I'm a bit shocked.

[naeno]

I'm part of a homeschooling network and one of the parents asked if the group got together to do headshots and IDs for the kids. Several of us spoke out. One in particular is probably who will get the business. She charges no sitting fee, and put out a price list today. It was incredible low. Her lowest was 1-8x10 2-5x7 4-4x6 5-Tickets and 1-Photo Button for $20 USD. Her most expensive was (10) 8 x 10 (15) 5 x 7 (32) wallets (10) Tickets (1) Photo Button and (1) Photo License Plate for $80 USD. If I only charged that, it would barely cover my cost of paper and shipping let alone any time I spent taking the pictures, going to or from the appointment, and doing post. She doesn't have a website up and running, so I can't really comment on her work.

Now, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm the crazy one. Comparatively to most I see on this site, I don't charge all that much, but seeing her prices made me wonder if maybe I AM charging too much. I was just in shock.

[arlon]

Maybe she just uses a simple camera with on camera flash. Little or no over head. Does she have a studio, doing on site? Backgrounds? etc.. Sounds like one of the moms trying to make some spending money like 90% of the other people I know that have a camera.

$1.39 for 8x10's at costco goes a long way towards making cheap prints..

Maybe she's doing them at cost for experience and exposure.. Maybe good marketing hoping to get some followup family business. How much did you charge on your first sessions?

[naeno]

She does have a studio. Overhead aside...what about your time? The pricing structure makes NO sense to me. You can't turn a profit, and it would appear to me that she would be losing money. I don't get it.

[arlon]

really sounds like a marketing ploy. Sell the kid pics cheap gets her foot in the door for individual follow up sessions with the whole family. Just a thought..

Another thought, after reading more closely it appears she is one of the parents. Maybe she's just trying to be charitable instead of profitable to the group.

[AnneWynne]

"Keep your friends close and your 'competition' closer" to paraphrase an old saying. Get to know the other photographer. Find out a little more about what her motivaiton is. She may be trying to be charitable, she may be trying to get her foot in the door, or she may be clueless and out of business in the near future.

It is not unusual for a photographer to discount services if there are a lot of children to be photographed (ie,school photography). Also, there are printers and suppliers that serve school photographers and she may have found a more economical means of order fulfillment.

It is an excellent marketing ploy....if she is covering her cost of printing and she does not have to depend on her income to support her family, she can afford to do it.

Good luck,
Anne

[dhart]

I am actually a homeschool mom, and doing "school" photos for my group. I do discount the packages when doing a lot of kids, but not THAT much. All that aside, most homeschooling familes are single income families with lots of kids. She may just be thinking that they wouldn't buy any if they weren't that low. I honestly don't sell a lot of portrait packages to homeschool families because most want the "$50 sitting fee with the disc" type photogs.

So, I figure that she will either realize how much work it is with little payoff, or the clients will look at the photos and not want to do more business with her unless it's practically given to them. Either way, she won't be able to stay in "business" for long. Besides, you do NOT want the clients who are concerned about every nickel and dime because they will take you for all they can, and, while homeschool familes are generally generous and wonderful people, they do watch every penny they spend. (I am one of them, so I feel like I can make a few generalizations!)

[WooD]

Originally Posted by naeno

I'm part of a homeschooling network and one of the parents asked if the group got together to do headshots and IDs for the kids. Several of us spoke out. One in particular is probably who will get the business. She charges no sitting fee, and put out a price list today. It was incredible low. Her lowest was 1-8x10 2-5x7 4-4x6 5-Tickets and 1-Photo Button for $20 USD. Her most expensive was (10) 8 x 10 (15) 5 x 7 (32) wallets (10) Tickets (1) Photo Button and (1) Photo License Plate for $80 USD. If I only charged that, it would barely cover my cost of paper and shipping let alone any time I spent taking the pictures, going to or from the appointment, and doing post. She doesn't have a website up and running, so I can't really comment on her work.

Now, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm the crazy one. Comparatively to most I see on this site, I don't charge all that much, but seeing her prices made me wonder if maybe I AM charging too much. I was just in shock.

I think she's nuts!

I've been contacted 3 times so far to shoot team shots for a local high school. I've used the same prices all 3 times.


$20.00
1 4x6 individual shot
1 5x7 team shot
4 wallets

$30.00
2 5x7 individual shots
1 5x7 team shot
4 wallets

$50
1 8x10 individual shot
1 8x10 team shot
4 wallets

Last month I shot their 3 football teams. I started at 8:00 AM, and was having a smoke in my garage at 9:30 AM. The school is only 3 miles from my house.

After paying an assistant $20 an hour which totaled $30, paying for the prints thru smugmug, and kicking back 25% of my net to the school, I profited $610 for 90 minuets of shooting, and around 5 hours straightening, and cropping the images.

[private]

I am doing school photos in a few weeks. I am charging $18 for 1 5x7 and one 2 x 3.5 - no sitting fee. all enlargements are regular price.

BUT, you need to compete with her re quality. Talk about the coating - the fact that it will last x years, on true photographic paper (she might be going to WalMart to get them printed...

[naeno]

Thanks for all the feedback! I've asked several of my friends who have kids in school what the school photographers are charging so I would have a better idea.

She did state that she was just starting out. I'm guessing she has no idea what she's doing. I hope for the sake of the kids and parents she's photographing I'm wrong.

[Goldie Green]

I agree. Marketing Ploy indeed. From experience... my first shoot, no idea what to charge, plenty of competition... So I offered $25 Session including 2 8x10's. If it would have ended there I would have lost money, however she ordered almost $300 in prints after the shoot... so maybe her head is into the repeat business mode!

Or maybe she is really just doing it for fun & experience, not looking to profit.