their (unsolicited) two cents.

Take it all with a grain of salt!

We’ve noticed a trend where some photographers in forums and on social media bully other photographers about their prices, usually making blanket statements like…

“YOU NEED TO CHARGE WHAT YOU’RE WORTH! STOP DEVALUING THE INDUSTRY!”

If you see a human talking to another human like that, remember there’s likely something else going on in their lives, and don’t take it personally.

I’m sure we don’t have to tell you this… but America is a BIG place and every person, city and state are… to put it mildly… very different.

We all have our own unique set of circumstances –– and we all have totally different costs of living.

Go on Zillow and look up a three bedroom house around 1,400 square feet in Tulsa, Oklahoma (where Jordan was born!)

And then find a similar property in Simi Valley, California (where Amy was born!)

Think about what this means for these two photographers.

The photographer in California probably needs to charge A LOT more than the same photographer in Oklahoma, because their living expenses are way higher.

But, also, on average, Californians’ salaries are higher than Oklahomans because their cost of living is higher, so they can afford (and maybe don’t notice) the higher prices because everything is more expensive for them, from their gas to their cheeseburgers at In-n-Out.

And location is only ONE factor!

A photographer just starting out should NOT be charging what an experienced, in-demand photographer is charging. 

So… when you’re pricing your work, don’t fall into the trap of comparing yourself to photographers in dramatically different markets or believing you need to listen to everyone’s opinion on the internet.

Instead, just be aware of YOUR goals, YOUR experience and photographers in YOUR local market (and not everywhere else!)

Factor in:

– Your experience level
– The quality of your photos
– The client experience you provide
– Your demand (how many people are inquiring and booking)
– Your time restraints
– Your life responsibilities
– Your location

At the end of the day, we’d encourage you to consider the source of the advice you’re hearing/reading, and then ask yourself if that aligns with what you know to be true about yourself and your situation.

We’ll never forget being at a photography conference, hearing a veteran big city photographer tell a small town photographerliving in a rural area (who was at the top of her market there, making a good living for her location with a very happy and loyal client base) that she needed to “value herself more” and raise her prices significantly (to what luxury photographers in New York City were charging).

We listened, internally disagreed completely, waited until the conversation was over, and then quietly pulled the small town photographer aside and asked her… “If you raised your wedding prices from $2,500 to $5,000 or $10,000 what would happen?”

She got teary and said she’d probably lose all of her clients, because at $2,500 she was already at the highest end of her small town market and most people in her area were stretching to afford her as it was.

We told her to leave her prices right where she was because… they were WORKING for her.

She was hitting her goals!

It’s easy to get bullied into thinking you’re doing something wrong simply because it’s different.

But different doesn’t mean wrong.

What the big city photographer didn’t understand is we all have to be careful when we give advice, because it can affect real people’s real lives.

If this rural photographer would’ve DOUBLED her prices, she could’ve lost her business –– and she was a single mom providing for her kids solely on her photography income.

All that to say, we hope this can be an encouragement that you don’t have to listen to everyone’s opinion on the internet.

Just because voices are loud doesn’t mean they’re right. 

We have SO much more that we could say about pricing, but we can hear the Academy Awards music beckoning us offstage, so we’ll stop there for today!