Not everything we come across on the internet is always true. In fact, there’s quite a lot of misleading information floating around. And as photographers, we need to be more careful about referring to the web for the facts about current photography. One of such topics where many new photographers seek web help is pricing. When professional wedding photographer Taylor Jackson went over some online content regarding wedding photography pricing, he came across a lot of misleading information on the topic. In this video, he discusses some of such outdated information with an aim to bust the myths on wedding photography pricing:
A career in wedding photography is pretty lucrative. But, there’s also a lot of competition out there. So, if you want to price yourself based on your revenue target and the number of weddings you’d want to do annually, that won’t work. Pricing can be situational, and thus change based on the client’s requirement, the ideas that you sell, and of course on the market situation.
The beginning years as a wedding photographer can be full of struggle. Online articles will tell you to value yourself and not to shoot below a certain pricing. But, in reality there can be situations where you need to grab whatever you get. You may need to do things that you find embarrassing, but that’s part of building a career. And the most important thing to consider when starting out is your happiness. If you’re happy with what you’ll get, go ahead.
“All of the time, effort, and energy you’re going to put into not making a lot of money in the beginning is going to create relationships with venues and vendors, and it’s going to build your portfolio.”
Keeping the local factor in mind is also quite essential. Some article you happen to be reading may have pricing ideas for an urban metro market. If you have your business in the outskirts, the same pricing strategies won’t work. You need to understand your locality and have the pricing worked out accordingly.
You will also come across many online articles that will tell that you should never work for free. But, the decision is entirely up to you. If you feel that the images that you take while providing your services for free will help you in growing your portfolio, you have the option to do it.
Have you made any of the pricing mistakes that Jackson discussed in the video?
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