Pricing is hard. It seems easy enough to use the same prices as other studios, or what you think you should be charging based on comments from well-meaning friends. You’ll be in trouble before you know it. Pricing is personal; it’s critical to be true to your own values and self-worth.
Tune into the mind of your ideal client. In three words, how would you describe this client? Does she value quality over quantity? What does she want? What is she willing to spend for quality? Does she want personal service and a unique experience?
Everyone has financial priorities, so it’s important to consider those of your ideal client. With most of the things we buy, there are different price points. You can get a burger for a couple of dollars in a drive-through, or dine on a $20 burger at a restaurant — two completely different experiences. If you owned a burger shop, you could sell $2 burgers, but to stay open, you’ll have to sell a lot of burgers every day. Likely you won’t know your customers’ names, much less what each one likes on her burger, so you include packets of condiments with every order. You collect payment, hand over the order, and the customer drives away. Are these customers satisfied? Likely. They knew what they were buying and wanted a quick meal, and so what if the meal was just like everyone else’s. If you own a dine-in restaurant that sells expensive burgers, you’ll likely get to know your repeat clients by name, or at least where they like to be seated. You’re going to suggest items that will compliment the burger, and you’ll ensure not only that the meal is superior, but the whole dining experience as well. Sometimes you even surprise them with dessert on the house.
Burger selling is obviously different from photography, but the principle is the same. In a high-end photography business, you need to go that extra step to make the customer’s experience superior. You must be not only skilled, but confident. You must be open to special requests, and make accommodations (perhaps even an installment payment plan). Your goal is for your clients to walk away feeling confident that their money was well spent with you, that the products and services they received were superior to those available anywhere else. Most important, they value that feeling. The benefits of this for you are endless: Fewer clients, the opportunity to establish relationships with those behind your lens, the time to go the extra mile, and being paid what you’re worth.
Put yourself on the other side of the equation. What would make you spend money on a specific photographer, one whose prices are a little higher than the amount you projected? If you can think like the clients you want to have, you’ll find them.
