I've read two things in the past 24 hours that has got me thinking about photography marketing. One was a FB post where a local girl posted that she had a "New Camera Special". For only $10 she'd give you a 20 min session and 10-15 digital images. When someone asked her what kind of camera she had she replied, "A nice one. Are you interested in pictures?" There were a couple other things that were "red flag warnings" to me as well but to each their own. This morning I was up before 5am and was reading an online marketing article about prints vs. CD of images for the client to print at will. It got me thinking as to why I have chosen the way of the CD when it comes to distributing images to clients and why I charge what I do.
Here are my reasons why I've chosen the CD (and when I say CD I mean a customized flash disk as computer CDs will be obsolete within a few years):
1. I am a very indecisive person when it comes to non-essential decisions. My whole day is about making decisions so the last thing I want to do is make a decision to spend $50 on a print that I will regret once I get it home and framed. I've done that before. I've chosen an image for the photographer to print, have spent a few hundred dollars on prints and then changed my mind after it was too late. With a flash disk you can change your mind as often as you'd like and it won't break the bank.
2. I don't have an office or a studio or a gallery location. So basically I don't have the proper equipment, lighting or location to show you your image gallery. I could not, in good conscience, have you choose images for me to print that you've only seen on your small laptop or smart phone.
3. Photography is not our sole income. I don't NEED to make money off my business. It's something I enjoy doing, a way to contribute to our finances without feeling pressure to HAVE to make money. I know I charge less than some photographers and more than others. My business is a work in progress and I charge what I know my photography service is worth. Some photographers choose to charge a $100 session fee and then their fine print says that you have to choose a minimum of $300 in prints. That's not my style and doesn't work for me.
Yes, there are cons to doing just the flash disk. The biggest one being that clients don't know the difference of a professional printing lab vs Walmart. Yes, Walmart is the easy route to take but you'll regret it when you go to frame the picture that you spent hours getting ready for only to find out you look a sickly green/grayish color because Walmart doesn't use a calibrated printer. If you're going to pay the session fee then pay the extra few dollars to have your pictures professionally printed so they can show the quality of work the photographer put into that particular image. I know that, like me, most people just put the flash disk away and don't print images at all. But my theory is that at least I know where the images are so I can print them when I choose to. The last con is when a client decides to print a large 16x20 canvas without expressing that to the photographer. Most photographers will ask when they send the online photo gallery but some forget (I've been guilty of this!). When a photographer edits images they export them using certain measurements for web images and certain images for prints. Unless specified, the images you receive on your flash disk are not meant to be printed larger than 8x10.
I feel that, as a photography client, it is your right to ask questions. You wouldn't go buy a new TV or a new car without asking anything about it or shopping around until you found what you wanted and liked. It's the same with photography. Some people are going to like my photos and others aren't. Yes, sometimes it hurts but that's business. I had someone ask me the other day, at a photo shoot, how much my new camera cost me. I didn't have a problem telling him because I want my clients to know that I don't just grab a $100 camera, take some pictures of you and give them to you without culling and editing them first. I spend A LOT time before, during and after each photo session, (That's another blog for a different time) making sure it's as perfect as I'm capable of creating at this moment in life. I invest my time and money to make JenniferJ Photography be something I'm proud of! I am constantly learning through online courses, Youtube, etc. I learn and research the business aspect of photography. I am a photographer who wants to be taken seriously, not the photographer who charges $10 because I have a "New Camera Special". My time away from my boys needs to be worth it to me. That's why I spend most of my lil guy's naptimes on the computer, doing photography/business research. That's why I invest more money than your average Joe in photography equipment that will benefit you, my business and my future clients. I know you have a choice when choosing a photographer and I always appreciate when you choose me....and refer me to others!
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