Hey, how’s it going? I’m Andy Jones and this is episode 75 of the Photography Side Hustle podcast.
This week’s episode is …
To help you set your prices there is a Pricing Spreadsheet available for download. The Photography Side Hustle site isn't up and running yet so you will need to go to 50mmframework.com and sign up for the download section.
Click LOGIN on the right of the menu and set up an account. Once you have signed in DOWNLOADS appears in the menu. Click it and access the downloads.
I’ll put a link in the show notes.
Ok, I’m going to go over a few things that you can refine and be more profitable.
First is …
Reduce the hours needed to finish a job
Reducing the time you spend on each customer will improve how much money you earn per hour.
Try shorter session times. If you presently do 2-hour portrait sessions, cut them down to 1½ hours. You have just reduced your shooting time by 25%, and the price stays the same as the 2-hour session. The same money in less time equals a higher hourly rate.
More efficient processing can have the same effect. Over time you will get faster at processing your images. But rather than wait, find out what shortcuts can be used. Adobe has lots of educational videos for all its products.
When I started out I just used Photoshop and hundreds of images would take a long time to process. When I got my first copy of Lightroom I could do what took me 3-hours in Photoshop in 30 minutes using Lightroom.
So use the right tool for the job you are doing. If it saves you time it’s making you more money per hour worked and can free up time to fit in an extra session.
Another way to reduce your hours is to use shooting locations closer to home. A location 45 minutes away takes up 1½ hours of your time traveling there and back. One 15 mins away only takes 30 minutes of your time.
Obviously, if there is a location where everyone wants to get their portrait taken, you really don’t have a choice. I’m just pointing out where you can save time and increase your profits.
Next on my list is …
Constantly work on your technique
This is something you should always be doing. There is always room to improve your quality.
It doesn’t matter what you shoot, always try different styles. Lighting your portraits differently or trying different poses.
You want to aim to be the best in your marketplace. If you can improve your quality you can charge more.
Becoming an authority on a type of photography allows you can start offering workshops and teach other photographers your techniques. An example of this is landscape photographers on Youtube. They make money from the ads that show in their videos, but they make a lot more money offering workshops all over the world.
I’m not saying you have to start a Youtube channel, but consider offering local photographers some help.
If potential customers see that you also teach other photographers, they are going to place you above the competition, and bookings will follow.
Be unique
Offer something totally unique and become known for it. Until this week my example of a unique photography niche would have been a million miles from this one.
Last week's episode was “Find your niche”, and on Monday, Morgan Fielder asked a question in the Facebook Group. Her niche is …
Women's adventure travel photography in Europe with dramatic flying dresses. Morgan’s goal is to go on comfortable mini expeditions with women hiking in the Alps or Mediterranean coasts and document them in boots and dresses.
Now, if that isn’t unique I don’t know what is. Check out the Facebook Group to see the photo Morgan posted.
I’m not saying you have to do anything as dramatic, but try to offer something that’s different. Like specializing in B&W portraits or Beach Weddings. I listened to an interview with a photographer that did underwater portrait sessions in swimming pools, and he made a killing.
If you shoot weddings think about what you offer. Do you offer packages or individual products?
If all the wedding photographers in your area offer packages then go with individual products. You could offer one base package and then everything else is individual products. By doing this you are standing out from the crowd, and more importantly, you are not restricting how much the customer can spend. Packages restrict how much can be spent.
Ok, next …
Offer products with a higher perceived value
Avoid putting small prints on your price list. Put the focus on large prints, framed prints, canvases, acrylic, and metal prints. The bigger the product the bigger the profit.
Try artistically blended collages, where you take 2 or more images and blend them together. I used to do them and they were a big hit. They take more time to produce but you can ask a lot more for them.
Last is …
Raise your prices
The simplest way to make more money is to raise your prices. The chances are that you are undercharging anyway and need to charge more.
Adding just 10% can make a huge difference at the end of the year. If you averaged $1000 a month and then put your prices up by 10%, it would make you an extra $1200 a year.
Download the Pricing Spreadsheet and find out what your break-even point is. If you don’t know how much you need to earn, how can you put a price list together?
So reduce how much time you spend on shooting and editing images, constantly work on your quality, be unique, offer products with a higher perceived value, and raise your prices.
Ok, that’s it for this episode, I’ll be back next week with more waffle, have a great week. Bye