Let's talk Price...

So an interesting situation came up earlier today when we posted our Boudoir AD(see below). I was contacted by a lovely woman who was interested in signing up for this event.  After speaking with her for a few minutes, and sharing some of our work with her the inevitable discussion began, "How much will this cost?" and "Wow that's expensive, how come?  I saw another photographer advertising something similar at half the price."  Well, I'd like to try and tackle this if I can.  The first question of how much varies on many factors such as the type of shoot(wedding, portraits, family, etc) and the second question, the comment really about seeing another photographer offering something similar but cheaper.  My recommendation on this is take a REALLY good look at the work that photographer is doing.  Be critical whenever making a purchase, explore your options.  Most times, you get what you pay for.  Any photographer offering a ridiculous amount of product and/or time for a tiny amount of money, either doesn't know the value of their work and is trying to make a buck, or they DO know the value of their work and are trying to compensate by over saturating the offer.  My guess is often, you will end up with a lot of product that you like but don't necessarily LOVE.  

Photography is expensive, especially good photography and there is a reason.  Photographers that truly understand what it is they're doing also understand the value not only of their work but they're time.  Composition, lighting, touch ups(makeup/hair), knowledge of equipment is vital and if done right will be done timely, but not rushed.  Then there is the issue of post processing(editing).  Photographers can be painstakingly attentive to the most minor details that you might assume would go unnoticed to the untrained eye, and that's true often.  What will happen is you will look at a photo you've paid for and you may be very happy with it, but chances are something will seem "off" about it, even if you cannot put your finger on what it is exactly.  These little anomalies can be the difference between loving your photos and liking them.  There is time often not considered by a client that goes into their work and that time is (or should be) used to take your photos that you're paying top dollar for and presenting them to you exactly as they should be presented, as works of art.

So my reply to this person, was simple, I told her that this special we are offering would normally for for double what the offer is, and that the number of images included in the package = a lot of time and work but the result is a gift that will truly stand out in ways you may not have imagined.  Long and short, she ended up booking a session with us because I think of my honesty.  

We want you to love your photos, after all they're gonna last quite some time, and you will be sharing them with friends, family, and loved ones. Why would I want to present you with an overabundance of work that you like but don't love?  You friends and family are also my potential clients.  All of you represent my greatest asset, recommendations by word of mouth, so the last thing I want you to say to another person is "I like them, they're pretty good."  That's not inspiring and it doesn't result in happiness for either of us.  So we may be a little more expensive than some, but we're dedicated to making you as happy as we possibly can and delivering work to you that you will love and cherish forever!

*I do not know who the other photographer that this lady was talking about.  I haven't seen his/her work and I do not assume that they are any more or less talented than we are.  This is an educated guess only and I encourage each and every person to shop around and choose the photographer whose work best suits them, even if its not ERFotos.  There is enough demand for all of us and I truly wish more photographers would work together to be the best they can possibly be.  

Thanks for reading!
-M