The Client Who Told a Photographer She Was Charging Too Little

When you teach yourself photography in a city where you don't speak the language, you make every pricing call, portfolio choice, and client pitch without a second opinion. Mistakes made that way can go unnoticed until a client points them out.

In 2013, Laura BC left Spain for London alone. She had no job, no friends there, and no English, and she spent her first stretch sharing a room with 15 people because it was the only thing she could afford. She slept with her camera bag because it was the only valuable thing she had. Back home, people saw photography as just a hobby, and her family wanted her to stay safe in Spain and do something else. It took her years to become a full-time freelance photographer and, eventually, a creative director. She learned the craft largely from scattered tutorials, with no mentor, and she says nobody around her believed she could make it in the London photography industry.

She was shooting for a music artist in London and charging £250, a little over $300. The artist said that was nothing. Another DJ the artist knew was paying a different photographer £3,000, and the artist thought her photography was much better than that photographer's. She calls it embarrassing that a client had to be the one to tell her to raise her rates. She also describes the reverse problem: pitching major brands as a beginner, before her work was ready for that level. She puts both mistakes down to having no one around to tell her a photo was bad or that she should charge more or less.

Pricing advice usually starts with your costs. The National Press Photographers Association offers a free cost of doing business calculator. You enter your gear, insurance, software subscriptions, rent, and the number of days you realistically bill each year. It gives you the minimum you need to charge just to stay afloat, which makes it your floor. To find what the market pays above that, you can ask clients what they've budgeted before you quote. You can ask a working photographer in your genre what a comparable job pays. You can also read the pricing resources that groups like the American Society of Media Photographers publish for commercial work. A brand with a real budget may also read a low quote as a sign of inexperience and pass.

At one point in London, Laura BC was homeless. Her family was scared for her when she left, which she calls normal, since she couldn't speak the language and was chasing a career they didn't believe in. Her mother is now her biggest fan and watches all her videos. After more than a decade in London, she started over. She turned her creative skills into online income and moved to Bali, again on her own. She also admits that even as a professional, she can go weeks without picking up a camera, the same as anyone with a busy schedule.

Her answer to whether she would do it all again is in the video above.