sales for photographers
One question I think every photographer gets asked by clients is, “Do I get the disk of images?” I know this is a highly debated topic. There are photographers who give away their images and there are photographers who charge a premium for their services and still don’t have to “sell” that they will give the images to the consumer.
Photographers who started their photography careers with film seem to have a harder time with this concept, and understandably so. Clients prior to the digital revolution would charge a commission for the session, but the bulk of sales would be on the back end with print orders. Now, clients demand digital images, and prints are hard to sell for most photographers. Photographers have to evolve to meet consumer demands, but on the other hand it has become harder for photographers to be profitable.
What is my philosophy & what can I do?
Every client of mine will have a copy their images, not full resolution but high. I have three collections and the top two include a copy of the images. The bottom collection I typically use as a bargaining tool. I never come down in price. I think the minute a photographer comes down in price it devalues them and their service. What if I walked into Louis Vuitton and told them my disposable income is lower this month. Do you think they would say, “Okay we will sell you this bag for less?” They won’t! If they did, the value of LV bags would decline. It is the same for offering our service. Never discount. You can offer a gift voucher but discounts will kill your brand.
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I shot for another studio for several years before starting my own company. When I worked for them I never worried about how my images were used. Now that I am in control of pricing and my brand, how the images are being used is very important to me.