 Bobby R. Strange |
Portrait Photography I was brainstorming about an idea I had for a portrait mini-session and came up with a package and price. When I ran my idea by a friend, they said the price wasn't bad, but they could "get the same thing at JC Penney for $3.99". A similar thing happened a while back when a client showed a wedding book that I had done for them to a friend of theirs. The friend made the comment that "you could get books made at Walmart for $25". How do you respond to comments like that? What reason would you give to someone for why they should go to a "pro" studio rather than just go to a department store that's cheaper? Thanks!
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Jon Close |
"You get what you pay for." ;-) The specials at the department stores are to get customers into the posing seat, then up-sell more expensive print packages. And "get books made at xxx for $25" ignores the work and skill involved in creating a set of photos, creative and technical. You have to sell your expertise in creating better images than someone can do themselves with their compact P&S. IMHO.
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- Dennis Flanagan Contact Dennis Flanagan Dennis Flanagan's Gallery |
If the quality of your work is better, you should be able to use that as a selling point.
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Allison W. Laster |
I shoot outdoor, on-location portraits (at the client's home or at the park). I have found that while JC Penney's is cheaper, after fighting with their children one good time at the "store", people are willing to pay a little extra not to have to deal with the hassle, And the dads are usually grateful not to have to go to a "boring" studio. You have to sell not only your gift and art but also your portrait experience.
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Christie R. Bielss |
Bobby, I have never seen either Walmart or JC Penney offer an album of photos through their portrait studios, but maybe I've missed it somewhere. Anything additional beyond the "get 'em in the door" special is usually quite pricey as well. The only way I know of to get an album from Walmart is through their photo processing lab - but you have to have your own photos to submit. Also, to get an album from most of these types of places means you have to pay for each different pose and that can mean that the client ends up spending hundreds of dollars - for Walmart-quality photos. In the end, the quality of your images FAR exceed anything that is offered by any of those studios.
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Bobby R. Strange |
Thanks for the replies all :) Allison, I do the same with outdoor and on location portraits. I like that it separates me from the normal portraits with the "boring" backdrops. Christie, it is the photo processing lab at Walmart that has the books. They aren't very customizable, though, it seems. There are only so many backgrounds, etc., you can choose from. I like what Jon said ("you get what you pay for") and it always wants to fly out of my mouth when I hear how much cheaper the department store studios are, lol. I've never really investigated though and tried to find out what you do get for your money at those other studios (as far as retouching and bells/whistles). I just price mine by what I think my work and time are worth.
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Nancy de Flon |
I echo what Jon said about getting what you pay for. Speaking as a consumer: Many years ago, I took my son to J.C. Penney for his Confirmation photos. The photos didn't even end up looking like him. So the quality isn't only in the presentation afterwards but also in the time taken by the photographer to "get it right" in the capture stage. The 25-year-olds behind the cameras in the department-store factories just aren't going to bother with that. Another thing to point out to the "cheaper elsewhere" crowd.
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Sobia Chishti |
Bobby, it happened with me too a couple of times (xyz store is much cheaper) and my response was exactly the same like Jon said " you get what you pay for" ! I am an outdoor and on location portrait photographer and I told my friend (who was serving as middle person between me and her other friend) that you can compare my work and the departmantal store product. If they like that by all means go have a shoot there. The thing is that people still don't consider photography a serious business. They think all it takes is clicking a button! that it is not a hard job! They would rather dine out four times a month or spend a couple hundred on a piece of jewelry but would hesitate to have professional photoshoot. I would tell them that they are investing in their present so that they can have a beautiful keepsake for their future. That it is not just a photograph, it will be a part of their history, whether it is a youthful beauty of a bride, the innocence of their infant, charming smiles of the littles boys and girls, the tinkling in their eyes when they are with moms and dads, or the unconditional love that a family shares, it will be theirs for the years to come to always look back in the past and recall all the stories. Please excuse me if I am getting emotional...it is just the way I feel about this. By the way, long before I started taking photos, I had done a shoot from a departmental store. They advertise (they always do) it is a $9.99 or $4.99 price..well we ended up paying $50.00+ !
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Deborah Waddell |
Keep in mind, you provide something that national/traditional studios don't. They don't have the ability to deviate much from whatever the corporate protocol is, you do. You also have the ability to 'shoot on location.' I know, because I do both. (no, it's not a conflict of interest, b/c I don't do anything on location that I do in the nat'l/trad studio). Take advantage of your freedom to experiment w/portraits, that's what makes you 1)unique, 2)evolves you as a photographer and, most importantly 3)it is the learning process & quality of your portraits that says "I am a professional photographer, therefore I am an artist, you are my subject; you have commissioned me as your artist and as such I deserve the price I quote." It is this combined with 'behind the scene' costs you incur that justify the price you ask for your artistic product.
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Lynn R. Powers |
I suggest that you make a portfolio of about 20 different people with letter sized paper at the 8X10 size. If you can prove that you are better than the competition you will find out that the person either can't afford you or is too cheap to spend the money. I was in the reverse situation. A friend who was an aspiring singer, he was good, wanted a photo for his mother. You have to realize some people just want a glorified snapshot and they will be happy. There is no way you can compete with the corporate portrait photographers pricewise.
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Teresa H. Hunt |
Bobby, my husband and I were discussing this very problem just the other day. He made me come up with 3 reasons for why my product is better than what you can get at Sears, JcPenny's or Wal-mart. Here's what I came up with 1)more poses - the department stores will only do about 6 standard poses 2)spend more time with customer to get better quality photo's - department store your in and out of studio in about 1/2 hour (the sales part takes longer than actually taking photo's) 3)custom settings, with unique photo's - in department store all the photo's end up looking the same. On another note . . . I used to work at the Sear's Portrait Studio. I can tell you from experience that there is more training done on selling the packages than on photography. My photography training was to put all the trainee's in the room together and have us take pictures of each other. The rest of my week long training was on sales. We were to take 5-6 poses. They HAD to be: full-length, 3/4 shot, close-up and birds-eye (which I don't like). We were not allowed to deviate from the cookie-cutter shots. And we were given a half-hour for a shoot. It was really frustrating when a shoot was going really well and you wanted to keep going and be creative. Then to the sales table where we got in trouble if our sales weren't high enough. Anyway . . . . hope this helps. :)
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Clayton T. Williams |
This kind of goes along with what everyone else is saying but I have taken a few friends "albums" they had done at JCPenny, Walmart, etc. and placed them side by side and it is amazing to see that even though they are different subjects from different stores they all look the same. Then when you place them beside my photos the difference really pops. Not only in the difference in the posing and backdrop but I take pride in post-processing to get the colors right and make one of a kind photos such as selective coloring and selective focus things like that you won't get from XYZ company. It is like eating flank meat when you could have had filet mignon. Sure it might be more expensive but the quality and experience is better.
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Lisa L. Carter-Davis |
The biggest complaint I hear about Sears and JC Penney are that they don't take the time to get the right shot and it's a stressful experience for the entire family. I really stress the time that is allowed for my sessions and the fun time that everyone has.
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