Comments on: How To Price Portrait Photography? Words of Advice from Jodie Otte http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-otte/ Daily photography tips, photoshop tutorials, contests, free photoshop actions & products. Take your photography to the next level. Visit the MCP Blog today! Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:34:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Megan http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-otte/#comment-24691 Megan Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:13:36 +0000 http://mcpactions.com/blog/?p=4941#comment-24691 Remember this also. If you are a photographer out there undercharging, you bring down the value of every other photographer around you because customers feel like they can get the talent and service elsewhere far cheaper and think your "well priced" prints and products are outrageously priced when you're simply charging what you need to keep your business afloat. Remember this also. If you are a photographer out there undercharging, you bring down the value of every other photographer around you because customers feel like they can get the talent and service elsewhere far cheaper and think your “well priced” prints and products are outrageously priced when you’re simply charging what you need to keep your business afloat.

]]> By: Kate Kerr http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-otte/#comment-23757 Kate Kerr Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:19:19 +0000 http://mcpactions.com/blog/?p=4941#comment-23757 Great Article! Thanks so much! Great Article! Thanks so much!

]]> By: Pricing Photography for Profit | Nardi Marketing Takeout http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-otte/#comment-23709 Pricing Photography for Profit | Nardi Marketing Takeout Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:42:13 +0000 http://mcpactions.com/blog/?p=4941#comment-23709 [...] How should I price my photography? On December 28, 2009, In Pricing, by admin This is a fantastic article on pricing your photography. So many photographers who are struggling with their business because they are not charging enough. This is a must read for anyone that is struggling with their pricing or not making enough money.   After reading it, you may realize your barely making minimum wage. Read the article here. [...] [...] How should I price my photography? On December 28, 2009, In Pricing, by admin This is a fantastic article on pricing your photography. So many photographers who are struggling with their business because they are not charging enough. This is a must read for anyone that is struggling with their pricing or not making enough money.   After reading it, you may realize your barely making minimum wage. Read the article here. [...]

]]> By: Just starting out? « Kamila Harris Photography Blog – Photos, Fashion and more! http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-otte/#comment-23636 Just starting out? « Kamila Harris Photography Blog – Photos, Fashion and more! Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:59:45 +0000 http://mcpactions.com/blog/?p=4941#comment-23636 [...] - Charge what you’re worth. Don’t think that booking MORE equals more money or is something to brag about.  You want quality weddings, quality clients, and profitable weddings. Doing 20 weddings a year is manageable. But something like 60 weddings a year??  That is a nightmare. That means working every.single.weekend. of the year. That means missing out on family events, friends’ weddings, football games, barbeques and summer fun. And thos who value their work see that a photo straight out of the camera is not a “finished photo” and will spend the time on post-processing. You can expect about two weeks’ worth of work with each wedding. So, 60 weddings a year, with 2 weeks’ work for each wedding, ah! there’s only 52 weeks in a year.. so… you see what I’m sayin’? Forget about days off. Unless you want to work 80+ hours per week to meet deadlines and keep your clients happy, and have absolutely no personal life whatsoever, you need to charge more, work fewer weekends, and be the happy and relaxed photographer you want to be.  Undercutting your competition may bring you more bookings for the moment, but in the long run, it will not be profitable and after all, even if this is “not about money” for you, you don’t want to be a non-for-profit business.  What to charge is probably one of the hardest things to figure out.  Here is an article to consider about pricing  http://mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-o... [...] [...] – Charge what you’re worth. Don’t think that booking MORE equals more money or is something to brag about.  You want quality weddings, quality clients, and profitable weddings. Doing 20 weddings a year is manageable. But something like 60 weddings a year??  That is a nightmare. That means working every.single.weekend. of the year. That means missing out on family events, friends’ weddings, football games, barbeques and summer fun. And thos who value their work see that a photo straight out of the camera is not a “finished photo” and will spend the time on post-processing. You can expect about two weeks’ worth of work with each wedding. So, 60 weddings a year, with 2 weeks’ work for each wedding, ah! there’s only 52 weeks in a year.. so… you see what I’m sayin’? Forget about days off. Unless you want to work 80+ hours per week to meet deadlines and keep your clients happy, and have absolutely no personal life whatsoever, you need to charge more, work fewer weekends, and be the happy and relaxed photographer you want to be.  Undercutting your competition may bring you more bookings for the moment, but in the long run, it will not be profitable and after all, even if this is “not about money” for you, you don’t want to be a non-for-profit business.  What to charge is probably one of the hardest things to figure out.  Here is an article to consider about pricing  http://mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-o... [...]

