If you’re struggling with figuring out what to charge or if you’ve been at this photography thing for a while and have the sneaking suspicion that you’re worth MORE, but you’re afraid your clients won’t pay a higher price, this one is for you! In my 15+ years as a photographer, I’ve run into this issue time and time again. If this sounds like your experience, I have a hard truth to share with you: the issue probably isn’t that your clients won’t pay. Of course, there will always be clients that leave or find other photographers, but there are other clients out there for you, no matter what your service cost is! The issue might be closer to home… let me ask you: could you be undervaluing your services?
The issue is actually this: you’re undervaluing your services, and it SHOWS.
Here’s what I mean:
Your brand and your business are in constant communication with your past, current and future clients. The messages you are putting out into the world through your branding, marketing and OFFERINGS communicate SO much more than you might think. Have you ever considered how the packages you offer might communicate the quality (and worth) of your service? Have you thought about whether your offerings align with your brand and messaging? Here’s an example for you.
Let’s say you’re a photographer who LOVES photographing newborns. You are obsessed with helping parents capture this special time and giving them quality images that will last a lifetime.
Your services consist of three different packages where you deliver either 10, 25 or 50 digital files. Let me ask you this: are digitals really serving your clients in giving them quality images that will last a lifetime? Are your services communicating the special-ness of this time in a way that helps these parents truly celebrate it? Or have you fallen into the trap of ‘offering just digitals because it’s what people want’?
Undervaluing your services happens in all stages of your business – even your offerings.
I’m going to bust one common myth in the photography industry, and it is this: people DO NOT just want digital images, even if that’s what you might think (or hear them say). People DO want to capture a special time in their life so they can REMEMBER it. And we all know, having pictures on a dusty hard drive somewhere doesn’t count as a memory. So, how can you help your clients experience the timelessness of your art?
Make sure your offerings and packages match up with your brand’s values, mission, income goals and marketing. Without alignment throughout your brand, your clients will undervalue your art, EVERY TIME, because you’ve got to communicate clearly about what you provide!
Trying to remember your worth? Consider this:
Photographers don’t create photos, they capture memories. There is magic in a great photo – the right image can perfectly preserve a time, place, feeling – a memory, a stage in life. There’s a reason why we like to document these things. It’s important to remember who we were in order to better understand who we currently ARE.
Let me remind you of what you and your photography are actually worth.
Underneath the request to photograph someone’s wedding is the recognition of a day that is so full of love and magic that it changes a couple’s life forever. A graduating senior is about to launch into an adventure that they haven’t yet imagined while their parents stand by teary-eyed and wish them luck. A couple’s new baby has expanded their hearts to a place they never knew was possible, and this baby will only be this exact age ONCE.
Your work is valuable, my friend. It’s time your brand, mission, offerings, income AND marketing reflected all that!
If that sounds daunting and you’re feeling like, Meghan, where do I even START?! Grab a seat in my FREE Workshop on July 27th at 11am CST, where I’ll be sharing the 3 systems EVERY photographer needs to go from stressed and scattered to streamlined and successful. Grab your spot (or catch the replay!!) right here.
