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Calculating the pricing of your photography
Whether you are a hobbyist photographer or want to start your own business with a professional photography service, you need to decide the charges of your service first.
One of the most common questions beginner photographers ask is, “How much should I charge?”
You may not get the correct answer even after you follow plenty of blogs and articles published by professionals.
The charges for your photography service depend on your experience and the quality of service you provide. Most clients look for professionalism when hiring a photographer for a specific event.
If you have decided to step into photography, this article will give you some basic ideas on designing pricing packages for the service. Keep the items listed below in mind while setting up the pricing for your service.
Summary:
Before creating your final pricing model, you should know what to include while designing the pricing model. In this guide, you’ll learn what should be considered while designing a pricing model for your photography service.
It includes the total cost of materials used for the event, cost of labor, overhead, expected margin, etc.
Calculating the Pricing Model for Your Photography Service
1. Evaluate the total Cost of Materials
While designing the pricing package for your client, include all expenses you pay from your pocket.
Different clients have different demands. For that reason, you need to design separate packages for individuals with unique demands.
Some clients want a professional photo album with a hard copy or, we can say, prints of photos. Some want digital copies of the images on the hard drive or pen drive.
When storing digital files, you must pay for cloud storage space, hard drive space, and other costs associated with managing your online business. You can also dd hosting fees and other expenses
At the beginning of your career, do not invest more in printing materials. Promote your business first, and then buy printing and other materials in bulk.
2. Check Packages of Competitors
In today’s digital world, we can quickly learn about competitors and their strategies by studying their business ways. Every professional photographer has a website.
The website details the different services they offer and the other pricing packages for clients. Make sure to check the pricing for each package listed on their websites.
The package cost for the entire event, solo shoot, small events, and modeling would differ. To attract new clients, you can offer extra services for photography events.
Since you are just starting, you should not charge high package rates. Instead, make sure that the packages you design are cheaper than those offered by competitors in your area.
3. Know about the Client’s requirements
Even if you design and publish your photography pricing packages on the website or the promotional posters, the final deal will be done only after consulting with the client. You need to discuss the client’s requirements.
Before communicating with the client, you should keep a list of questions handy to get the required answers. This will help you design the proper package according to his requirements.
You can ask about his budget, the number of photos, solo or group photography, locations to shoot, digital or hard copies of the images, etc. Ask every question that can affect the final pricing.
If the event is big with hundreds of clients, you may also want an extra assistant or a couple of people to help you set up things. You can add additional charges to such significant events.
Moreover, printed photocopies are more expensive than digital files. Therefore, you should clarify everything with the client before you finalize the contract.
4. Cost of Labor
Never ignore the hard work you do while doing your business. It is your job, and you must get paid for whatever you do. Most beginner photographers don’t consider the labor cost when dealing with clients.
The labor cost for different stages of photo shooting may vary from client to client as it depends upon the event’s location and size. You can add labor costs per hour for pre-production, shooting time, traveling time, editing work, etc.
The average hourly rate of photographers depends upon their experience. If you are a beginner photographer with little knowledge about photography, you can charge up to $30 to $90 per hour.
If you have some knowledge and experience in photography and have some professional skills, you can charge up to $50 to $140. Professional photographers can charge up to $75 to $300 per hour.
The top professional photographers with years of experience can charge up to $200 to $500 per hour.
5. Add Overhead Costs
Remember to add overhead costs as you must deal with many other expenses throughout your career. You can include overhead costs for purchasing new equipment such as a camera, lens, lights, bag, and other accessories.
Apart from this, you can also consider the interest rate for EMI if you have borrowed loans. The fees for the software, equipment repair, business promotion, and other expenses can also be included in the package.
Final Words:
After going through the above-listed points, you may have figured out how professional photographers charge for their services.
A typical photographer may charge $500 to $1000 for a small event such as a birthday party or wedding anniversary. For mega-events, the final cost of the package can be $5,000 or higher.
Once you are both satisfied with each other, you can go ahead and finalize the contract.
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