109. The value of your photography service: Beyond time and expenses

[00:00:00] So this is the episode that I kind of skipped. [00:00:05] And in my defense, it's because around Christmas time, when there's just so much going on and you never know what day it is. [00:00:16] I just didn't really realize that I should have been posting a new episode until I posted the one after New Year's. And I realized, wait a minute, there is one missing in here. So this is this one. It's episode 109. And I want to talk about the value that your client gets from you versus your own expenses, because I see that a lot of photographers are very preoccupied with defending their prices by listing out their expenses and how much time they spend. And while that is definitely something that you want to make sure that you consider when you set your prices, it's not what you want to use to explain and kind of defend your prices when it comes to your clients. [00:01:08] Those things, the time you spend, your expenses and all that, that's for you to know so that you can make sure that you don't charge less than you should. But if that is what you're defending, then you're capping your prices. And in many ways, you're even kind of working against your own growth. Because when you start out, it's going to take you ages to edit and to cull and to do all the things, but as you get better, it's going to take you less time. And if you are just basing your prices on how long it takes you and your expenses, if you follow the logic, it's going to end up being cheaper for your clients. [00:01:53] When it comes to your prices, you also want to think about what demand your services have. Because if you are constantly getting inquiries and you're getting fully booked, that's a clear sign that you can increase your prices. Not that you have to, that's completely up to you, but you can. [00:02:12] And if you're only focused on expenses and time and that's what you use to defend your prices, it kind of ends with that. There is really no further way you can take it. So what I want you to do is know about all that stuff. But when you are talking about your value and what you have to offer your clients, I want you to talk about the experience that they'll have when they work with you, what feelings that you'll evoke and the photos will evoke. And also make sure that you touch on your clients values and what they think is important. [00:02:53] Because people make their decisions with their heart as well as their head. And if you're only focusing on the expenses and the time, then you're really missing out because how someone's going to feel is just so much more important and valuable. [00:03:12] And if someone thinks that you're too expensive, it's probably not going to convince them to know how much time you spend and how long it takes you to do something. [00:03:24] But instead focus on what value you have to offer. [00:03:30] And that's what you want to make sure that you are being clear about. [00:03:35] So don't get me wrong, I do think educating your clients about pricing is completely fine, but it's really not what you need to focus on. It's not a long term solution because it's not very effective. [00:03:50] If you're a voodoo art photographer, for example, you don't have to focus on how much your studio costs to rent or how much time something takes you. If that was the argument you were to give me, I would think, okay, so get a cheaper studio or learn to speed up your process. It's not really helpful. It's not really something that adds on to my value and why I would be willing to pay more for you than for someone else. But instead, if you were to talk about how I would feel, that I would feel empowered and I would feel more confident and that I would get to choose the outfits that would make me feel at my very best, that is something that would really do something with my confidence, with my willingness to pay more. [00:04:45] Because honestly, I don't care about your expenses and how long something takes you. I care about me and what I'm going to get. [00:04:54] And I bet it's the same for all of your clients as well. If what you're offering is just a simple service, then sure, you'll pay for the cost of supplies and hours. Like, for example, a plumber. We've recently had someone come over to fix things, and I want someone nice and trustworthy. And I probably wouldn't choose the cheapest, and I probably wouldn't choose the most expensive either, because what we're after is just getting something fixed. There's no emotion tied to it. I just want new pipes in my bathroom. Photography, on the other hand, is, or at least can be so much more than that. Yeah, you have your cost of labor and cost of printing and all that, but you can also choose to focus on something else. The experience your clients can have while working with you, how easy you make it, and the feelings. How amazing they'll feel after the memories that they can treasure forever. [00:05:57] That's worth paying way more for it than your hours or the cost of printing or your equipment. [00:06:07] And that's why I don't want you to focus on the hours or the cost. Focus on the emotion, the experience, the feelings and the things that are harder to measure but that mean so much more. [00:06:20] You also need to think that there are clients that are right for you. You are not for everyone. So stop trying to make everyone happy or to try to convince the wrong people. It's just not worth it for you. So if you keep getting the wrong people in the door, the ones who don't understand why it costs so much, and you're doing what you can to focus on the value and to talk about the right things, then maybe you're reaching the wrong people and you want to do something to make sure that you're getting in front of the right people. [00:06:56] The same goes for the offer you have. You can't do everything. So do what you do best, what your people want from you. Of course, you can always add on more things if you can. And you need to. And you want to. And I love niching. Niching is great. [00:07:17] But remember that niching is sometimes about an angle and it's not about narrowing down in terms of doing less and not being able to do things. But instead of saying that, oh, I only do newborns, maybe you do family photography for a certain kind of families where you'll take them from pregnancy all the way through their kids are grown. Making sure that you get paid for what you do is also about your branding and your marketing and branding is all about how you meet your people, how your website looks, what you talk about and how you talk about it. It's about how your clients feel when working with you from the very moment they come across your stuff until they're getting their photos at the end. When it comes to branding, your logo is the very last thing you need to worry about. [00:08:16] Also, just to make this very clear, your right clients will happily pay what it's worth as long as you've presented it in the right way. [00:08:25] Sometimes I get asked what makes me different and the things that I teach different. And my answer is that I focus on the whole, on all the pieces that you need. Because you need so many things to have a great business. [00:08:40] You need to make sure that you do things that make you happy and you need to make sure that you know who your client is and what your offer needs to be and how it's priced. You need to know all about your branding and how things need to look and feel for those right clients to want to work with you. You need to make sure that your systems are in place, that you're not doing more work than you need to, and you need to know how to market things, how to get your message across so that the right people will see it. If you want to work with me, if you want to know how I can help you, send me a DM or email or sign up for a call. [00:09:21] Another important thing is the mindset you have around money and offers and clients. If you are always needing to defend and compare your prices, you might be stuck in a lack mindset where you're limiting yourself and what you think is possible. [00:09:40] You need to think more about strategies and less about calculations. [00:09:47] Really, the possibilities are endless. But you need to believe in yourself. You need to believe that it's possible. So surround yourself with business owners who are already doing it that are increasing their prices and their revenue, and dare to invest in your own business so that you can feel worthy of charging higher prices without defending it when you know it's worth it. Your confidence will speak for you're you just listened to an episode of sustainable photography. Please share this episode with a photographer you care about.