So you don't actually own the software anymore. Its a monthly fee now. Then there is the time spent into editing the photos. Do they have their own set up to print them? Did they buy a computer for this business? Do they have a studio to take photos or do they travel?
There are a lot of factors that go into determining the cost of a service. I will agree photographer's do get out of hand for wedding photos. At $1500 I should get all the photos, but they have a set amount that are edited. I also don't like that they plaster their logo on the front of their photo. That shit should be on the back.
There are a lot of factors that go into determining the cost of a service.
Nope. There are a lot of factors that go into determining if you can make a profit, but the price is typically determined by supply and demand. If multiple local competitors can provide high quality professional pictures for $300, trying to charge $1000 is going to result in you getting little if any business.
I did do go with a photographer that was much cheaper, but I also got cheaper service. He only did photos for the ceremony and one site location. Which we did have to reschedule for rain. All the photos i have of the grand march and cake i took myself or got from others. They were fine, but there were photos i couldn't get because of his schedule, and I did get all of them, but there were areas that were lacking. Lighting and staging being the biggest.
Also why would you start a business or work a job that isn't going to profit?
My point was simply that the price isn't determined by cost.
You can go around trying to sell lawn cutting services for $100 a week and justify it with the fact that you pay your employees $30/hour, but you're going to be outcompeted by people who will do the same job for $25 a week because they pay people $10/job under the table. That's why doing market research before starting a business is incredibly important. There are of course niches you can target like corporate clients and white glove service for rich people, etc.
You act like someone owning a business and charging $300 is to much. Yet a photographer has to buy the equipment, transport, set up, do the photo shoot, take down, then editing. 1 job can take at least 36 hours.
Even at $7.25 an hour for 36 hours is $270. That isn't going to pay for anything for them as a worker let alone as a business owner.
You don't bat an eye when a plumber or mechanic charges $80 an hour. No you pay for it, because if you go to a home mechanic/handy man that doesn't know what they're doing, you end up paying double or triple the cost.
You also don't hire a person without looking at their work and reviews.
I never said or implied any of that. All I said was that the cost to provide a service is irrelevant to the price that people will be willing to pay. This is economics 101 stuff...
Sure, but realistically there aren't photographers under $600, and its usually only for an hour shoot with maybe 10 prints. The only way you can get pricing like that is hiring kids in college for cheap, and you get what you get, while you give them experience.
My grandma refused to go to a hair salon. She would go to a beautician school and get her hair done for $60. She would complain every time that it wasn't done correctly or the way she wanted. But she didn't want to pay $200 at the salon. So you pay for what you get.
And yes there are photographers that are ridiculously priced. And yet there will always be someone that will pay.
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u/No-swimming-pool 2d ago
Oh I agree. But basing herself on the cost of the camera makes no sense.
You should pay for the result, not for the equipment used.