When I first was getting my feet wet in photography, the thing that scared me the most was pricing. I had no idea where to start. I mean, who would hire me, I was still learning this whole photography thing, throwing a business together, and I was learning as I was going. I literally started at a price, and over time, as bookings continued to increase, I would slowly raise my prices from there. I look back on pictures from when I first started photography and I have grown so much both as an artist and as a business owner. I recently talked more about pricing HERE, but what I didn’t cover was the importance of having a Pricing Guide vs just a Pricing Sheet.
My first year in business I had nothing more than a PDF document that stated my individual prices. Then I realized people were typically booking the same thing over and over so I put together some some packages. Slowly over time I realized for weddings (and portraits) I was getting a lot of questions via email about different topics. For instance: weddings I would get questions about first look, albums, contract, engagement session, etc. For families, I would be asked what to wear, how to print the images, what should I bring, etc.
Putting what I knew from my business background on pricing and combining it with how can I be more efficient in answering these questions, I came up with a Welcome Guide. What does having a Welcome Guide vs Pricing Sheet do for my business?
• First, it separates me from the crowd. While most photographers are just sending links or documents to pricing, this Welcome Guide gives me a competitive advantage.
• It personalizes the experience. Again, when you hire a photographer, especially for wedding or family pictures, it is a very personal experience with that photographer. I believe you have to like the photographer. Having this Welcome Guide lays out expectations, allows you to get to know the photographer and process more, which is a HUGE, part of the experience.
• All questions and answers are in one place. Questions that I get asked more than once I continue to add to these documents. It is a reference point for me and saves me(and my clients) so much time!
One thing I also see a lot of is no a la carte pricing for ALL items. This is a must for any business. My Welcome Guide a la carte pricing for products also matches my ShootProof account. (reminder if you want to give them a try DICKERSON promo gets you 25% off.) Again, this makes it easy and seamless for my clients allowing them to easily order after the fact with pricing in the cart showing and matching “the Guide.”
You have to know and understand the value of each service you provide. Then build collections that make it easy for your clients to decide. Think restaurants…. you can order everything individually, but you typically wouldn’t because it is packaged together as a meal and it more cost effective and convenient. That is what you want to do for your clients. Do not build your pricing off other photographers pricing, but look at supply and demand of your own business as well as your own costs. A lot of small business owners struggle with pricing. I also struggle to some degree. However, I have to run a business and I must be able to separate myself from my business.
My Lifestyle Welcome Guide (portrait work) and my Wedding Welcome Guide is 26 pages not including front and back cover. It has taken me forever to compile these perfectly and I worked with a graphic designer to make sure they were perfect. I decided to make them available for purchase for other photographers because it would have saved me so much time and money if I could have purchased them and just customized them to my business. You can then add your own images, change the name, and the font(s) in the document to match your own branding. This is the one thing that has been is a game changer for my business. You also get to see how I set up my pricing, set expectations, and guide my clients through the process.
Here is a couple pages from the Lifestyle Welcome Guide (portrait work).
And here is a couple pages from the Wedding Welcome Guide.
I have these online as PDFs to be able to email clients, planners, etc. as well I have printed Magazines from BlackRiverImaging.com in order to have a tangible product when meeting with clients in person for consultations or ordering.
