Every industry has competition and every industry has its competitors. It seems (to me at least) that photographers have more competition than most! I've mentioned in a previous post that photography is an easy business to get started in and it seems that anyone with a posh camera can call themselves a photographer! The local newspaper keeps printing stories about new photography businesses in the area...
But just because someone is in the same industry it doesn't necessarily mean they're competition. Yes, we're all looking for people to sell photos to, but are we all looking for the same people? I don't think so.
Photography customers all have different criteria when choosing a photographer. Particularly regarding wedding photography. Some people are on a budget and will book the cheapest photographer they can find (not something I recommend!). Some people like the kudos of booking the area's most expensive photographer. Others will book the best photographer they can afford (a much more sensible approach...). No one photographer can appeal to all markets so we have to pick one to work in.
There are literally dozens of 'professional' photographers in Grimsby and Cleethorpes, but I really only count 5 or 6 of them as genuine competition. We're all full time and fully insured. We all put a lot of time and effort into marketing ourselves. We all offer good customer service and excellent attention to detail. And we all supply the best products from the best suppliers. We don't appeal the the 'cheap is best' market, but none of us is the most expensive in the area either.
But even that competition isn't really a problem. There are about 150,000 people living in and around Grimsby and Cleethorpes so there's plenty to go around! There are tons of weddings in North East Lincolnshire every single weekend, so again there's plenty to go around without us all stepping on each other's toes.
And don't forget, photography is very subjective. We all have our own particular and distinctive style which some people won't like. It took a while to get my head around it, but I genuinely don't mind any more if someone books a different photographer over me.
Having said that, I still like it when I win a customer ahead of my competition!
Showing posts with label cost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cost. Show all posts
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Monday, 2 May 2011
It's HOW much?!?!?
I've been feeling recently that I have to justify myself and my prices. It can be a bit difficult doing it individually without causing offense or sounding patronising or condescending or argumentative. So here it is. Please don't take offense...
£1100 for a wedding album?!
Well yes. But also no. What many people don't understand is the time it takes to get to delivering your wedding album. Before you've even booked me I've probably spent an hour or 2 talking to you at your house or in my studio. Before the wedding I've been to see you again, usually at the venue(s). On the day itself I might be with the bride from 10am and won't leave until the speeches are over which can be 7 or 8pm. For those not counting we're up to 12 hours already! After the day (while you're on honeymoon) I then edit the pictures. Every single picture has some work done to it even if it's a little bit of cropping. That can be another 5 or 6 hours. When you've chosen your photos I then have the album and thank you cards to design and order. There goes another 4 hours! Totalling all that a wedding can take me between 20 and 24 hours. Factor in the cost of the preview book, album and cards as well and it's easy to see why wedding photographers charge what they do. In fact I might put my prices up!
£15 for a photo?! I can get it for 20p in Tesco!
Yes you can. So why do I charge £15? Your photo, whether framed or not realistically doesn't cost me what I sell it for. But what business out there doesn't make a profit? None. None that are still trading anyway... Retailers typically sell items for 3 times what they buy them for. Restaurants generally quadruple the cost of the ingredients. Why? There are many more costs than just the product. A (good, professional, legal, responsible) photographer has a lot of expenses not directly associated with your pictures. For example - studio costs, equipment, insurance, advertising, travel, etc... Then there's the time again. Including the shoot, the editing, the presentation, the re-editing, the ordering and finally the delivery, there can be 6 hours of work involved in your photos!
So please don't be offended by any of this, but please don't tell me (or any other photographers) that we're expensive. We're just trying to make a living and it ain't easy sometimes!
£1100 for a wedding album?!Well yes. But also no. What many people don't understand is the time it takes to get to delivering your wedding album. Before you've even booked me I've probably spent an hour or 2 talking to you at your house or in my studio. Before the wedding I've been to see you again, usually at the venue(s). On the day itself I might be with the bride from 10am and won't leave until the speeches are over which can be 7 or 8pm. For those not counting we're up to 12 hours already! After the day (while you're on honeymoon) I then edit the pictures. Every single picture has some work done to it even if it's a little bit of cropping. That can be another 5 or 6 hours. When you've chosen your photos I then have the album and thank you cards to design and order. There goes another 4 hours! Totalling all that a wedding can take me between 20 and 24 hours. Factor in the cost of the preview book, album and cards as well and it's easy to see why wedding photographers charge what they do. In fact I might put my prices up!
Yes you can. So why do I charge £15? Your photo, whether framed or not realistically doesn't cost me what I sell it for. But what business out there doesn't make a profit? None. None that are still trading anyway... Retailers typically sell items for 3 times what they buy them for. Restaurants generally quadruple the cost of the ingredients. Why? There are many more costs than just the product. A (good, professional, legal, responsible) photographer has a lot of expenses not directly associated with your pictures. For example - studio costs, equipment, insurance, advertising, travel, etc... Then there's the time again. Including the shoot, the editing, the presentation, the re-editing, the ordering and finally the delivery, there can be 6 hours of work involved in your photos!
So please don't be offended by any of this, but please don't tell me (or any other photographers) that we're expensive. We're just trying to make a living and it ain't easy sometimes!
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