Scott Bourne does not pull punches.
GREAT article by my favorite Uncle, Scott Bourne. Why is it NOT okay to undercut the photography market. A must read.And You Call Yourself a Professional?
"When you undercut the market so severely you accomplish several things... A. You cheat the client... B. You are selling yourself short... C. You're dragging down an entire industry..."
read the full article at Photofocus.com
Brilliant. photofocus is a great resource, it's always cool to hear scott's point of view on things. That (pricing) is something I know I'm not doing right, but hopefully getting closer as I go on. ...hm, maybe closer isn't the right word? Better? Regardless, it was something I never thought about initially, and I'm trying to be diligent about it now.
What great insight Scott has. I definitely get frustrated when I am contacted by "friends" who want to start a photography business. I give them advice, they don't take it, then I see them undercutting their market. This will be an article I will link them to every time.
I have to disagree with Scott just a little. For my own sanity, I'm glad there are $500 wedding photographers. I will gladly let those photographers deal with the couples who insist on $500 wedding photography or major discounts. :)
That's funny. I guess they have to go somewhere don't they.
Don't you love it when people say "give me your best price". As if I didn't just do that very thing. It's like when someone says to you, "I will be honest with you...", were they not being honest the whole conversation before this?
Phenomenal article. Well said. It's hard to differentiate yourself when the client doesn't have an idea of what good photography is. They think it's all "photoshop" skills, and there's no difference between Uncle Larry's Canon Point and Shoot and my Nikon d700.
I also agree with Kim S though, because she makes a valid point that $500 photographers attract the $500 clients. I remember listening to Mike Colon say, the hardest thing he ever had to do as a photographer was raise his rate from $10K a wedding to $20k a wedding. I doubt he shoots in many VFW halls or dank churches. The "bottom-feeders" can shoot those weddings, I don't want to waste my time or creative energy. I'll discount my services if, and only if I truly think my client "gets" who I am as a creative, and they just can't fit my rate into their budget.
Sometimes...the hardest thing is saying no.
Thanks for the article Jeff, I'm sending this to a bunch of people. :)