Ask the average wedding photographer if they’ve ever been expected to work a freebie (or a near freebie) in exchange for some byline or future referrals. You’ll find that the request is not just a frequent occurrence but a common practice. Everyone wants free photography!
More often than not, some clients pay little or nothing for their wedding photography, leaving the photographer to decide how much charity they are willing to donate to get their job.
Yes. That’s called charity.
While the happy couple celebrate the high life on their special day, photographers follow them in their clapped-out cars and dated clothes to make the magic happen through their lenses.
The differences are downright unfair.
Couples point out to photographers that the cost of taking pictures is minimal therefore their charges should reflect this. After all, it’s just a bit of data on a USB stick, right? Unfortunately, some photographers use this crude advice when pricing themselves in the market.
The irony is today’s wedding photography services offer more than ever (gone are the days when my parents spent a month’s wage to receive half a dozen black-and-white prints!). Photographers are now expected to take thousands of photos at a plethora of locations, edit all the shots, and present them in multiple ways — but provide them at a fraction of their worth.
Photographers shouldn’t have to put up with this arrangement but they do.
So why do photographers yield so easily? Why can a photographer offer more today but earn less than one did fifty years ago? Why is there so much free stuff given away to clients in the first place anyway?
The first and most obvious answer is the number of professional photographers available to do wedding work compared to the number of weddings available to be photographed. Competition is high. It drives the price down. More freebies are offered to attract the market.
The second answer is centred around self-belief.
Photographers could significantly raise their prices but many don’t. They don’t believe in themselves enough to lift their value to a level that pays well. Without the right confidence to support it, they stay stuck in the low end, price-locked down there, unable to improve their income despite enhancing their skills and knowledge from one year to the next.
Almost all wedding photographers reach a point of sudden realisation. Frustration recognises the inordinate discrepancy between what photography pays versus what work is required to get it. They see themselves falling further behind year after year. Decisions have to be made — to continue the service or to make it stop.
The latter isn’t ideal but is the easiest to achieve. Leaving the profession and finding a wage-earning job is radical but regular pay looks more inviting than chasing a pittance through wedding clients and freebies.
The former, well that’s a whole lot harder to tackle.
If the goal is to escape the low end of the market and make some proper money, it’ll mean lifting the business’s profits tenfold. This will give the photographer the same priority as the wedding couple. The photographer earns a decent living and the couple gets the best possible photos of their day.
But it’ll require a dramatic change in mindset to make it happen. It’ll need a belief system with a hard-nosed sales approach to get the business moving in the right direction.
Prices will no longer be worked around a cost-plus formula. It’s now about the art, the magical imagery of a once-in-a-lifetime event that is absolutely priceless. It becomes the type of business where: If you have to ask how much it costs, you probably can’t afford the service.
High-end marketing is designed to attract the right clientele, while those who convert to sign-ups are hit hard with aggressive upselling and cross-selling techniques. If a freebie is offered, it’s only because its cost has already been built into the price. The mantra: “Make ’em pay ’til it hurts and then squeeze ’em a bit more” becomes a well-used behind-the-scenes phrase.
Of course, this changes the nature of photography to the semi-professional/hobby photographer. No longer is their photography about lenses, shutters and depth of field. It’s about balance sheets and sales forecasts. Photographers at this level spend more time drafting new marketing strategies than standing behind a camera taking pictures.
Some wedding photographers will know what to do, see the light and push on to the upper echelon but many won’t. They will give up and call it a day.
That’s why option number two starts to look good again.
So if you’re a couple looking for wedding photography, beware of the budget-priced service. A photographer’s past, present and future freebies may catch up with them soon, forcing them to reassess their photography career instantly.
Sudden cancellations do happen.
More often than you think.
Discover more from Michael Forman – Author of Dark Fiction & Drama
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