Everyone Is a Photographer. Why Should I Pay Your Fee?

Everyone Is a Photographer. Why Should I Pay Your Fee?

During a recent night out, I was asked the question: "What do you do for a living?" It was the perfect opportunity to practice being excited about my work, so I launched into my story. This was followed up with a question that often comes up in these conversations: “Why would someone hire you to fly around the world when they could save time and money hiring a local photographer?”

The question could have been rephrased: “Everyone is a photographer these days. Why should I pay your fee?”

Architectural photography has proven to me that house buyers are willing to pay a premium for additonal features, like a great view.

Could I ask you to do some basic calculations with me? How much money would you need per year to cover your living costs, your business expenses, and to leave a little extra to build your business? In the UK, it is roughly £60,000 ($77,000).

How many shoots can you realistically handle per year, assuming you’re involved in the entire process from pre-production to delivery? Is 50 per year a reasonable number? That means you need to be making £1,200 ($1,538) as a minimum per shoot just to make it as a “somewhat successful” business.

I did this calculation to determine a price to charge my architectural clients. During the fee negotiation process, one of my clients told me that my fee was almost the entire fee he was charging for his design. Why should he give up most of his income simply for photography? I caved and offered him a cheaper option (half the fee for half the time), but it got me worried about the state of the photography market. If my minimum fee requirement was significantly more than what my clients could afford, how sustainable is my business?

I found the answers to these questions in an episode of the Tim Ferris Show. For those of you not familiar with the Tim Ferris Show, it is a long-form interview podcast where the host, Tim Ferris, interviews world class performers across a variety of disciplines to tease out common practices that can be applied to any discipline. I've learned more about the photography business from the Tim Ferris show than from any book or course about the photography business.

Nandos core business is selling chicken meals, yet through the interior architecture of their restaurants, they appeal to an audience who love design and want a unique experience.

The episode that spoke to my questions was an interview with Seth Godin. Seth is a leading expert on the topic of marketing as well as being a phenomenal communicator. He did a similar interview on the Chase Jarvis Live podcast. Both podcast episodes bring out principles from Seth’s latest book, “This is Marketing.” The episodes cover principles like making your service for the smallest viable audience. Just that concept alone was worth listening to the episodes.

A friend of mine did this shoot for a business called Hefthd that repairs antique axes. They're doing a great job of providing a service to their smallest viable market. Photo is by Dale Reubin: www.dalereubin.com.

Any photographer who is trying to find an audience for their work should listen to the podcast episodes. At the very least, it will challenge you to think about the practices you've always been doing that you've assumed to be useful. Personally, I changed my entire business focus.  

Jonathan Reid's picture

I am a professional photographer from London. I experience photography in two fields, travel and architecture, which I play off on each other to keep myself fresh and enthusiastic. I spend large amounts of time traveling alone, which is the source of these musings.

Log in or register to post comments
58 Comments
Previous comments

Over 30 years ago I read a three part series called "Survival in the Photo Jungle", written by a NYC based commercial photographer.and published in Popular Photography. He talks about pricing, handling potential clients, advertising, spending money on gear and generally making money in a saturated market.

This is not a direct quote but the first paragraph from the first article is "There are thirteen pages of photographers in the New York City phone book and I am unlisted." The difference between then and now is that then you had skilled professional photographers, today you have people shooting with their phones and passing them off as "professional grade photos". I actually saw a guy with a business card saying "professional cell phone photos". This is why I do photography for fun and on the side. I got tired of explaining to people why my work is better, they simply don't care. Price is more important than quality. You have to convince people why you are the better choice. The guy who wrote the three part article said he didn't take photos, he provided solutions to visual problems.

I like that. It’s actually pretty close to what the podcast recommends.

Good evening, I thought I would add to this as the problem mentioned in the article is not solely one related to photography. Rather it is one related to all service industry businesses. Why should you buy a Mercedes when you could buy a Chevy? I am a doctor. You will not find my name in a book or on a website. There are no adds for buy one get one free. I do not negotiate my fees and while I am not cheap I feel that I am of value to my clients, my product speaks for itself. The only way to schedule with me is by referral. It took me 25 years to get to this point but I am now at a point that people find me from all around the world. This is the same is with any business, you get what you pay for. If you want cheap you can get cheap, but do not expect great to be in the same sentence. Without the basic premise of truly understanding the cost of business it is impossible to stay in business. After that you must determine what you consider a fair wage and then provide a service worthy of that wage, if you do they your customers will find value in you. If you are $1 then your $1 customers will value your work. If your are $100000 and can provide that level of service then your customers in that finical range will find value in you. In the 25 years of mentoring I always stress that you must provide a fair trade of services for value if you do that then you will never be without work. There will always be people who will charge. $1 but there will also be customers who are no longer satisfied with the work they get for $1. Lastly I have always preached find a hole and fill it. Don’t compete with e erroneous else. I write this from a hotel room where a patient needed my services paid my fees and flew me to his state work on him as my costs were less than the losses he would incurred by not functioning as he needed to. Obviously, there are doctors closer than 3000 miles to him but I offer skills that match his need and as such my value to him is great. Strive for more not less, don’t take offense by turning down low offers. Just be worth what you charge and the clients will find you. I hope my insight helps. As for my photography I am closer to the $1 model so hopefully you are not competing against me. If you are then I suggest that you work you a$$ off and get better because while I am among the best in my field I am certainly it in photography. Cheers! Have an amazing career!

I love this comment, thank you so much for your thoughts. When someone buys a Mercedes, it’s not because they want a vehicle, they have other desires which are satisfied by a Mercedes, like status or a love of design. Seth argues that by learning to see what your clients really want and then tailoring your service to meet that desire, you’re actually serving the market.

I had to take a long look at my business to see what specific want/need I was solving with my architectural photography. I was able to find a relatively unique edge, which I now focus on.

I appreciate how you brought in your medical experience. Congratulations for getting to the heights you’re at in your career!

This article feels half written. How about a synopsis of Seth's and Tim's approaches? How did adopting their tips/knowledge improve your business? How do you answer that question now?

On a personal note, I'm deaf and cannot benefit from podcasts. A summary would be beneficial.

I’ve had this conversation with someone else in the comments. I’ve agreed that I will do the synthesis once enough time has passed for me to gauge the effectiveness of my new strategy. Hopefully it will be a good read.

I don't think the author answered the question asked in the headline.

Did you listen to the podcast which I said answers the question?