Reply To: What is the Value of a Good Photograph/Photographer?

[Bill]

Rise, I feel for you and after reading some of the other stories here, you’re not alone.
I felt the some way with some clients after submitting a quote to them. Sometimes I get that “look” that I must be joking or that I am out of my mind or something or that I am trying to rob them at gunpoint or something to that nature.

You have to stick to your guns and try to enlighten your clients to the quality of your service and product. Try equating it to that of other professions so that maybe it put’s your price in better perspective. Everybody wants to save money, that’s just human nature, but equating a value to a better service, especially one that they can see, can sometimes smooth it over.

You will get some clients that do not have that vision, but want it.

From my own experience, I had a client, who I will not name, that was wanting some good headshots and portraits done for promotional use. He wanted high quality portraits so that he could make promo posters for his entertainment business.
He was a sort of Frank Sinatra type of lounge singer, from what I gathered.

I gave him a quote and broke it down so that he could see what everything cost in an itemized format. I had studio rental, [I have no studio at the time], HAMU for the hours that he needed, even catering if he should so need or want it.
On his end, he wanted several poses, and a few close-ups for use with posters and playbills and some others for his website.
The quote I gave him even included several sized prints.
I was going to forgo any licensing for the images for future use, something I usually don’t do much, if at all, Now I do a standard licensing agreement for any “future” usage.
Well anyway, the quote I gave for a full day of shooting was around $4500, for all that was entailed. My cost, including profit, was about $1800, everything else was what he requested.

He replied, via email, that I was trying to bankrupt him and that I was crazy for “asking” that price.

I politely replied, that these were going to be high quality headshots and closeups for promoting his business and that I was not “asking”, but stating a price. I tried to gently school him that this was something that you don’t go down to Sears Photo Studio to have done and that in promoting your business, you need good quality images, especially ones that were to be used for posters.

Anyway, I did not get the job. After seeing his website some time afterward, I can see that he did not think that he needed “high-quality” images to promote himself. I also see that some time after that, his website was no longer there, I assume his business took the hit.
In show business, you need to dazzle your clients, I guess he thought his talent was enough.