Are my prices too low?

[LostintheLensPhotography]

lol

[karakelian]

If you look at the photo policy page (this one for the Gaylord National but I would think it would be for all brands) it explains what they mean.

The confusion comes where you can take personal photographs of your stay at the Gaylord but from what I gather you can't have someone come take your photos while staying there. IDK, seems like a lot to me! Good Luck!

[LostintheLensPhotography]

Thanks Kristy! I'll check it out! My client had called them abt. a month ago to make sure we could shoot there, and they told her it was fine as long as I did not bring anything other than my camera. Then I called to confirm today and the lady told me it was a $1500 fee to shoot there. Then my client called again (I think she was mad at them lol) and talked to the manager who told her we could shoot there without being charged as long as I didn't bring anything other than my camera again! lol So, Idk, seems a little ridiculous to me, but I guess I will just see what happens when we get there tom! Thanks for all the help!

[MomTog]

I was out there today on a lunch meeting and saw a couple of photographers, one with equipment and the other wasn't so "obvious". Neither had been approached about fees and neither had bothered to ask, lol. Yes, I asked =) Personally, I'd be very embarrassed to be "driven out" with my client in tow but neither seemed worried. Hey, to each their own ;)

Did you make it out there, LostintheLens?

[LostintheLensPhotography]

Well that's comforting to know! lol My shoot is in the morning! So I will let you know if I get booted out or not! :)

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

Kara, I made it back. It's the One Liner Professional.

Alot of the things said here to Mandy were quite honestly to help her out not to push her down!!!!

What is wrong with advising someone to slow things down and really get some craft behind you before putting out your shingle and start charging folks? For me $125 and here's a CD for sub standard work is quite expensive in my view. But you know what, that's my view and my opinion. One of the things any photographer needs besides producing good work, a very good business sense, is also some thick skin, listen to the folks that know alittle more than you do, take it in, digest it and then poop out the rest and forget it.

If I were to go grab a bite to eat later today and the food was terrible, does that mean I'm now required to pay because the cook and waitress took care of me? The food sucked!!!! Don't know to many folks that would pay, do you? Now I do realize photos of your family is an emotional item, but if the photography is bad, the photography is bad. And if Mom wants to pay for it, well thats kinda of nice, isn't it? But it's still crap work? Nothing has changed. Not only are you hurting yourself as a photographer but your also hurting the client.

As to the newbies not hurting this industry, when I opened up my studio 8 years ago there we're maybe 8 established professional photographers in my area, now there's an extra 50 on the corner wanting my business, how is that not hurting me? This is the way the industry is right now, hopefully things will shake out soon. As most of those folks don't last very long.

Thank goodness Mandy read inbetween the lines of my one liners and actually took me up on the help I gave her.

Best regards, Ernst

[MomTog]

Originally Posted by LostintheLensPhotography

Well that's comforting to know! lol My shoot is in the morning! So I will let you know if I get booted out or not! :)

So... how did it go and was it free?

[LostintheLensPhotography]

Melissa, It actually went pretty well! The lighting was not very fun to work with, but we made it work, and didn't get kicked out! :) Granted I couldn't bring anything. The parking was $12 but to actually do the shoot, they didn't charge a thing. The only negative was that alot of the christmas stuff didn't open until 10, and my session was at 9.

[snydersnapshots]

Mandy,

Just a couple of thoughts here:

Earlier in the thread lighting was mentioned. An EXCELLENT source of information about lighting can be found at www.strobist.blogspot.com--or just google Strobist. Look down the right column and you'll find several selection boxes. Start with the "Lighting 101 Archive" and work your way through that, then go to "Lighting 102 Archive." You'll learn an incredible amount about lighting and the price is right (free).

There are a LOT of excellent photographers on here, but one who stands out in my mind is Texxter. He does great work and often includes diagrams on his lighting setups. His threads and posts often include tips and comments that are very educational. Look through Texxter's posts--you'll learn a lot.


I know you've been unloaded on here by others, and I don't mean to add to it, but my second point is a critique which may help you to be taken more seriously here. While it's OK to be less formal in a forum such as this, I would suggest limiting your use of the exclamation point and the "haha" phrase. When you're asking business advice from professionals, I think using a more formal tone--much like you would in correspondence with clients--would help you come across more professionally and therefore to be taken more seriously. Just my two cents worth.

So, now you've been hammered on your photography, your business model and pricing, and now your grammar; I'd say this thread has about covered it all. I'll finish by saying hang in there, work hard, take the good advice, dump the bad, but most of all: Have Fun!

[toverman]

There are a lot of roads to becoming a professional photographer, but the road narrows when headed to success as a professional photographer. Like most things worth doing, the quick fix usually isn't the norm, but there are photography "rock stars" who started taking pictures in diapers and now charge thousands just to tell you how they did it.

I learned photography the hard way (one college class followed by on-deadline darkroom work at a daily newspaper) and practiced it on and off as a journalist for 15 years before it occurred to me as a pursuit on its own. I'm not there yet on the business side, which is just as important as the photography (got that pretty well covered). Short story long, don't rush into anything. Work a full-time job that pays the bills and ease into photography. It's a lot of work to get it right!

[LostintheLensPhotography]

Ken, Thanks for the input. I will definitely check out that site, and the threads you mentioned. I am excited to learn more about lighting! While I know I may come across a little informal, I am just a really bubbly person, and I appreciate all of the advice everyone has given me. I know I have a lot to learn, but the one consistent thing my clients have told me is that they loved the experience they had with me, and that I was a lot of fun to work with. So I guess everyone just has their own personality, and I am just a very positive person.

Todd, thank you for sharing your story on how you got started! I always find it very interesting to know how everyone started out.