Geoff Comfort
What to charge
According to Geoff you can only deliver 2 of the following 3 things so you have to figure out which 2 you will go for.
-High quality
-Fast turnaround
-Low price
High quality and fast turnaround would be he ideal 2.
What you charge depends on;
-Business overheads
-Competitors
-How much the client will pay
-What you want out of the job
-Life style (that you want to maintain)
-Turnaround
-Quality of the work
So based on your own overheads and the cost of sales, plus what you want to earn you can then calculate how much to charge.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Ben from Fusion photography
Ben from Fusion photography
First up, Ben is a very savvy business man and would be successful in pretty much any business pursuit.
Ben spoke about different types of wedding photographers and about how much he charges and how he gets to that figure.
He stressed that it’s not about the photography it’s about a difference, it’s about business and selling yourself.
Ben talked about “shoot to burn” photographers i.e shooting 50+ weddings a year at a low rate. The burn referring to the photographer burning out and not making much money.
He spoke of the hidden costs, Advertising / marketing, Camera wear (which is very high for wedding photographers as they tend to shoot a lot of frames), Consultation (even if a client doesn’t book you they still eat up your time), Insurance, superannuation and tax.
He gave a run down of how many weddings he had shot i the last 3 years and the average package price of those weddings;
-2007: 55 @ $3600
-2008: 50 @ $4200
-2009: 45 @ $5000
-2010: 39 @ $6300
-Projection for 2011 32@ $8000
He said the reason he now has a $5000 minimum package is calculated from his bottom line and what he is willing to sacrifice his weekend for. He also pointed out that if he had a cheap package and someone booked it, he then couldn’t accept a booking for a $10,000 wedding on the same day.
He stressed to never give away negs / copyright.
He pointed out that wedding albums are his key to higher profits and charges per page of an album.
How to justify charges;
-Be worth it, go the extra mile
-Believe in your self worth
-Help clients see your value
-look the part (dress well)
Sell yourself, Clients need trust and confidence.
Educate your clients;
-The value of good photography
-The value of good service
-The value of taking control (as a photographer)
Reasons why Ben loves being a wedding photographer
-Always with happy people
-Endless variety
-Endless challenges
-every photography discipline rolled into one.
Although Ben mad a pretty good case I still have no interest in wedding photography.
First up, Ben is a very savvy business man and would be successful in pretty much any business pursuit.
Ben spoke about different types of wedding photographers and about how much he charges and how he gets to that figure.
He stressed that it’s not about the photography it’s about a difference, it’s about business and selling yourself.
Ben talked about “shoot to burn” photographers i.e shooting 50+ weddings a year at a low rate. The burn referring to the photographer burning out and not making much money.
He spoke of the hidden costs, Advertising / marketing, Camera wear (which is very high for wedding photographers as they tend to shoot a lot of frames), Consultation (even if a client doesn’t book you they still eat up your time), Insurance, superannuation and tax.
He gave a run down of how many weddings he had shot i the last 3 years and the average package price of those weddings;
-2007: 55 @ $3600
-2008: 50 @ $4200
-2009: 45 @ $5000
-2010: 39 @ $6300
-Projection for 2011 32@ $8000
He said the reason he now has a $5000 minimum package is calculated from his bottom line and what he is willing to sacrifice his weekend for. He also pointed out that if he had a cheap package and someone booked it, he then couldn’t accept a booking for a $10,000 wedding on the same day.
He stressed to never give away negs / copyright.
He pointed out that wedding albums are his key to higher profits and charges per page of an album.
How to justify charges;
-Be worth it, go the extra mile
-Believe in your self worth
-Help clients see your value
-look the part (dress well)
Sell yourself, Clients need trust and confidence.
Educate your clients;
-The value of good photography
-The value of good service
-The value of taking control (as a photographer)
Reasons why Ben loves being a wedding photographer
-Always with happy people
-Endless variety
-Endless challenges
-every photography discipline rolled into one.
