I got my first DSLR camera about 3 years ago...a Nikon D50. And in the last year or so, I've gotten really in to photography & thought that I'd like to pursue my own business. I figured that I'd try it out & if it didn't work out...at least I can say that I tried.

So I gathered with a co-worker of mine who was maintaining the company website & had him design my very basic website & worked on some pricing to see if I could get anyone to "bite."

I officially became "Nymar Imagery" on October 1, 2007 & thought that if I could do "well" by the end of 2007, I would get my business license by the end of February 2008 & turn my company in to an LLC (per my husbands wishes). To date, I've made a pretty good amount with my photo shoots & with the other things that I offer & have decided to proceed with getting my license.

My question is...as a feeler, I decided to offer my "services" at low prices, in hopes that it'll help me get my name out there (you can click on my link below to check it out)....do you think that my pricing harmed me more than did me any good? Does it scream "she's not good enough that's why she's so cheap?"

Thanks for reading my long story...lol
Tanya

IMHO if you're getting business then no, but honestly I'd bet your time is worth more than you're charging. Once you have a sufficient portfolio and enough demand you can start to charge more.

and what sort of advertising have you been doing?

I put up my site to sell my work in June and haven't sold didly or squat.

Does it scream "she's not good enough that's why she's so cheap?"

I don't think it screams that, but people expect to pay well for good photography and low prices sometimes equate to low quality.

Only you know how much your time is worth, but I agree with Ben, I think you're on the lowside too. Do a search in your area for what other photographers are charging for similar work and then take into consideration how much time a 1 hour photo shoot really takes - travel time, post processing, print ordering, equipment wear & tear, and all the years it took to learn your skill.

I think the better way to draw in business, rather than low prices, is good word of mouth. Hand out business cards to everyone you know, have them on you when you go out shooting with your camera, do everything you can to spread the word that you're talented and looking for work.

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

and what sort of advertising have you been doing?

I think the better way to draw in business, rather than low prices, is good word of mouth. Hand out business cards to everyone you know, have them on you when you go out shooting with your camera, do everything you can to spread the word that you're talented and looking for work.

I've been passing out my business cards to everyone I know & a little more than just one so that they can pass them out to the people they know as well. I also made some postcard fliers advertising my new business & gave them out to anyone that would take them...although I was over ambitious & will never order that many again. lol

What works in my favor is that my network is quite huge. (i sound cocky...crap!) But I don't mean it in an arrogant way. I belong to a hula group of more than 50 dancers...ranging in age from 5 yrs old to 65 yrs old. So if you take the 50 & add their spouses, their children, their inlaws or grandchildren...the network is huge right in that one place!

Majority of my business has come from them alone & they are SO extremely supportive of me...its great! However, I'm afraid that if my pricing goes TOO high, that I will lose them & their interest.

Thanks for the replies!!

Originally Posted by iwalani

Majority of my business has come from them alone & they are SO extremely supportive of me...its great! However, I'm afraid that if my pricing goes TOO high, that I will lose them & their interest.

Thanks for the replies!!

Well then change the prices on your site to better reflect what you should be charging to the public, and then extend your close acquaintences a discounted, more friendly price for your services.

Can I ask why? Is it just too much? Or giving them the freedom of doing whatever they want with my photos?

I know this isn't quite the same thing, but I jacked my prices up to what I consider a reasonable level a while back and have since a lot more sales.

For example, I used to sell a 12x18 print for $45 and sold an occasional one, but recently I started charging $95 and people seem happy to pay it. I feel like says that I wouldn't have gotten at my old price point are actually going through at the higher one, it's like people think they're getting something special now versus something amateurish.

I hope that makes some sense.

Originally Posted by iwalani

Can I ask why? Is it just too much? Or giving them the freedom of doing whatever they want with my photos?

Exactly. You lose all control over your work when you give people your originals. If they want prints make them come directly to you, otherwise they can print off whatever they want whenever they want from the CD. Even worse, they might mess with the color balance or re-crop, putting a low quality representation of your work out there for all to see.

It makes complete sense to me! I find it strange that people think that the higher price means better service or product...when in some instances it does, but not ALWAYS!

Originally Posted by tardypizza

Exactly. You lose all control over your work when you give people your originals. If they want prints make them come directly to you, otherwise they can print off whatever they want whenever they want from the CD. Even worse, they might mess with the color balance or re-crop, putting a low quality representation of your work out there for all to see.

