A Photographer’s Guide to Rates and Pricing

Getting your Photography Rates Right

If you are a professional photographer or even someone looking for photography services you have, no doubt, checked other photography rates online. You have most likely been faced with a huge range of rates for the same services. Having come from a construction project management environment I know how important it is to take all factors into account and get your price right.

When I started selling my services I also check what other photographers were charging to get an idea of what I should be doing. I soon realised that most of the photographers that I looked at had no idea how to run a business let alone price their services. I’m talking about the people that are at the low end of the rates scale. These are people that make a living from photography? I quickly stopped letting other people’s rates influence me.

There will always be clients searching for and willing to accept the lowest price, no matter how low it is. They are usually also the clients that accept poor quality or are disappointed when they see their photos.

With experience you could give estimates off the top of your head but it is always better to give your client the right price, in writing. The right price is a price that is fair to your client but also makes the photographer money. Professional photographers need to understand one basic principle; you are in business to make a profit. Otherwise you are a charity.

Start thinking about all of your costs more carefully.

As I said before, it is important to consider all of the factors when you start pricing. The first and most important factor is that you need to make a living.

I will cover:
Charge Out Rate
Cost of a Photograph
Time Related Costs
Output and Printing
Travel and Location Costs
Profit

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