Photography Blog: June 2014

Tender Loving Care by Brendon Cremer

Tuesday, 1st July 2014

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How to Charge What You’re Worth — Which is 3 to 10x More Than You’re Getting Today [with Ramit Sethi]

Ok, first thing first…if you’ve already made the move OR are even CONSIDERING turning your passion for photography (or video, or design, or writing or whatever) into a business, do your future self a solid and start following Ramit Sethi, right NOW. Visit his website. Read his blog. Sign up wherever it tells you to sign up. Because Ramit will teach you more about the business side of this industry than you thought you needed to know. His style direct, you’ll get tough love, but he’s great at helping us creatives (eg he has helped me more with my business chops than anyone else) get to where we need to be. He’s been on #cjLIVE before and he’s also shared some thoughts on raising rates.

But today he’s back by popular demand to share a simple one-two approach to setting your prices and upping your earning potential. Pencils ready? Okay, take it away Ramit.

Thanks, Chase.

I recently asked a photographer how she came up with her pricing. She said, “Well… I researched my competition and found that they had similar services, so I charged what they were charging.”

Does that sound familiar? Or worse, do you know people who charge less to “undercut” the competition or “get more business?

Here’s the problem with using “me-too” pricing: You’re signaling to your potential clients that you’re the same as everyone else. Why would they choose you when they can always find someone else charging $10 less?

How can some photographers charge 5x, 10x, even 100x what others do? Are they 100x more talented? Do they have 100x more experience? 100x better equipment?

No! The reason they can charge more is simple: Of course they’re good, but good isn’t enough. They’ve learned to position their services as a premium product. Today, I’ll show you how you can, too.

Step 1: Think like your client

Start by asking yourself, “What are my client’s top 3 problems? What are their concerns when hiring a photographer?” The equipment you use probably isn’t in their top 100 problems.

Clients care about themselves and their problems. By taking the time to make your proposal client-focused, you’re already ahead of 90% of your competition.

In an 90-minute interview I did with Chase, we cover tons of examples on how to use this idea. See the 24:00 minute mark where I share exactly how to “read their mind” using a simple technique you can do in the next 5 minutes.

Once you’re in your client’s head and can address their burning needs, price becomes a mere triviality.

THIS is how some creative people can charge 2x, 5x, even 20x what others charge. Yes, they’ve honed their skills, but being good isn’t enough. They know how to focus on their clients, not just their equipment.

Step 2: Use these words to say “no” to low-value clients

One key is learning how to be confident in your own value. Part of getting paid more is believing you’re actually worth more and saying NO to low-paying jobs. Sometimes, we feel grateful for ANY job, especially when we love what we do. This leads to accepting less than you know you’re worth.

The truth is, you’ll get more clients and better clients who respect and value what you do if you’re confident and stick to your rates. Check out this tested word-for-word script to see what I mean:

CLIENT: “What’s your hourly rate?”

YOU: “I’ve actually changed my business so I only do weekly engagements now. This helps me deliver more in-depth results (for example, helping a recent client do ____). The rate for that is $X per week, and that includes A, B, and C.”

CLIENT: “Can’t we just get you for a few hours?”

YOU: “Unfortunately not. I’d love to help but I focus on high-value projects, and those typically take a minimum of a week to understand and execute. The good news is I’ve never had a client who wasn’t happy with the results, even if they originally wanted me for just a few hours. And based on everything you’ve told me, we definitely have more than enough work to keep ourselves busy during that timeframe. The potential upside of Project X is very large.”

CLIENT: “OK, fine. Um… could you do $Y per week instead?”

YOU: “I typically don’t discount my rates except in special cases. If $Y is your budget, I’d be willing do it only if we were to remove either B or C from the project scope. Which would you prefer?”

CLIENT: “Never mind, we can do $X.”

YOU: “Great! I’ll follow up with you soon with next steps.”

Do you see what happened there? Many of us fear we’ll scare away clients by charging premium prices. In fact, low prices are a bigger red flag in your clients mind. Sticking to your higher rate communicates that you’re more valuable than the competition, so the client will lean toward hiring you.

You can even add value to your current clients while raising your rates. The key is to create a win-win situation for you and the client.

Check out this video on how to raise your rates and thrill the client, including a word-for-word script you can use when telling your client about the new rate. You’ll learn:

1:00 — The 3 things you must tell your clients about a rate change

2:07 — How to get clients excited about the upcoming changes (even if it includes a rate increase)

2:30 — A simple way to ensure your clients love you, even if you have to part ways

So how did a graphic designer convince me to pay more? Instead of focusing on design-specific concerns like typography and alignment, he nailed my primary concerns as a client. Click here to find out exactly what those were in an interview I did on pricing here.

—————————————

For more information and help with negotiating your rates and navigating the ins and outs of creative business, check out Ramit’s CreativeLive course, Money + Business For Creatives. Make sure also to check out Ted Leonhardt‘s course on Negotiation for Creatives, Ann Rea‘s course Make Money Making Art, and CreativeLive’s entire catalog of business courses for creatives.

