Photography Pricing: Part 2-Value

Thanks for coming back and reading Part 2 of our 3 part series, in relation to our 3 part equation of photography pricing!

Value to Clients

When you book a photography session, you are investing in yourself, your family, your business, etc…the important things/people in your life. There is a good chance you may be celebrating one of the major milestones in your life, with a photography session. When seeking professional photography services, you are essentially looking to pause time, capture life in that moment, mark time or events that hold the dearest memories for us, or our loved ones. Perhaps you want people to see you in your infinite self in your business ventures. Whatever the cause or reason for you to engage in professional photography services, odds are you are looking for the value in your investment, and high quality artwork is the best way to observe and preserve that.

When you know and understand quality, you seek out the best of items not only for yourself, but those you serve. Whether we are considering prints, print products, or the framing and boxes that our images will be displayed on or in, we always want the best, photographer and client alike. We have samples of those products for you to see, feel, hold and look upon so that you can better envision how your works of art, your images, will best be displayed for you or loved ones for years to come. Archival material is so important for preserving the milestones and memories, no one wants their beautiful wall art to fade in time, and while that sometimes happens, if you source the best vendors and materials, you are making every effort to circumvent that possibility, increasing the value of the product you lovingly create for, and with, your clients.

Some people love a shoot and burn photo session, they can share their digital files immediately to social media, and print at their leisure. While this is a great thing, and holds a lot of value for our clients, it robs us of the ability to present greater value through physical art work. Often, digital images are enjoyed for a minute and then forgotten on a device, jump drive, or online gallery. While this not purpose of photography, digital images are one of the most valuable things we can offer and serve up to our clients. Digital images are one of the most sharable aspects of what we do, they readily convey that important glimpse into our clients’ lives and milestones. Digitals are also easily accessible. If you could hand your client an heirloom quality product to look at every day in conjunction with the combined value of digitals, why would you not want to do that? I want people to see their images, to share their images with loved ones, and as many people do, to have the capability to gift a digital to someone in their life when a print just doesn’t work. However, I want you to see your artwork on the daily, to look upon it with love, thoughts of happiness and memories associated. I want you to have both, to understand the inherent values that both mediums possess, and that makes the most sense for you and your family to cherish indefinitely.

This is just one aspect of the value associated with your session, products. What about the value of the session itself? Your session is more than the subject and photographer, it truly is an honoring of a soul, or souls, with awareness to what makes the session important….YOU. Photographers capture a slice of time, conceptualizing the session to articulate the thing, the reason, of why you are in front of the lens. We are not only capturing the WHY, but the importance and celebration of you. You are special. You are unique. You are so indescribably YOU. Your family is important, as it’s full of unique souls that were brought to this world to experience existence together. You are extraordinary, and your essence needs to be captured, you need to be honored for being you, for doing you, and for sharing a part of you with this world, with all of us. The session is not just about your milestone, or need for photography, but it is absolutely about YOU!

Your photography session, no matter what purpose, is a reminder that you are, 100% you! Not one person walks away from their session feeling the same as when they walked in. Photography does not just capture you how you showed up for your session, but invites you to open up so we can celebrate you, to empower you, and often, to show you the person you forgot or did not know existed. Your time in front of the lens is meant to be alchemical, providing you the opportunity to nurture an inner part of you the world doesn’t always see. A photo session is a chance for you to emerge a brighter light. Often, it’s cathartic, a metamorphosis you did not realize you wanted or needed. That’s bold, but words people use when describing the experience are empowering, rejuvenating, badly needed, confidence boosting, time well spent, perfect, fun, important and valuable, to name a few.

There are a multitude of reasons why someone finds photography valuable. Has something in your life changed and you want to share that? Do you have a passion that you want to share with others? Does your business need its story told from a more personal perspective? These are a few questions that people have answered before scheduling their sessions, and sharing their stories with the world. What question would you add here, and how would a photography session answer that for you?

This may sound a bit cheesy, but I love watching people experience the transformative power of seeing themselves as they really are, the beauty of their soul shining through their image. I believe in being objective about people, taking the subjective of what someone tells me, and then listening to their soul tell me and show me otherwise. I believe in pushing limits and asking someone to show me more of their true self. How does one place a value on that? You can’t, and that is why photographers operate from a place of charging for Cost of Doing Business(CODB). It’s all part of the pricing equation.

Tune in Sunday for the conclusion of this 3 part series. Mindset is everything.