Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“The laborer, selling his labor in competition with other laborers who underbid each other until their wages just barely cover their cost of sustenance, also never gets rich.”—Benjamin J. Stein’s in License to Steal
The above quote sums up thoughts I’ve expressed here and in my magazine writing (and some books too) about how some photographers think the only way they can attract new clients is by offering low-ball estimates that undercut their competition. These shooters seem blind to the fact that short-term thinking like this does not build client loyalty and only reduces an operation’s profitability.
I’ve heard people in the photo world sometimes refer to these low ball estimates as “giving away your work” and I think that’s a fair analogy. While some photographers believe customers will only flock to them if their day rate is inexpensive (read “cheap”), that doesn’t mean the concept of discount auto parts isn’t valid. The difference is that low prices were part of the car parts company’s business plan. Is that your plan?
There are on-line resources that can help with pricing your work—let your favorite search engine be your guide— but no matter how you do it, pricing your products and services should be fair, competitive and deliver a return on your investment that allows you to support your family and pay any employees you have a living wage. Photographers sometimes forget this kind of basic business practice when they’re in a cash flow slump and trying to pay the bills. The problem with cutting prices when times are tough is that you might not survive the cost cutting process.
How Mary Made this Shot: Filter fans of Tiffen’s Contrast filters will like using the Olympus E-30’s Light Tone Art Filter. The Light Tone exposure for this image was 1/500 sec at f/10 and ISO 200. Alas only one setting is offered, so you don’t have the Soft, Low, and Ultra options that Tiffen provides with its on-camera Contrast filters. This effect typically produces a color image but this was converted to monochrome with Silver Efex because…
Please don’t misunderstand me
I’m not talking about occasionally giving some of your long term, good clients a break from time to time. Far too often, a voice on the telephone you don’t know asks you to cut them a deal and my response has always been that I reward customers for their loyalty. At the start of a business relationship, everybody pays the same prices but repeat customers are, from time to time, given favorable considerations.
The same is true when asked to work with charitable organizations. The danger is that once the word gets around about any freebies that you’re offering, other potential clients may come knocking at your door and expect the same deal. A better way for photographers is to get involved with providing services for specific events that a charity might be involved in, such as providing photographic services for 5K runs or golf tournaments, which have a high visibility and deliver public relations value to your studio. Better yet, adopt a charity that you always support.
The bottom line is that if you don’t watch your bottom line, you can’t expect others to do it for you.
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