]]> By: Kelly http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-otte/#comment-22730 Kelly Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:38:55 +0000 http://mcpactions.com/blog/?p=4941#comment-22730 Thank you for this article. Until you decide that owning a photography business is a business, it just will not make sense. When you step out of the photography part, realize that is your product, then it begins to make sense. It's not about passion, it's about making a living. The best thing a photographer who wants to open a studio can do? Read business books. Thank you for this article. Until you decide that owning a photography business is a business, it just will not make sense. When you step out of the photography part, realize that is your product, then it begins to make sense. It’s not about passion, it’s about making a living. The best thing a photographer who wants to open a studio can do? Read business books.

]]> By: Jodi L http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-otte/#comment-22649 Jodi L Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:34:55 +0000 http://mcpactions.com/blog/?p=4941#comment-22649 Brandy, You said, "I know that people need money to buy things that they want, all I was saying was that with any job, we should love what were doing, so that means sometimes giving up a job that pays better to do something that pays less but something we love doing!" It would be lovely if everybody in the world could be doing a job they love but most people, especially in the current economic climate, will do whatever job necessary to support their families. Bin men, cleaners, sewage workers, road sweepers (to name a few) are jobs that I can't imagine people are doing for the love of it. We work because we have to, whatever style of life we choose to live and if we happen to love the job we do then that is just the icing on the cake. Running a photography business entails far more than working a 9-5 job. I often (in fact nearly every day!) find myself sitting up in the early hours of the morning post processing "just one more" shot before I go to bed before I have to get up again just a few short hours later with my 4 kids. And that is on top of the normal working hours. My life is hugely busy and I have to do everything and pay for everything for myself, the electricity board don't look at me and think "Aah! She's a single mum with 4 kids so we'll give her cheaper electricity". But I guess everything is relative. Where abouts you live in the world has everything to do with how much you charge, particularly if you consider your immediate locality to be your only market. Obviously if you live in a rural area, the cost of living is much lower than if you were in a huge city and so your prices will reflect that. But in today's 'throw away' society people don't really appreciate cheap and tend to hold a greater value for something they have paid more for. I don't mean charge city prices in the country but don't undercut everybody else because you want to be affordable to everyone. If people want something badly enough they will usually find the money they need to pay for it. Are you offered cut price services by other companies because they think you can't afford the real prices? Like for example by the plumber who charges 100 an hour to unblock a sink, or the accountant (who will really know what you can afford!), even your car insurance or fuel prices? No! What they charge is what they charge. But if you are willing and able to sacrifice yourself on a daily basis to make things financially easier for others then good for you! I for one can't afford to do that! Jodie -THANK YOU SO MUCH for your fantastic article! It's like you wrote those words just for me! Where do I sign up??? I will definitely be coming back for more words of wisdom! I can't wait to read more. Brandy,

You said, “I know that people need money to buy things that they want, all I was saying was that with any job, we should love what were doing, so that means sometimes giving up a job that pays better to do something that pays less but something we love doing!”

It would be lovely if everybody in the world could be doing a job they love but most people, especially in the current economic climate, will do whatever job necessary to support their families. Bin men, cleaners, sewage workers, road sweepers (to name a few) are jobs that I can’t imagine people are doing for the love of it. We work because we have to, whatever style of life we choose to live and if we happen to love the job we do then that is just the icing on the cake.

Running a photography business entails far more than working a 9-5 job. I often (in fact nearly every day!) find myself sitting up in the early hours of the morning post processing “just one more” shot before I go to bed before I have to get up again just a few short hours later with my 4 kids. And that is on top of the normal working hours. My life is hugely busy and I have to do everything and pay for everything for myself, the electricity board don’t look at me and think “Aah! She’s a single mum with 4 kids so we’ll give her cheaper electricity”.

But I guess everything is relative. Where abouts you live in the world has everything to do with how much you charge, particularly if you consider your immediate locality to be your only market. Obviously if you live in a rural area, the cost of living is much lower than if you were in a huge city and so your prices will reflect that.

But in today’s ‘throw away’ society people don’t really appreciate cheap and tend to hold a greater value for something they have paid more for. I don’t mean charge city prices in the country but don’t undercut everybody else because you want to be affordable to everyone. If people want something badly enough they will usually find the money they need to pay for it. Are you offered cut price services by other companies because they think you can’t afford the real prices? Like for example by the plumber who charges 100 an hour to unblock a sink, or the accountant (who will really know what you can afford!), even your car insurance or fuel prices? No! What they charge is what they charge. But if you are willing and able to sacrifice yourself on a daily basis to make things financially easier for others then good for you! I for one can’t afford to do that!

Jodie -THANK YOU SO MUCH for your fantastic article! It’s like you wrote those words just for me! Where do I sign up??? I will definitely be coming back for more words of wisdom! I can’t wait to read more.

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