Regularly, I get a variation of the question, “How much should I charge?”

I teach a class with a few assignments yearly to help the students price a project. I have noticed that many students copy each other’s work rather than try to figure out the numbers themselves.

Many people make assumptions that are costly mistakes for their success.

Myth #1

Everyone’s situation is the same. While people may say this isn’t true, their actions say otherwise. If you have researched the prices of other photographers and then charged a similar price, you might be just proving me right.

Many people who shoot weddings all charge similar amounts in a market. A new photographer comes along and sees that everyone is charging $2,500 to shoot a wedding. Upon further investigation, that photographer finds out what is typically being offered with a $2,500 wedding package and, after looking at how much it costs to make prints, create an online gallery of images, and create a book, sees that they can charge the $2,500 and still make a lot of money, so they offer the same package.

It takes some time before someone will discover if this pricing will work.

Myth #2

Pricing is relative to the quality of work. Most photographers believe a highly skilled photographer should be the most successful photographer. This is a widespread stake in any profession. Businesses fail every day because people think it is all about the quality of the product.

The “Return On Investment” formula:

You need to understand the “Return On Investment” to understand why quality alone does not equate to success.

One of the best examples I have firsthand experience with is shooting sports. Most teams that use photography do so to help promote the team. High schools and colleges need photos of their athletes for their websites and maybe a media guide. They need an image they can use rather than a Sports Illustrated-quality image; the organization will not benefit monetarily from the better photograph.

Even professionally, the great photograph of an athlete rarely translates into profits for the team.

If you have a great action photograph of the league MVP, you will see a difference in sales. You will not see more sales if the picture is equally suitable for an average high school player. Why? The thing driving the sales is more about the player’s performance than the photo’s quality.

Great-quality photos do help organizations build a brand. Sports Illustrated, for example, built a brand around high-quality photography and writing about sports. However, few organizations are willing to pay to build their brand in this way.

The bottom line is that you must produce good photography to have someone pay you for it, but many other factors influence the purchase rather than the quality alone.

Myth #3

How long you have been making photographs determines your pricing. The number one group I hear this from is college students who think they must charge less for their work because they are students.

A customer is looking for a photographer. They see a couple of photographers work on their websites. They like the photographs of one photographer. They will then check and see if they can afford that photographer to do the work.

The only time a customer factors in whether someone is in school is when it comes to price. Customers need some photography and realize they can save money by looking for a different photographer. The number one place most of these customers look is to students.

What matters the most to customers when hiring a photographer is that the quality of work matches the examples shown by the photographer.

Experience cuts two ways in photography. Many customers look for a fresh eye and experience old style. Where you need more experience to help you is when a client always goes for the safe and secure photographer. This is rare but does exist.

Your Situation

You must know your situation and what you are trying to do with photography to understand how to price.

Hobbyist 

You enjoy photography but have no plans to do it professionally. You are very pleased with your profession and love what you do, but you also like taking pictures as a hobby.

There are two types of hobbyists I see shooting today.

The first group is financially capable of buying the gear they need. They may even have enough money to make prints and give them to their friends as gifts. Many of these photographers enjoy traveling, and some enjoy shooting sports. To gain better access to things they like to photograph, they offer to give their photographs to the groups they photograph.

They know that to get better photographs, they need to be closer. So, to move from the stands to the sidelines of their kid’s games, they give their photos to the team so they can get better access.

The second hobbyist group is those who need help funding their hobby. They need to offset their equipment purchases. This group will price their work so they have enough income to offset their gear purchases.

Part-time photographers

One classic example is a bi-vocational photographer. I have also seen many school teachers who like to shoot weddings. Since most brides get married in the spring and summer months, this works well with teachers’ schedules.

I have seen many professionals who also like editorial work. Many National Geographic Photographers have been biologists, anthropologists, and other experts in the field. Their photography and their profession go hand in hand.

Full-time photographers

I don’t have to go into the details here, but this group earns a living alone through photography.

Which photographer are you?

You need to know which category you fit into and own it. You must understand pricing if you are in any category other than a full-time photographer and want to become a full-time photographer.

You cannot make the switch as long as you need another job to pay your bills because photography does not generate enough income.

How to make the switch to Full-time Photographer

First, you’ll need to take the time to know what your financial needs and wants are. If you have Microsoft Excel, a great tool comes with it to help you. There is a template in the personal section for “Household Budget.” If you don’t have this, you can use the “free” Kiplinger online form to get help.  (http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/budget/)

Second, you need to know all the expenses related to the business’s operation.

Third, you will have to get a good idea of what you will offer and how many times people will hire you a year. If you have no idea, this is like putting your finger in the wind. The best way to know this is to have been getting small jobs on the side of your full-time job. It is easier to get a feel for this by starting as a hobbyist and part-time photographer than just graduating from school or quitting your job and starting from scratch.

Once you know these three figures, it is much easier to understand how much you need to charge to do this full-time.

Myth #4

I can do that later. After seeing what you need to do to determine your prices, you decide you are not ready to do all that work. You inside that work on your photography, and when you get to the point where you think you are prepared to go full-time, you will work on that business stuff.

We all put off working on unpleasant or tedious tasks occasionally. I understand that completely, but procrastination is the surest way to failure. If you want to go full-time and remain full-time, you must take the steps I outlined to make the switch immediately.

Let me tell you a little dirty secret about many full-time photographers. Most of them produce mediocre work. So how do they stay in business? They know what to charge and are okay with telling people their prices. They can say with complete confidence that this is their price. They know that if they lower their price, they are, in essence, paying the customer to work rather than them being paid.

When you have done the math, you know the point at which you are making or losing money.