print pricing without ripping people off?

[hue-e]

k, so I'm about to go through my first job where I lay out pricing for prints. I'm kinda curious what people are charging for prints. 4x6, 5x7, 8x10.

I know some of you guys put packages together, but I almost prefer to offer per print pricing on this particular job. the people I'm working with like their options.

So yeah, do you do a % markup on your printing cost or is there a pretty good general price, for normal portrait prints? I don't want to charge them so much they basically say they'll just go to walgreens.

[Tom]

Charging a lot for prints isn't ripping them off.

Walgreens doesn't do professional-quality prints. Nor do they have years of experience making images, nor do they photoshop them.

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

Well, lst off, how much is it when professional photograhers rip the clients off?

Do you really know what it costs you to be in business?

Do you have a mind set of your just selling pieces of paper?

At my studio 4X6, 5X7's & 8X10's are price the same. And I do like A la Carte over Packages.

[mercphoto]

Originally Posted by hue-e

I don't want to charge them so much they basically say they'll just go to walgreens.

Which they could only do if they have the files.... in which case why do they buy prints from you?

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

Ya, Walgreens is who I want to build my reputation for me. ;-(

[arich]

Originally Posted by mercphoto

Which they could only do if they have the files.... in which case why do they buy prints from you?

Try comparing a straight OOC image printed at CVS to one that you have processed in PS and had printed by a legitimate printer, even a mass market one like Mpix, and you will immediately see the quality difference

[LanceHaynie]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

Charging a lot for prints isn't ripping them off.

I have to agree 100%! You have to have value in your product. You can't do a direct comparison to walmart or whoever. They are paying for your talent and expertise in photography; not the paper the final print lands on.

[hue-e]

this is why I asked.

everything you guys said makes perfect sense. I know I'll prefer to work with people that believe you get what you pay for. and I also know I value my time spent on projects and definitely want to be paid for my time.

my reference to walgreens/cvs is not because I'd go get prints done there, it's because I know for a fact it will come up while discussing the price for prints with my clients and I'd like a pretty good idea of how to answer the question when it comes up.

[BG Photo]

Quick comment, others have said it here before, you shouldn't really need to explain your prices to clients. You provide a service and a product, there is a price to obtain them. If the client thinks it's too much, they find someone else.

[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. ;-)

[mrsrice22]

In regards to CVS

When I did family pics for my sis-in-law last month she actually printed through CVS and they came out exactly as they show on my laptop, after edits/ps applied. I was actually pretty amazed, I did a quick print off at target/shutterfly once because I was short on time and needed them fast and they came out like sh..crap. The only thing that came out skewed through her CVS prints was the cropping. I had just ordered a bunch of prints from my print lab for the grandparents of our kids and they looked the same as the CVS prints, lol!

Just throwing that out there, not saying that people should print your images through CVS but if they chose to buy the digitals and go to some local crap printer they MIGHT get lucky.

I do a print package, 10 prints any size, any image for $100, after that it's a la carte. Or they can do ALC but there is a minimum order of the same amount as the 10 print pack.

[mrsrice22]

or you could jack up your fee and lower your print pricing :shrug: I know there are some photogs that do two different rates.

Digital rate = photogs time/talent and all (or some) images on a dvd
Print rate = photogs time/talent and a print pack

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

Well Kristina at $10 a print, your not making any money and you won't be in business long.

[S-Man]

Patrick, have a read on this thread: http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...sale-cost.html
It's great input from many different aspects.

[mrsrice22]

Originally Posted by Ernst-Ulrich Schafer

Well Kristina at $10 a print, your not making any money and you won't be in business long.

lol, nope and that's why 2011 will bring a new pricing structure!