So you made the leap and are in business! Yes! Starting a new portrait photography business is a big deal, you should be proud. But, as with many new adventures, there are also uncertainties. The biggest one I hear from new photographers is “How Much Should I Charge?” While there is no golden answer, there definitely are things you need to take into consideration. Keep reading to learn the top 5 things you should consider when pricing yourself.
1.Time
This is a big one that many new photographers miscalculate right away. Think about the time you spend on each session from start to finish. I mean, really add it all up (write it down even). Here’s an example of what it might look like and these are LOW numbers here.
- You need time to consult either by phone or email (sometimes several times)= 1 hour
- Scout for a location or call to arrange permits for a location=1-2 Hours
- Travel time= 1 hour
- Shooting time= 1-2+ hours
- Culling and editing= 4-8+ Hours
- Loading Proofs= 1 hour
- Meeting with clients to place orders ( if in person)= 1-3+ hours
- Processing,ordering, packaging prints=1 hour
Total= 20+ hours
Now, your process might be slightly more or less, but write down that number of hours. Then divide it by average session sale. Are you making at least minimum wage? I sure hope so. For this scenario, if you charge $100, that comes down to $5.50/hour. You’d make more flipping burgers.
But wait! That is just your time we’re taking into account here…what about your expenses? (Keep reading to #2)
2.Equipment Costs
But let’s not forget about all that equipment. While it seems like it would be a pretty low cost start up investment, there’s actually a lot more you might not have thought about.
After you buy that camera and lens (which can be quite expensive to start out with) there is more involved. Let me break down just some of the things you have to consider purchasing to keep your business up and running:
- New camera body (+camera upkeep and cleaning)
- New lenses (You might be able to get away with just one, but chances are, you’ll be buying 1, or 2 or 10 more at some point)
- Cleaning, calibrating and upkeep of your lenses
- Flash
- Reflector
- Camera Bag
- Extra batteries
- Compact Flash cards
- Hard Drives and External Storage
- Cloud Storage
- Fast Computer with enough memory to efficiently run Photoshop
- Photoshop CC (monthly fee)
- Insurance (monthly/yearly charge)
- Online Gallery Subscription for Digital Downloads
- Packaging (for Prints)
- Website
- Website Hosting (yearly charge)
There are probably more things that could be added to the list. But, do you get the picture? It’s not just a camera and lens, but so much more to invest in. And at any time any of these things may need to be upgraded, repaired or replaced. Make sure you’re saving for that time and considering all of that when pricing yourself.
To get a general idea of your equipment cost, add up all you spend in a year on general business related expenses. Divide that by the total number of session you have. That will give you you equipment cost per session. (Subtract that from what you figured out in #1)
3. Competition
Ok, this might be a sensitive subject for some. I get that you are not supposed to compare yourself to others and focus on you, BUT it is good business sense to know what your competitors are charging in your area and decide where you best fit in. This is different for different areas.
Think about it. If you’re going out for a fast food burger and fries you’re probably going to pay somewhere between $5-$10, depending on the area you live in.
It’s similar in pricing because the fast food joints research what their competitors are doing. Now if McDonald’s didn’t do this and deciding to start charging $500, well, they’ve priced themselves out of the game and you?d better bet you?re no longer going to see lines at their drive through.
Now, you don’t have to price yourself exactly the same as your competitors, but be aware.
4. What’s Included?
When your trying to figure out what you should charge, you have to then ask yourself, What are my clients getting?
Will you charge a session fee and allow clients to purchase separately?
Will you offer some digital images, all the digital images. Will you give a combination of prints and digitals? Offer prints only?
There is no right or wrong answer here, only what you are comfortable with and what you feel is the best model for your business.
5. Skill Level
Your skill level may factor in when determining a price point.
Have you ever been to a beauty salon and each stylist a different pricing? You can go with the student for a discount price and then all the way on up to the Expert Stylist for the priciest cut and color.
Just like these beauticians, your price might be dependent on your skill level. If you are fairly new to photography, you just might not feel comfortable charing super high prices yet, but in a year or two, once you’ve gained experience and confidence and can offer an even better experience for your clients, you should probably decide to go up more.
So there you have it. 5 things you should really consider when deciding what you should charge for your portrait photography business.
What do you do to determine the price you should charge? Let us know in a comment below!
thanks for your enlightening emails!!!