Original subtitles

Right then, the minefield that is pricing.

So whenever I mentor or educate photographers one

-to-one I can guarantee that without fail

questions such as what should I charge, when

do I put my prices up or just

any general question geared around pricing will undoubtedly

be high on their agenda.

And rightly so, it's a complex issue and

when you work on your own it's really

hard to know if you are doing the

right thing.

There is a very fine balance between being

underpriced but busy versus overpriced and struggling to

book.

So let's talk about it.

And the first thing to note here is

that I don't have all the answers for

you.

I'm not sure anyone ever has the perfect

solution.

Do you know why?

Because everyone has constantly changing circumstances and pricing

is unique and personal to you.

I'm not here to tell you what you

should charge.

This is exclusive to you and factors such

as your location, your experience, your brand, your

profile, your competition, they all feature and influence

the outcome.

But what I do hope you take from

this episode is a different mindset and approach

to how you address your pricing strategy, how

to price and when to increase.

I'm going to throw a few little curveballs

at you and hopefully dispel a few myths

around pricing and give you something to think

about.

Before we do start talking about it, I'm

not here to judge anyone.

You ultimately have to balance getting the most

for what you do versus earning a living

to feed whatever lifestyle or need you want.

You might be the breadwinner in your family

and therefore have the added pressure of needing

to make sales.

Or this might be a side hustle for

you, which means you can afford to take

more risk.

So let me start off by telling you

all that as of right now in early

2021, I still want to charge more.

Even though I'm fully aware I charge a

considerable amount.

I'm currently five to £6,000 per wedding,

but I'd love to charge £10,000 a

wedding.

That said, I can still remember being at

£1,200 and thinking, whoa, that's a lot

of money.

And it is.

If your business model is to stay local

and shoot 40 plus weddings a year, £1

,200, £1,500 is brilliant.

Again, these are my experiences and my goal

is to maximise what I charge per wedding

in order to keep the volume low.

First curveball coming up.

Are you ready?

Some people won't book you because you're too

cheap.

There, I said it and I'm going to

say it again.

Some people won't book you because you're too

cheap.

Did you hear me?

But the question is why?

Well, it's simple.

Doubt.

Price can often be a reflection of your

skill, talent or demand.

And if your rate doesn't match the consumer's

perceived idea of value, you make them doubt

you because they wonder what's the catch.

And here's the thing.

We all hear from those consumers who can't

afford us because they tell us, right?

Hey, Sam, we love your work, but I'm

sorry, you're a bit out of budget.

We found some other photographers who are £500

cheaper.

Is there anything you can do?

We've all had those emails, right?

But let's flip that on its head.

How many of us have had an email

saying you're cheaper than everyone else we looked

at.

So we'd like to go ahead and book.

If people continually told you that, what would

happen?

You put your prices up, right?

Am I right?

I hope I'm right.

But you don't want to put your prices

up because you're scared after Sally and Steve

emailed to ask you for discount.

Do you see how those discount inquiry emails

can hold you back and create fear?

It's also important to know we all have

different ideas of what value should cost and

value isn't a bargain.

It's worth it's about whether you provide worth

to your clients.

And remember, if Range Rover didn't provide value

or worth, they wouldn't sell any cars for

£80,000 because everyone would just drive a

£25,000 Nissan Qashqai because it still does

the same job, right?

Wrong.

It doesn't.

Next curve ball.

There will always be people who can't afford

you.

As I've gone through my pricing journey, and

I've been through it charging £800, £1,200,

£2,500, £3,500 and so on.

I would always find myself thinking Mark and

Lucy couldn't afford me if I go to

that price.

And that was a great wedding.

But here's the thing I've learned.

As you close the door on that market

and say goodbye to those who are unlikely

to have budget for you, you open the

door to a new market, to new people

who can and do have budget.

But also it's important to recognise the shift

in balance when you do begin to charge

more.

A higher rate doesn't just mean you shoot

less.

It also means you can give more to

those clients who do book you, providing a

better service.

And as it frees up time in your

schedule, because you're shooting 30 weddings instead of

55, you can give your business the TLC

it needs.

You have more time to focus on marketing

and social media, which in turn increases your

brand awareness, which in turn leads to more

inquiries.

And at every single price point, there will

always be different levels of affordability.

And what I mean by that is that

you can be charging £2,000 a wedding,

and some people who book you will have

absolutely maxed themselves out to book you because

they love your work.

But equally, there will be some couples who

book you to whom £2,000 isn't a

great sum of money.

Just to reinforce this idea, let's go shopping,

shall we?

Okay, Net-A-Porter, let's see what you've

got.

Okay, let's go and shop.

Let's say something completely random.

Let's do jewellery.

Let's do earrings.

Okay.

Right.

Okay.

So there's a few there.

Not cheap for an earring, a few quid.

£75, £110, £400.

Okay.

Let's change the filter to price high low.

Hold on a second.

What the, shut the front door.

Is this for real?

Wait.

Right.

Okay.

Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans.

Whoo.

Look at that.

Right.

You may be wondering why I've chosen to

show you this.

What do earrings on Net-A-Porter have

to do with wedding photography, Sam?

What course have I signed up to here?

I can hear you cry.

Well, for me, it gives perspective.

If that doesn't make you feel like you

can charge a little bit more and you're

worthy of that higher rate, I don't know

what will.

It's all about mindset.

And something I've been trying to work on

over the past year or so has been

my conditioning towards wealth and money.

And I'm trying to recognise that I do

deserve to charge what I do, that I

am worthy.

Because if you were to stereotype photographers, I

think it would be pretty fair to say

that on the whole, we come from a

working to middle class background.

Most people in the arts do.

I certainly do.

My parents worked for the council and NHS.

We never struggled financially.

But we certainly were never spoiled with wealth.

It's a world I never really knew existed.

I was never aware of.

But people do have wealth.

That world does exist.

And your branding is there to help you

justify your rate to that world if you

want it to.

It should provide confidence to the consumer through

your work, through your identity, through your website,

that you are worthy of what you charge.

Try and see your branding as an opportunity

to reinforce your value and worth.

And whilst we're on confidence, you have to

believe that you are worthy to receive a

higher rate.

If you don't believe in yourself, how can

a consumer?

Because your rate is really a reflection of

your development and skill as a photographer.

Which leads me on to my final question.

And it's a big question.

I get asked this a lot.

When do I put my prices up?

And for me, the answer is simple.

When your demand exceeds your availability.

You need to focus on being busy first,

building your business and brand awareness up before

you can start to increase your rate.

But if your rate is a reflection of

your skill and development, and you aren't continually

turning work away, you need to work on

your development before anything else.

One pitfall to be wary of is booking

yourself up for key dates too far out,

and not recognising that your work and brand

will have improved and grown by the time

that date comes around.

I know enough photographers who have fully booked

themselves out far too early.

And you can easily be in a position

where you're shooting a wedding for 800 pounds

one day, because they booked you three years

ago, and you've since turned away 12 other

enquiries for that date.

Then the following weekend, you're shooting one for

two and a half thousand pounds, and they

booked you six months out.

You will resent the 800 pound booking.

And my final thought for you to finish

on when it comes to your pricing journey.

Don't forget you need to experience life as

well.

I'm not here to tell you how many

you should shoot or what you should charge.

But don't give yourself away.

Don't sell your soul.

Take breaks.

You deserve to live, travel and experience just

like the couples you're documenting are.