An Easy Set Up For Still Life: with Virginia Smith

I needed a quick and easy set up for the small jobs I s […]

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From the heavens by Stephen Hancock

Monday, 30th June 2014

PhotoCompetitions.com Find photo contests to enter sorted by deadline and theme.

CE Week 2014 : Tools And Toys

CE Week 2014 : Tools And Toys At the half year mark, CES does a small preview coming products in the electronics field. It’s always a goal to see what may enhance your photographic life in the shape of smart thinking, manufacturers listening to the needs of the public, and I’ll admit, some cool gadgets and toys. Please note- many of these […]

South Beach Shavings by Chris Miele

Monday, 23rd June 2014

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How To Win Any Photography Trivia Face Off With A Simple Question

Have you ever sat down with a group of photographer and gotten into a trivia face off. You know those kinds of discussion where one would go “Oh yea? So what is the F-stop that comes after F/64?”* Or “So, what is hyperfocal distance?”** or “what’s the fastest sync speed on a D70?”*** Those can [...]

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Other Worlds by Stan Newman

Sunday, 29th June 2014

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Showing Just to Show

I went to a family reunion of my sister-in-law Basia's family yesterday at Lake Koshkonong in Wisconsin. (Xander volunteered to stay home with the puppy, who isn't crate-trained yet—thanks again for that, Xander.) I got to see, among many other people, Ray Poppert, Basia's sister Liz's husband, a guy I've known for years but don't get to see very often. Ray works full time but is also a longtime craft artist—he used to make beautiful, very tasteful modern style lamps, and he told me he's now making artworks out of sheet copper.

We talked for a while about selling craft work and trying to make money from it. Really, though, Ray wants to work as an amateur, doing what he wants to when he wants to, without the obligations brought on by making a business of it.

Which brought up a further topic. There are lots of reasons to show original artwork/craftwork, and not all those reasons involve making money. One good reason is to share and get responses. As I thought back on it, I could bring to mind several people I knew who exhibited their work just for the many "interactive" benefits it brought them—strangers could see the work; their friends could send friends to see it; and they got gratifying feedback from people who liked it.

I think that's fully as valid a reason for exhibiting originals as selling and making money, if the latter doesn't interest you or motivate you. Artists like getting feedback and sharing their work with people who enjoy seeing their work. Seeking feedback can be just as good a reason to show as seeking sales.

As to how to do this, well, that's where Ray might have to get creative. I knew one woman who had a (customary, not contractual) arrangement showing her work in a bank lobby, where she kept up a revolving exhibit for years. I used to show my portraits in my friend Judy Schlosser's frame shop in Georgetown, P Street Pictures (they've moved, but the shop still exists, and they're still showing artwork. Don't know if Judy still owns it, though. I did get commissions from showing there, so I'm not sure if it really counts.)

Have you ever exhibited your work "altruistically," i.e., not hoping for sales?

Mike

(Thanks to Ray Poppert)

Original contents copyright 2014 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)

Featured Comments from:

Clayton Jones: "Yes, and it was an enlightening experience. Some years ago I was invited to display my B&W Florida landscape prints at an annual south Florida Audubon Society gathering. It was not to be a sale (no prices on the framed prints), but they provided a very nice space and help setting it up and it was very well received. At one point a man came up to me and very enthusiastically said, 'Wow, these are great. Too bad they're not in color.' I politely thanked him, knowing that he didn't fully grasp what he had said, and he had obviously enjoyed seeing them.

"Towards the end another man, after spending a long time looking at every print, said in a very considered and thoughtful tone, 'I never knew there was so much color in black and white.' It's the nicest comment I've ever received for my work. I remember thinking, 'He gets it.' That made all the effort worthwhile.

"So in the course of the event I received a lot of appreciative remarks, bookended by those two which are etched in my memory forever. It was a pleasant and gratifying experience to exhibit the prints without the 'shadow' undercurrent of desire for sales darkening the atmosphere."

John Leathwick: "I had never exhibited in nigh 50 years of photography, despite repeatedly extolling the virtues of performance as means to development to my son who is doing a piano performance degree. However, after getting some large prints done at the local print/frame shop, they invited me to exhibit some prints there, altruistically as you put it. I thought I should walk my talk, and found that it lifted my whole approach to the critical taking, appraisal and presentation of my images. And I got not only some great feedback, but also a beautiful set of prints to hang at home. I highly recommend it!"

ben ng: "I find it the most rewarding way to show pictures. A couple of years ago I did a show on how a First Nations burial ground was being dug up by mountain-bikers for their course. The result was the City Council agreeing to fence off the site. And hospitals and drop-ins for the homeless like pictures; my reward being the homeless tell me of great locations to take pictures, which is worth more than selling for money."

Jonathan Morse: "Emily Dickinson wrote about 1800 poems, but only ten were published in her lifetime—and some of those were published against her will. People (including publishers) begged her to publish, but she was interested only in sending her poems as letters to her friends.

"And about Dwight D. Eisenhower's paintings, there's this."

Apple Finally Makes It Official: Aperture is Dead

For a while now, Aperture has been Apple’s signature professional photo management app, similar to what Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro have done for video and music. After WWDC, however, things looked a bit bleak for the software after Apple announced its rollout of its new Photos app – the keynote went by with [...]

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