Are you confused by photographer pricing?

I know I am.

I was contacted recently by a client of mine, I’d been his first foray into the world of professional photography, but he had questions. He’d recently employed a specialist baby photographer, a genre I don’t dabble in, and he was wondering if what they were doing was a regular occurrence.

The issue he’s come up against was that the photographer was offering a certain number of images for a set price and was asking for an extra payment for the remainer of the images. This is something I’ve never understood, I feel it’s like holding your client to ransom for photos of them or their child. Obviously, that’s not a practice I follow, but I do know it’s quite common with other photographers.

What I don’t understand is what they do with the images that their clients don’t buy. They can’t exactly use them for their own promotion, can they? So, they must just sit in a digital storage forever, right?

That makes no sense to me as the only person who would have benefitted from these images was the client, so why would you not look after your client as best you can?

My advice was not to purchase the remaining images as in all likelihood they would be, if not exactly the same, but very similar to the images they’d already bought. I don’t know if they took my words to heart, but I hope they did, as I’m all about giving my clients the best value for money that I possibly can whether that’s in a package I supply or just friendly advice.

There are a few things you should consider before engaging a professional photographer –

  • Experience and Equipment – Have they been trading long? Do they use equipment that reflects the level they are marketing themselves at? Personally, I’ve been making money from photography since 2008 and went fully professional in 2015. I’ve had quite a few cameras and lenses in that time but currently use Nikon D810 bodies, which feature full, 35mm, sensors and the appropriate lenses. I also have a number of fully mobile, battery-powered lighting setups for that make sure I’m able to cover any scenario.
  • Location and Style – Are you shipping a photographer across the country unnecessarily? Or can you find a suitably experienced one closer to your shoot location.  There are a lot of niches in photography, some people specialise in one particular style, but does that fit in with your brand message? Being located in the East midlands means that I’m very central and in a couple of hours can cover quite a few miles with ease. With regards to style, I cover 6 main sectors, Products and food for e-commerce, Corporate events and conferences, Corporate and relaxed headshots, Brand photography, Property and architecture images and Automotive photography. I’m also happy to adjust my style to give you exactly the images you want.
  • Number of Images and Licensing – As I’ve said, some photographers limit the number of images they will supply and then charge extra for commercial licensing. I don’t do either, you’ll get as many images that pass my quality control, basically that means, in focus and with eyes open! Also, when I digitally deliver the images, they are yours. You can do whatever you want with them, for as long as you’d like, no extra charge.
  • Post-Production Costs – Some photographers ask for extra to retouch or edit your images, that’s not me. I don’t charge for any post-production work, everything is included so you know where you stand from the start, that way there’s no nasty surprises later in the process.

The best thing to do before engaging a professional photographer, in any genre, is to ask questions. A lot of them. I always ask many of my potential clients to make sure that we’ll be a good fit and that I’ll be able to hopefully overdeliver and exceed their expectations.

Get in touch and lets see if we can work together.

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