What Are You Selling as a Photographer?
The first thing that may come into your mind would be pictures. Of course, you are selling pictures.
I remember travelling to the Central Region of Ghana to take photographs of a woman graduating from a fashion school. I had no idea it was a big deal there.
It was a place called Senya Beraku. It’s a beautiful town and everyone seems to be welcoming.
They take these graduations seriously. When I took this gig, I thought this was going to be similar to the graduations I had photographed in the past, but this was different.
It was a different thing altogether.
The graduates marched throughout the town. There was a brass band—lots of music and dancing. I did not think for a minute that a graduation would look like this.
When I was done for the day, I was told this was not the real graduation. The real graduation was to happen the next day. So, I came on the next day and I photographed all day.
I was approached by one lady who was also graduating and she asked how much I charged for one photograph.
I’ve never since picked up a camera charged for a photograph so it seemed new to me. I said to her I didn’t charge for photos but for my service. It was a whole back and forth after I made my price known.
Unknown to me was that every photographer in the town charged for a single picture. When I say they charge for pictures, I mean, they charge for prints. So, you might shoot all day and if the client chooses to print just 5 images, you do that for them, and you charge for only 5 images. I wasn’t interested in that.
So, the question is, what are you selling as a photographer? Are you selling pictures?
Like I said to the lady, I charge for my services, that is what you are paying me for, before anything else. If you want prints, you will have to pay for that as well. In the end, we could not reach an agreement, therefore I did not photograph her.
Again, the question is, what are you selling as a photographer?
Some of you listening to this right now sell your time. Whenever a customer tells you they want to shoot for an hour, we both know it’s going to be more than an hour. Which is why I charge based on output. I’m going to have to record another episode on this.
When it comes to pricing your services as a photographer, there is no one-size-fits-all all. I think depending on the job, you will choose a strategy which best works for you in order not to lose or leave money on the table.
What are you selling as a photographer? Is it your time or the outcome?
If you can answer the question of what you are selling as a photographer, you will know how to market yourself in a way that will benefit you and your business.
Gucci sells luxury, not clothes.
Mercedes sells status, not cars.
Apple sells exclusivity, not technology.
What is the lesson here? These big brands and companies sell feelings, not products.
As a photographer, you do two things. You offer services and products. How do you go about this?
If you are a portrait photographer, you may want to stop selling your services to sell quick delivery.
If you are an event photographer, you may want to stop selling an expensive service and sell a story. Sell a tradition.
Don’t sell beautiful images, sell status.
Don’t sell a product or a service, sell an experience.
Do you know what Gucci, Mercedes and Apple have in common?
They have one thing in common and it’s this: they are expensive.
But I want to leave you with this — If it’s of great quality, it’s not expensive.
It’s only expensive when it’s bad. It’s investing when it’s good.
I’ll see you in the next article!