Although Ben mad a pretty good case I still have no interest in wedding photography.
Hasselblad Phocus
Hasselblad Phocus.
During the Hasselblad seminar we were shown how to use the schools new H3d cameras and how to use the accompanying software Phocus.
While pretty much all modern D-SLR cameras largely the same we went through all the menus and custom settings and found that Hasselblads and super user friendly.
The same can be said about the software, it is a straight forward program that offers basic editing and camera control. One big plus that I got out the seminar was a new style of digital workflow and a manual way to set white balance using the principle that under the correct colour balance you will get the maximum amount of tones in each colour group... This is very handy for color balancing shots that are hard to get a grey card into i.e microscope photography.
We also got foldable quick-start guides for the cameras and the software that include a full list short cuts, I have used the guide on a number of occasions.
The software also has a full history of Zeiss and Fuji/Hasselblad lenses and can auto correct for distortion and CA’s etc... absolutely brilliant.
During the Hasselblad seminar we were shown how to use the schools new H3d cameras and how to use the accompanying software Phocus.
While pretty much all modern D-SLR cameras largely the same we went through all the menus and custom settings and found that Hasselblads and super user friendly.
The same can be said about the software, it is a straight forward program that offers basic editing and camera control. One big plus that I got out the seminar was a new style of digital workflow and a manual way to set white balance using the principle that under the correct colour balance you will get the maximum amount of tones in each colour group... This is very handy for color balancing shots that are hard to get a grey card into i.e microscope photography.
We also got foldable quick-start guides for the cameras and the software that include a full list short cuts, I have used the guide on a number of occasions.
The software also has a full history of Zeiss and Fuji/Hasselblad lenses and can auto correct for distortion and CA’s etc... absolutely brilliant.
Kelly Tunny (weddings)
Kelly Tunny-
Wedding photographer.
Packages start at $4000 and will shoot 52 weddings this year, She wants to bring this number down to about 30 - 35, however.
She has 2 staff / assistants and her husband is an accountant who handles the books.
Kelly spoke about attracting the right type of client and in wedding photography this means (for her) either a couple who are interested in doing something different or a couple who are loaded.
She talked about her interview process;
2hrs or so talking to the clients to find out exactly what they want, she then shows a slide show and talks through how things will work on the day, pricing, contracts, output (album, prints etc.)
She explains how her booking works (deposits etc.) her booking fee is between $700 and $1000 with the balance to be payed in full 2 weeks before the wedding.
She made a good point about getting money up front while the couple are “wedding crazy” (this is also a good time for up-selling).
Almost everything she said put me off wedding photography (not that I was in any danger of becoming a large format glass plate wedding photographer).
Wedding photographer.
Packages start at $4000 and will shoot 52 weddings this year, She wants to bring this number down to about 30 - 35, however.
She has 2 staff / assistants and her husband is an accountant who handles the books.
Kelly spoke about attracting the right type of client and in wedding photography this means (for her) either a couple who are interested in doing something different or a couple who are loaded.
She talked about her interview process;
2hrs or so talking to the clients to find out exactly what they want, she then shows a slide show and talks through how things will work on the day, pricing, contracts, output (album, prints etc.)
She explains how her booking works (deposits etc.) her booking fee is between $700 and $1000 with the balance to be payed in full 2 weeks before the wedding.
She made a good point about getting money up front while the couple are “wedding crazy” (this is also a good time for up-selling).
Almost everything she said put me off wedding photography (not that I was in any danger of becoming a large format glass plate wedding photographer).
Blogs for workshops etc.
I wish I wish I had better hand writing, I'm trying to post all the notes I took during the workshops and it's doing my head in...
4 blog entries to follow.
1- Kelly Tunny
2- Hasselblad Phocus
3- Ben (from Fusion)
4- Geoff Comfort
4 blog entries to follow.
1- Kelly Tunny
2- Hasselblad Phocus
3- Ben (from Fusion)
4- Geoff Comfort
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