Goofing off in photoshop - what do you think?

boomer, I've got friends who have photogs come out to the farm to do photos and portraits. The sitting fee is separate from the pix themselves. They tell me the range (in a fairly small city) for the sitting is $500 to $2000, depending on the 'name' they get. The pix themselves can double to quadruple costs.

It's quite a bit more to get that quality of work done here in Toronto. Think "price of a small car" - and that's before you get to the photogs who have agents.

Lordy!

I'm not terribly surprised, though. What I've retained of checking out prices of photographers whose work I admire is a low whistle and "When my ship comes in..."

Every time I think of being surprised, I think of what people pay for wedding photogs and videographers. The combo usually ends up being about $10,000 - $20,000 (Cdn) - and then you usually only end up with 2 or 3 photos where the couple doesn't look like a pair of stuffed frogs.

MMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . .


stuffed frogs . . .

Drats! I missed it!

"Mom" loved them! She sent me an email last night after ordering (I just linked her into my photo lab's site) and her quick response is, I think, a good indication of excitement level.

Pricing things is always the hardest part for me. I think digital is the reason that the "buy-in" for photography has become so out of hand expensive. People don't think twice about making copies so photographers are charging a fortune up front.

I love to shoot and I love people to have and love the stuff I shoot so I have a hard time pricing myself very high. Right now I'm just trying to get some prints in circulation (word of mouth you know) and shooting for exchange in my portfolio.

Or maybe I'll move to Toronto!

Hiya, squinney. I'll post it again for a bit:

<snip>

Oh my gosh! That is too precious. I would have loved to have had something like that of my cubs at that age.

I love the layout, use of color and the one you chose to be in color. I'm no artist, but the balance seems right to me.

Great work!

16 X 20 print only, I'd expect to pay over $200. Don't know how much these things go for these days, but I wouldn't be surprised to get a photographers quote over $200.

That's great that the mom loved them!! Good going.

Thanks so much, squinney!

I like a little jolt of color in those collage type prints. It seems a little unexpected and kind of fun.

A couple of hundred for a big print is about the right ballpark too, I think. Maybe start lower and work my way in that direction.

I was happy that she was happy. I'm just wondering if getting them for my lab prices makes a huge difference in "love".

200?
10,000?
For photos?
Holy crap.. Im in the wrong field..

I saw those photos.
Those were beautiful.
Why do you have a hard time pricing your self greatly since you DO great work?

Thank you shewolf!

I abide by the "Target" philosophy of marketing.

I could go to Walmart and buy a perfectly functional tea kettle for say, $7.

Or I could go to Target and buy a well designed, pretty to look at, perfectly functional tea kettle for $40.

Or I could go to some ritzy boutique and buy a $200 tea ketttle that looks just like the one at Target but I could say I got it at "Ritzy" and "I paid $200" for it.

I want to be Target.

Because if you're not rich you shouldn't be stuck with crap.

I dont think you are in the legue with ' crap'...BUT
if your proces are 'target' you get 10xs more work opportunities then if you are Neiman Marcus..

( though, I think you should be neiman marcus priced,,, ) ;-)

So that is a good benefit. More people can and WILL afford the target price vs anything else.

When are you looking to begin photography?
Or are you already advertising for this?
Is this just an idea you are having .. or are you drawing up a plan to get started?

I have a studio already -- I've had one for 10 years. After Mo moved in I found I didn't really have the energy to deal with the day to day operations so I brought in a partner earlier this year. I'm more of a silent partner these days so I have time to work on non-studio type stuff that interests me.

It will probably be a year or so before I'm ready to launch this kind of stuff. Right now I'm just working on my portfolio and trying to gauge how much interest there is in this type of portraiture.

The pricing thing is interesting. I've just been reading in New York magazine how some real estate agents are increasing the price on some units - and getting more inquiries. Seems if the price is lower than expected for a certain quality - no one's going to look.

Doesn't seem right - but it does seem to be the reaction of a certain part of the market.

$200? Can't be much of a pic. Maybe I can get it for $150 if I negotiate.

$2000? Wow, fantastic work. We're so lucky we were able to get a sitting with the mighty Boomerang.

You are dead on right, eBeth.

It is interesting how it works. Sometimes the more you charge the better the "value" that the person perceives to have won.

I think it's because things priced just outside your comfort zone have a luxury feel. People love to be tempted.

The trick is to find the niche and price accordingly -- what type of person is going to be most interested in this type of portrait and how far are they willing to stretch to pay for it. Is this a rich person's market? Is this an mid-income market? These are the things I want to know before I take my show on the road.

The thing with kids though is that if you get them while their little and make their parents happy they will grow your businness for you and grow along with you as your prices increase.

Getting prices tweaked just right to build a client base and make a reputation is very difficult.

Your photographs are nice, but they are not amazing. There are SO many good photographers. For something like a photograph that's so easy to create, so easy to reproduce, and so hard to set a definite value on...there is simply no way you can sell (or sell in good conscience) for $2000.

Sure, it's true that if you set your prices higher, than people who aren't capable of properly appraising may be decieved into believing it's of higher value...but if your work is clearly not above average, and you set your prices way above average, people will notice (and most people don't like throwing money at egotistical artists)!

Ummm. Read closer.

I said $200, not $2,000.

stuh, the other thing to consider is that there are many different categories of photography. For example, I'd be much more willing to pay significant money for a very good picture of MY child than for a very good picture of A child. Art photographers can sell based on the pure artistic merit of their photo (Mary Ellen Mark, say), while the niche that boomerang occupies has the artistic aspects but is more memory-oriented, capturing a moment.

And that's not as easy as you seem to think.

Honestly, I do think people love throwing away money at egotistical artists. It happens all the time.

If calling myself "Target" makes me egotistical... well... huh. I'm a snob, I guess.

But stuh does have a point - the work is not amazing. Maybe more amazing if it's your own kid but not necessarily.

I've been looking at prices at a variety of studios today. Picture people charges $70 for a 16x20. None of the other mall photographers have prices listed on their web sites. Private photographers are charging about $175, if there is more than one image the price is about half that again, with session fees ranging from about $50 to $250. The high end photographers are about double that.

I still have plenty of time to work out the pricing details.