print pricing without ripping people off?

[kayumangi]

Actually a client's financial status doesnt necessarily dictate what he will order as far as prints are concerned. We have to remember photography is an emotional thing not a commodity. If you can hit the right feelings the sky is the limit.

[hue-e]

Originally Posted by Ernst-Ulrich Schafer

Patrick, If the question comes up and someone is raking me because of my pricing I take a blank piece of paper, rip it up so you have four sizes, put it in front of the customer and then ask them what those blank sheets of paper are worth to them? Then ask them how much is it worth with little susie's portrait on them. ;-)

excellent... reading this, I imagine some dark room with a couple of thugs in the corners, and a single light on a small table, with the pieces of paper and someone just off in the shadows asking, "what's it worth to ya?"

[hue-e]

Originally Posted by Ernst-Ulrich Schafer

Patrick, At what price is a photographer ripping his customers off?

I don't know... I'm not used to working with regular every day people when it comes to selling prints. I'm simply looking at a print that costs under $2, and the idea of selling it for over $50.

I know the cost of my time spend on commercial graphic design projects. But most of the clients I've had or the companies I've worked for have substantially larger budgets than a family getting portraits done. I work on an hourly rate and if I was simply selling the print for the cost of time spend on it, I'd have to say that most of my prints would probably go for more like $75 each... but really, if I was hiring, $50 would probably have to be my limit.

I don't mind asking for more, I started this thread to find out if there have been customers that have basically told you they're getting ripped off because they might know a cheap place to get prints done themselves.

[Tom]

I don't care if customers know of a cheap place to get prints done themselves. I've put in a decade of learning the craft and have invested thousands in my photography education and equipment. They cannot get someone with my vision for cheaper.

A print is a lot more than ink on paper.

[kayumangi]

It all boils down to your confidence if you think you can't sell jack then you really can't sell jack.


Like I said, the financial situation of a client doesn't necessarily dictate what he will buy or not. I've had a nurse aide order $400 worth of prints because they never had any real decent pics in ages. The images were not stunning but to them it was freaking awesome.

[hue-e]

makes sense to me... thanks for all the advise guys.

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

I would venture to say that the average price of an 8X10 by a professional photographer nation wide is at the $30 range. PPA states that it should be more in the $41 area for the average studio, after taking into account all of your costs.

My price today is at $60 This is printed at a prolab, luster sprayed, textured and mounted on a beveled board. I live in small town America and most of my customers don't bat an eye at this price.

Some of my peers are at the $75 to $125 for that 8X10.

A mentor of mine and someone I've studied with is at $299 for that 8X10.
Bill is a Master Photographer and a Master at marketing his studio. He's been at it for well over 60 years. And that's his cheap priced 8X10. He has a number of finishes that he offers and the price just keeps getting higher.

So my point is that in my opinion nobody as a professional photographer is ripping their customers off. We all find what price point allows us to make a profit and for some enjoy a better life style. I'm still trying to find that better life style price. ;-)

Best to ya, Ernst

[reader0428]

4x6 - $25
5x7 - $35
8x10 - $45
Session Fee - $100 (going up in 2011)
All with a texture option (they pick the texture they want) and printed at a pro lab. Anything larger than 8x10 is also mounted on Styrene. I'm also thinking of moving to the one-price-for-all-gift prints model in 2011.

I've been told by TWO CLIENTS recently that I need to raise my prices. Hmmm...

My first package is 15 gift prints of any size for $425. Had a client last week say, "That's a great deal!" and they snapped it up. Hmmm...

In my opinion, at this point in time my sales and client service skills are better than my photography skills. (not that I'm a crappy photographer, but I'm new and learning.) Can't wait to see what happens when the photography skills catch up! ;)

[hue-e]

that's actually pretty damn close to the pricing structure I was going to go with... the prints I mean. no packages, all a la carte. with a slightly elevated session fee, one for studio, another for location :)

I've worked with to many penny pinchers with much of my graphic design work and decided, that with photography, that I'm just going to put a price on my services that weeds out the potential micro managers worried about getting their money's worth.

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

There you go Patrick, those sort of thoughts will serve you well.

[hue-e]

hey, I'm learning :P

I'm mainly not trying to make the same bad business mistakes I've made with graphic design.

[jeffreypkane]

Here's an interesting and topical web site. No right or wrong, just a lot of good ideas.

The Price of Prints: Part 1: Pricing Practices & Motivating Buyers - A Picture's Worth | PhotoShelter

[jjmcge]

There is a story I heard once sitting around a table with some other artists and photographers... It involved pricing. As the story went, a woman walked up to Picasso in a restaurant in some island paradise somewhere. She was a woman of audacity so she held out a napkin and asked Picasso if he would quickly do something for her on the napkin. He obliged. Handing the napkin back to her he told her the price would be $4000.00. Story goes he told her she wasn't buying a napkin with a drawing on it... she was buying an original Picasso that was a "one off" never to be reproduced in any way. She wrote him a check.

Always remember you are charging for your skill, your eye, your composition sense, your equipment and MOST of all your skill. At Walmart you are paying for a tech pushing a button on a machine. In your studio or at the Lab you work with you are paying for a trained skill that cost money to obtain. Never undersell yourself. Those interested in your art... and eventually there will be many. Remember that by charging essentially give away rates, you are, in my opinion undermining all of us who put bread on our kids table with our art. Not trying to be aggressive, but it's the truth.