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Question from Tammy: “What are you charging for your 10×10 albums, and who are your favorite printers for them? (ie, MPix pro is $50 for a hard cover album with 10 spreads). Using the standard 3x rule — Customer cost would be $150 — is that too much?”
Amy: That’s what I charge for mine, $150.
Tammy: I am from a retail background where the general rule is 2x. I am slowly modifying my prices based on the 3x rule. Since the albums are a new item for me, I have an opportunity to price them right from the start — but I am having my own version of sticker shock.
Danie: You should have a break down of what % of time and resources that it took to make that book. If is cost you 50.00 then what did it cost you in electricity, internet and so on. It shouldn’t be a guessing game if you want to make money.
Krystle: have you checked out blurb.com…the albums there are amazing u can get paper or hardcover and the pages are like actual book pages like a childrens books and they are fairly cheap!!!!!
Cara: That’s way too little!! Albums should be priced completely differently than prints – think about it, they are getting 20 images. They aren’t paying for the paper those images are printed on, they are paying for 20 images in an album format! I charge 20 times the price of my 5×7’s, plus material/design costs if they are much higher than the cost of loose 5×7’s, or if the album design process takes more time. My full-sized albums start at $500 (although I do have a low-cost 5×5 album, that many clients are ordering as a “brag book.” That is $300, it is simple for me to produce with relatively low costs.)
Tina: Following for responses
Cortney: I use White House Custom Color and charge $335 – roughly 3x the actual cost because I factor in the edit time, packaging, and a few upgrades.
Leah: there’s a difference between an “album” and a “photo book” as well and that should be taken in to account
Cara: Yes, Leah! You are right… the formula I gave was for a “photo book” not an archival album. I mark up the high end albums even more.
Brittany: Interested to hear more about this. Following for responses.
Jaye: OK, I really, really don’t mean for this to come off as harsh, but I know it will a little bit. Know that it’s in your best interest and I hope you learn something!
When you charge a client $150 for a 10×10 album what that really is selling is the RETAIL price of a BLANK album. So unless that is literally what you are doing (selling blank albums) then your pricing is way, way off.
Just like I posted on the print pricing question someone posted a few weeks ago- your client is NOT paying for the photographic paper. They are paying for the image on the paper. Unless you think your art is worthless (and, yes, portrait photography is an art) then you need to start acting like what you do is worth something and charging for it.
Here is my formula for pricing albums:
1) Album Cost x2
2) Design Fee (for the time and the unique design that goes into the album)
3) Then I figure out how many 4×6, 5×7, 8x10s, and 10x20s that I put in an average album. Then I add up how many I would charge for each of those to be made into prints.
And there is how much you should charge for an album.
Michelle: Based on everyones responses I am charging way to little! I feel like if I use the 3x rule, no one will want to spend $150 on a photo book when they can make their own much cheaper version at a snapfish type lab. I understand you get what you pay for, but i pride myself on being affordable for my clients. And unfortunately for me, in this economy, people don’t mind going the cheaper route. There has to be a happy medium. I dont charge 3x, but I limit the number of photos in the book. If they want more photos, I charge extra per every 5 poses added to the book.
Jaye: So, let’s just pretend…. (Oh, and FYI, I’m assuming these are for Flush Mount Albums, not press print. Although my price for press print isn’t that much lower).
1) Album Cost x2= $100
2) Design Fee= $150 (four hours of work at $50 an hour and $50 for the design)
3) Print Costs= $620 (26 gift sized prints- 4×6, 5×7, 8×10, and two 10×20 page spreads at my standard prices).
Total for a 10×10, 10 Spread Album = $870
I actually charge closer to $1,000 for a 10×10 but I use a more expensive company for an albums. And, yes, clients buy them and clients love them.
Aneesha: Following for the comments!
Cara: for those who feel $150 is too much because people can DIY for less… please know that you are placing an extremely low value on your artwork.
Megan: I feel like 150$ is low. So much time,energy, and shipping goes into your photos and albums I think people should be charging more. If someone doesn’t want a beautiful custom album they will have to cherish forever for 500$ they are more then welcome to get some cheap book at snapfish. I think you should be selling an investment not just a book.
Megan: I also think a lot of album companies are pushing out these cheap books. I think more photographers should shop around and be willing to raise their prices for higher quality products
Tammy: Megan, what company do you recommend?
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