The saga that is "pricing" :Southeast Michigan Photographer

As photographers.... one of the things we are constantly tweaking are our prices. Back when I first started it was fairly cut and dry: there was a session fee, that covered shooting time and editing. And then there were print prices. You bought individual prints from the photographer who would get them from a professional lab to ensure top quality. Digital images were a very, very new thing. Selling digital images was practically unheard of!

But.. as with many industries... things change. And with the dawn of digital.. photography has changed faster than you can click the shutter button. With more and more new photographers out there offering "everything".. it's been harder and harder for the "oldies" to justify to new clients why they *don't* offer "everything for one low price".

Now, I can sit here and type out a big long post about how there is a difference between "professionals" and "newbies" and how you pay for "quality" when you come to me and blah blah blah.... but honestly... I've been doing that for so long and I feel like I am fighting a losing battle.

The bottom line is: The industry is changing, and clients WANT the digital images. They want ALL the digital images. With social networking sites and blogs dominating our daily lives people want to be able to share their photos on these places. They can't do that with prints. And as a photographer I'd much rather my client have the quality web-images to share rather than scanning in a print and posting a crappy copy for the whole world to see.

For the past few years I have worked and re-worked my prices. I have done the "session fee and then separate prices for prints" thing, I have tried the "package deals: pay one price and get your session and $XX.xx in print credit" thing, and I have tried the "one price for all edited images on CD" thing. And after almost 6 years in business..... the most popular pricing option has been...."One Price For the CD" option. (shocker, right? haha). So..... after much thought, internal debate and discussion.... I have decided to scrap the "session fee with print credit" pricing that I was going with and opt instead for the "One Price Gets It All" option.

I know that many of my fellow photogers are shaking their heads, thinking I'm nuts. I also know that I am probably short changing myself in the long run, and that I am probably not going to be charging near what I am worth, or that I will be overworking myself while being underpaid at the same time. BUT... I also know that this option will give me more time with my family, as well as allow more people the option in obtaining professional photos at a price they can afford.

Michigan's economy is much different than California, and I am sympathetic to that. I knew my pricing structure would have to change when we got here. And I am perfectly fine with that.. And while I am still offering the "$150 session with CD" deal through the month of September, on October 1st, the price will go up to $250. But this will still include the session and CD.

I hope that you will all understand the reason for my price increase. And appreciate that it is still an amazing deal. I want to make it affordable to my clients, but I still do need to make it worth my time. There is much more to a session than just the 1-2 hours I spend shooting. There are hours of editing and preparing the online slide shows, and sneak peeks and facebooking images.

I still have spots available for the month of Sept, and am also now booking for October (the fall colors are sooooo awesome here!! I cannot wait!!). Please note that I will only be booking a max of 3 sessions per week so spots will fill up fast. Especially as the gorgeous colors begin to appear. So, be sure to book as soon as you have a date in mind!

For a full description of my prices please check out my website!