Too expensive?!?!
Tweet

**iwalani** · 02-13-2008 07:46 PM

So i received a phone call this morning from a lady that was referred by a friend of mine/her neice. She stated that she wanted to get pics done of her daughter who will be 1 on Monday. She asked if I had a studio or if I am willing to go to her house & shoot, asked how long it would be & for samples of my work. I sent her an email giving her my song & dance & just got an email back stating that I was charging twice as much as the other photographer she looked at.

I admit that I just upped my price a bit (to $75), because my other pricing was as an "introductory" price ($50). Am I really that expensive or is she just cheap?? I think i'm just bummed because this is my first rejection.

CN: Got a phone call for 1 year old daughters photos, sent her an email with my info, she said i was too expensive. am i?

Tanya

**Markitos** · 02-13-2008 07:49 PM

She's just cheap.

**DotGrl03** · 02-13-2008 07:50 PM

She's cheap. If she found someone else that will go to her house and take pictures for $37.... she's not going to get much. Don't be hard on yourself!

**tardypizza** · 02-13-2008 07:54 PM

Yep, cheap. Let her get crappy shots from the $37 photographer and then come crawling back to you.

**iwalani** · 02-13-2008 07:56 PM

ok that makes me feel better. i wrote her an email back saying "thanks anyway" & when i hit "send"....i had this feeling of "i hope one day you see more of my work & kick yourself when you realize that you should've gotten her pictures done when i was cheaper" LOL

**freq** · 02-13-2008 07:58 PM

a wise graphic designer gave me this advice when pricing services:

1. slap your customer in the face.
2. tell them your price.

If they look more hurt, surprised or taken aback by the slap in the face, you are not charging enough.

**tardypizza** · 02-13-2008 07:59 PM

Don't kick yourself, I bet you're better off not dealing with her. Imagine how inflated her expectations are going to be for the other guy, I bet she's an absolute pain.

In fact, I bet she hasn't even talked to another photographer and that was a pathetic attempt to get you to drop your price. Half of $75? Yeah right.

**iwalani** · 02-13-2008 08:05 PM

if you don't mind me asking you all...how much do you typically charge for stuff like this??? i'm just about 4 months in to my business & am getting "good enough" business to keep me busy & make some side money. i feel that since i don't have my business lisence YET, i don't have the right to charge more....what do you think?

**subimatt** · 02-13-2008 08:07 PM

^ pricing should be based on what your market area pays, your skill level, and what you provide. For something like that I would charge $75-$100 w/ CD of images.

**freq** · 02-13-2008 08:32 PM

A good question when they ask for your price is "well what were you looking to spend"? If they say "less than $150" how would you feel if you had blurted out your price right up front? I'd feel like... damn, i could have done an awesome job for them for $150.

Maybe i'm not the greatest salesman in the world, but i do it every day, and i sell complicated stuff that doesn't really have a set price. All the training i've been through at evil-salesman school pretty much requires holding onto your price until you have some good information about what they really want, and you have them emotionally involved in the process.

Don't be bashful about the money question. if they get defensive at you not giving them a price immediately, let them know sincerely that you're only trying to help, and can't really put a price on it until you understand what they want.

Ask open ended questions about what they are looking for. Get them emotionally involved with what you're offering. They're picturing exactly what they want in their heads. Help them paint the picture if they don't quite have the picture.

If when you get to the budget question they're way below what you think you can do anything for, You kind of sigh, and say, "boy, i wish i could help you, but i don't think i can do all that for $35. They've already laid out what they want, and might actually see their cheapness after you've spent time with them, plunk down the $ and forget all about the $ after you deliver them some awesome memorable prints.

So anyway, maybe some of that applies, maybe some of it doesn't. just a .02 from sales ninja school.

-Brandon

**Stime187** · 02-13-2008 08:40 PM

Tanya, I moved this over to "Making Money", try to keep all business/money making threads there in the future.

**iwalani** · 02-14-2008 02:03 AM

awesome thanks

Brandon, thanks for your reply...now that i think of it, i should have just asked her up front what her budget was, that way i would've known whether i was the "right" person for her or not. Thanks so much for the info...

**Sephro** · 02-14-2008 08:32 AM

Chances are she saw an ad for Sears doing portraits for cheap. But they just don't realize you get what you pay for...

**thomps6s** · 02-14-2008 01:59 PM

You are not too expensive.

Look at this photographer, who is a local in my area.
http://www.nicolemariegallery.com/
Click on Pricing.
Be sure to turn your sound down, it is flash and has some annoying crib music.
She is a great photographer and is not afraid to charge. Her reputation has really grown quickly around here and surrounding areas.

**jacobsen1** · 02-14-2008 02:58 PM

wow, thanks for the link!

**thomps6s** · 02-14-2008 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

wow, thanks for the link!

No Problem.

**iwalani** · 02-14-2008 03:20 PM

yes, thank you for that link. i totally thought she was going to be crazy expensive, because her work is GREAT!

**nate.the.great** · 02-15-2008 04:50 PM

lol! i had someone ask me how much i would charge to be their second photographer. i said $20/hr (shooting + driving). hahaha. maybe i don't charge enough?

**subimatt** · 02-15-2008 04:54 PM

^ depends on what your shooting, skill, work involved.

**nate.the.great** · 02-15-2008 05:02 PM

i'm a noobie, i told them they'd get at least 20 pp photos per hour hired, and they'd get all the digital negatives. it's a wedding. i've got weddings in here somewhere... http://www.flickr.com/photos/nateho

i also said i don't want to work and drive more than 5 hours. lol. it should be fun.

for my friend's wedding i probably took 400+ photos and pped 300 or so of them. it was a good learning experience.

**subimatt** · 02-15-2008 05:11 PM

weddings are a special case, are you seconding the photographer, or are you getting paid to also take photos? If its the second of the two, make sure its ok with the primary photog before. Many photographers do not like other shooters. Plus never promise specific #s of photos. It puts more pressure on you and and can be grounds for lawsuit. granted 20 is a low # but still. I will shoot roughly 1500 images myself at a wedding and PP everything I give to clients. Take PP time into account for payment as it usually equates to a full weeks of worth.

**nate.the.great** · 02-15-2008 05:16 PM

matt, thanks for the insight. i will be an additional photographer, and told them i am not willing to be primary. i'll ask them to check with the primary photog to make sure it's ok. yes, i set the number of photos very low on purpose. they'll probably get far more, but i wanted to give them some sort of guarantee. i'll keep that in mind if i do more paid work in the future.

LinkBack

Thread Tools

Display

Too expensive?!?!
Tweet

Posting Permissions