The following is an excerpt from John Harrington’s “Best Business Practice’s For Photographers“.
Back in the Day: The $40 Roll of Kodachrome
One of the things that arose when the bean counters at the media conglomerates began to try to cut the costs and increase profitibability of their companies (and thus justify their jobs) was that they began to look at photographers’ invoices. The bean counters’ personal familiarity with purchasing consumer-grade film at $5 or so a roll did not jibe with seemingly exorbitant prices for rolls of film on the invoices.
What these accountants did not consider was that in order to best have film ready for a client, it had to be ordered and either shipped to you or picked up via courier and brought to you. This incurred an expense. Then, professionals didn’t take the film out of the shipping box and shoot an important assignment–they shot a test roll (or two) under controlled conditions and had it processed. This incurred an expense. Then the film came back from the lab–another expense. Then there was time involved to determine the best settings for the use of that film This was an expense. Then there was the cost of storing the film in a refrigerator. Another expense. Then there was the waste when you were required to have your film x-rayed twice during your trip, and you had to attribute 20-plus rolls of film to “waste” and trash it. This was an expense. All these expenses contributed to a cost per roll of film that was higher than the accountant’s $5 roll of film he dropped into his happy-snap camera for family photos . . .
While film is a relic of the ancient past for most photographers, the issue remains the same: how often have we all been turned down by clients because they’ve assumed we’re greedy swindlers who charge an arm and a leg just to click a shutter.
This is never the case of course, at least not for those who take their craft seriously. For example, when you take a client out for a $200 headshot session outdoors at a location that’s say 30 minutes from your studio, some clients will automatically assume you get paid $200 an hour.
BUT, once you factor in the time that was needed to travel back and forth from your studio, gas expense, upload and retouch images, laboriously haul around lighting equipment, write emails (which can last several hours depending on who you’re dealing with), location scouting, and meeting the client face to face before the shoot (this can be optional), your job is a hell of a lot longer than just one hour. As an aside, photographers who are regularly charging ridiculously low rates like $50 a session have no idea what they’re charging for and in almost all cases lack the experience to take photos that are even worth the money.
Instead of taking the copious amounts of time to dive into the nitty-gritty of your Costs for Doing Business, here’s what I usually say to clients in the past who’ve tried to negotiate down my rates because of their perception of how “little” time I spend on an assignment. “You’re not just hiring me to receive an hour of my time, you’re also hiring me for all the years I’ve spend perfecting my craft as a professional photographer along with the thousands that I’ve invested in education and equipment.” This has worked for me every time thus far. If need be, I do take the time to explain the reasoning behind why retouching costs extra, travel expenses, admin, etc, but I keep my explanations as simple as possible.
Regardless of how we choose to educate our clients, the important thing is that we do it period. And not just with regards to pricing, but with every process of the shoot itself. With the copious number of consumers out there pretending to be professionals, photography is not as respected a profession as it used to be. So instead of relying on what you own to win over your clients, do it with what you know because that’s how you’ll stand out.
