Lots of photographers who are starting out have asked me this question.
“How should I charge for my photography services?”
Quite frankly, there is no rules here and you can pretty much charge whatever you like, depending on how much you think your creativity, time and effort are worth.
Most of us will start with low pricing to entice customers. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as you can support yourself and make a good profit out of it. However, most people when doing their cost/profit/pricing analysis, always makes the mistake of not catering for worst case scenarios. Many would think they do not need to pay for rent/electricity. Others would think they are bullet proof and do not need insurance. Travel is free and we can teleport from Pasir Ris to City Hall for a meeting and Singapore to Paris for a Bridal Photoshoot in the blink of an eye. Some also think their trusty equipments will never die.
The above assumptions are simply a recipe for disaster.
Yes. We can charge low, as a start but also, we must still be a tad realistic and not assume the worst will never happen. Price your service right, so that we are at least truly making a decent profit after factoring all the costs involved. If you are operating at a loss all the time, this new adventure will not be fun, and you might just find yourself cursing and swearing at your life pretty soon. You must also be able to make a quick recovery should anything bad befall on yourself or your gears (insurance on ourselves and our gears doesn’t come cheap).
As an example my 5D Mk III just went into deep sleep after my recent trip to Bali. It did not survive a splash from the ultra corrosive sea water. Had I been charging way below cost to entice more clients to come my way. I will be photographing my next wedding with an iPhone.
So for all you good peeps out there, please remember, Price it Right!
I would like to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to Canon Singapore for the amazing support. Special shout outs to Matthew & Jessica!! Despite most of their cameras being out on loan due to the upcoming F1 and Asian Games. They searched high and low and managed to secure me a temporary 5D Mk III while my drenched copy lies in the operating room. The latest news is that my copy is likely going for a long sleep and not cost worthy for repair. I am not the least bit worried though, as I have this nice loanie from Canon to tide me thru the next few days of back to back photoshoots. And thanks to my back up funds, I will be getting a replacement shortly. Woots!
Lastly, I leave you with some nice images from my Bali trip. Cheer to a great weekend ahead everyone!! 🙂