I see. What do you suggest for something like wedding photography? I see that a lot of people give out a CD/DVD of their images & such.

UGH, this is so tough...I'd like to offer CD's to people, but I also don't want them to mess with my photos...what to do!?!?!

If they do, it's likely low res images (eg 800x533) so printing options are limited. And I would imagine that in wedding situations the cd is a digital proof for the bride/groom to pick what prints they want, but I could be wrong.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to offer a CD, but take steps to protect your hard work whether that means watermarking every image or keeping the resolution down.

If someone wants high res images there is a way to charge for it. A price for a print is easier to determine because you're dealing with something concrete. A digital image though should be sold with 'rights', like if you provide a cd of low res images then charge for 'electronic usage rights' so your customers can email your photos or make slideshows.

If you sell full-res originals then you need to be charging for 'unlimited usage rights', which should bring a premium. The understanding should be that the customer can do whatever they like with the images as long as they don't substantially alter the work (eg cropping for a website is ok, but changing to BW is not).

In all instances, make sure your receipt clearly states that you retain copyrights for all your images and you are only selling rights to your images. And if you haven't already, you should probably look into 'model releases' so you can legally use the likenesses of your subjects for commercial means without fear of lawsuit.

For what it's worth, this is a copy of the legaleeze that goes out with my photos for clients. This is an example for selling 'electronic usage rights'

• Notice of Copyright: It is illegal to copy or reproduce these photographs elsewhere without the Photographer’s permission, and violators of this Federal Law will be subject to its civil and criminal penalties. The Photographer shall retain all copyrights in, of, and to the Image. Clients may purchase the unrestricted rights to images at a rate dependent on the intended use of the Work. The Client shall identify the Photographer as the creator of the Image and maintain the copyright notice for the Photographer which may or may not include the word “Copyright” or the symbol for copyright, the Photographer’s name, and the year date of first creation in all products. Reproduction either by electronic copy or print is expressly forbidden.
• Grant of Rights: Photographer grants to the Client the following electronic rights to the Work: For electronic display purposes only without permission for digital copying by users of the product or publication, for the time period of up to 1 year from the date of this invoice. All rights not expressly granted hereunder are reserved to the Photographer, including but not limited to all rights in preliminary materials and all non-electronic rights.
• Additional Usage: If Client wishes to make any additional uses of the Work, Client agrees to seek permission from the Photographer and make such payments as are agreed to between the parties at that time.
• Alteration: Client shall not make or permit any alterations, whether by adding or removing material from the Work, without the permission of the Photographer. Alterations shall be deemed to include the addition of any illustrations, photographs, sound, text, or computerized effects, (resizing for web use is permitted).
• Indemnification: The client shall hold the photographer harmless from and against any loss, expense, or damage occasioned by any claim, demand, suit, or recovery against the photographer arising out of the use of any image.

YOU are great! Thank you for this copy. I'm sitting here racking my brain trying to figure out how'd I'd word this properly to cover me. Do you have a sample of something for 'unlimited usage rights'??

Originally Posted by iwalani

YOU are great! Thank you for this copy. I'm sitting here racking my brain trying to figure out how'd I'd word this properly to cover me. Do you have a sample of something for 'unlimited usage rights'??

I have yet to sell anything for unlimited rights, but I'll edit that one up sometime this weekend for you.

Also, check this out: http://www.fotoquote.com/

It's a well respected program to help professionals price their work.

awesome! thanks BUNCHES!!

Rule #1, do not undercut yourself. charge what you feel your worth. Ive had people tell me I charge to little and people completely low ball me. I have my set pricing for this year, after the year is over I have already decided to raise my rates. It depends on the client, if they feel your worth more, then great! If they feel you charge too much for your skill, then maybe your photography style isnt what they are looking for and they will mesh better with another photographer. Pick and choose your battles, happy clients will bring you more business in the long run than being the cheapest one on the market. I have turned down several weddings this year from being lowballed on pricing. Ill work with the clients to an extent, but I know how much I am worth and at some point the amount of work involved is not worth the profit.

I think that's my biggest issue...I'm not exactly sure how much I'm worth. My hubby tells me that I need to take in to consideration the time it takes away from being home with him & my daughter...the time it takes to get to & from the location, etc. And I know he's right, I just don't know what a good price is. I think that I'm just a natural people pleaser & so I'm always looking out for others rather than myself. Thanks again for all of your great input!