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Question from Victoria: ” I’m in the beginning stages still my question would be how do you transition to the pricing you need to be at and are worth when you’re first starting out??” (for sessions & weddings)
Alicia: I would set your prices where you want them to be and then offer a PB discount, rather than lowballing right away and the constantly increasing. Also, read the BP4U pricing guide to just starting out – it’s a great aide to figure out what your goals are and how to price to get that way. 🙂
Krystle: Im still starting off as well but in the past two years i have slowly raosed my prices to where i want so its not a big jump but they arent paying alot for inexpierence as ive gone along i e firgured out time involved ect and raised my prices accordingly
Morgan: I know there will be some that will disagree with me but, this is how I did it. And it has worked very well. I started out very low ( because I was bad LOL ) then as a few months would pass I would get more confident- therfore, I would raise my prices. each time I learned something new or felt more confident I began to charge more… That worked for me 🙂 Photos By Moe
Mollie: I’m following for answers. I’ve made a huge jump in quality and knowledge this year, want to do well financially in 2013
Brandi: Something that will also help ad it’s helped me. Compare… Compare your work, quality, time, and pricing against several other photog that have been doing this for about the same Amt of time and go from there. Plus as rough as the economy is now, ESP in a small town like I am, you can’t out price yourself. Ppl won’t buy or use you. This has worked for me and I stay very busy ESP in a small town. Best of luck to you!!
Jaye: What exactly do you mean by “starting out”? If you just bought a DSLR and now want to start charging, don’t. Get a portfolio built up for first (this is the “free” stage). Do not go into weddings until you believe you have thorough knowledge of your gear and technique and have all of the back-up gear, contracts, insurance, and other legalities in place.
If you’ve already gone through this phase, don’t short change yourself. If you go super cheap in the beginning then people will always think of you as a super cheap photographer and that’s a hard label to drop. Set prices reasonable for your sessions (maybe $150-200 for a portrait session) but do NOT include the disc or digital files. That will be where you actually make an income. Then eventually you can raise the session price as your skill and reputation improve.
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