If you are starting out your photography services for the first time, you might be having many doubts like how much do you need to keep the product photography pricing? How much do the product photographers charge? In this photography guide, we have answered all these queries precisely.
Like any other profession, product photographers also struggle to come up with proper pricing. With so many competitors out in the market, it can be challenging to come up with the right pricing model.
So, here are a few factors a photographer needs to consider while developing a product photography pricing model:
Cost of Running Product Photography Business
Make sure to calculate the input costs for your product photography business. Before coming up with a question how much to charge per client? Make sure to get the cost blueprint for your business which should consist of both fixed and variable costs.
Here are some of the running costs your business might include:
Cost of Equipment: Lighting equipment, lenses, and camera are some of the basic equipment needed for product photography. Also, make sure to add their wear and tear costs as well.
Studio Cost: Depending on the type of product photography you do, the studio cost you choose might vary. If you are doing indoor product photography, then you must need a perfect space for the better outcome of the photos.
Marketing Activities: Once you have a product photography business setup, you need to spend a good amount of money on advertising as well. This includes money spent on digital advertising, designing a portfolio website, and also designing the posters and visiting cards for your business.
The fee of Your Staff: In case if you have any staff in your office, you must consider their salaries as well, in the costing blueprint.
Calculate the Cost of Goods Sold
When calculating the cost of goods sold, you must consider the material and labour cost. This cost includes packaging, post-production, and other miscellaneous expenses for the client.
If you work on the product manipulation service and retouching service, then you must add the cost for retouching as well, in the product photography pricing sheet.
Depending on the type of photo retouching and quality needed, the prices vary greatly. Moreover, if the work is done in a batch, it costs lower than working individually.
The costing blueprint needs to include even the cost of final deliverables to the client. For example, if your client needs digital deliveries, it also includes a cost associated with it.
Add Profit Margin
Once you have got a blueprint for the cost of running your product photography business, make sure to add your profit margin to it. The profit margin is your deciding factor how much you take home, and this cost varies from project to project.
Review Your Competitor Pricing
Before you finalize your product photography price, make sure to check your competitor pricing model. Once you have the pricing model of your competitors, in hand, make sure to charge competitively as you need to get more clients in the long run. One of the best ways to come up with proper pricing for your client is by keeping a price range.
Once the price range is fixed, you can charge your clients flexibly and still end up having a good profit margin.
Evaluate Your Pricing Value
Once you have decided the pricing, make sure to evaluate the quality of your photography service. Though there might be competitors with experience, make sure you do not charge very low. If you are able to provide the best quality photography service to your clients, then you need not charge too low. Decreasing the price of your product photography can decrease your service perceived value.
Professionalism and Work Quality
When you are finalizing prices of your photography services, make sure to check the benefits you are providing to the clients. The type of equipment you use, the pre and post-production support you provide to the clients has a huge impact on your remuneration.
Product photographers who are skilled and use the top-notch equipment for the photography show the commitment towards their work. All the factors play a crucial role in clients giving you premium pricing for your work.
Copyrights
If the clients want to take the full copyrights of your image, you can charge them a premium pricing. Whereas, if you think that the body of product photography can help you in other similar projects, then you make a negotiation with the client.
Also, depending on where the image is being used, the pricing model varies. For example, if the product photography is used in National magazines, the pricing is highly expensive. Whereas, the same product if used in a local magazine will cost less.
Scope of Work to be considered Before Quoting a Price
Make sure to evaluate the work involved in completing a project for a client, and accordingly quote the price. For example, one client might require a digital version of your work, whereas the other might request a hard copy.
All, these factors need to be considered before signing the agreements with your clients.
Hourly or Fixed Rates
If you are doing product photography as freelancing, you can charge your clients on an hourly basis, or even you can fix a price for the work to be done. Based on the volume of images, a number of retouches needed for each image you can charge your clients on an hourly or fixed rate basis.
We hope this article has provided a clear insight on how to fix the product photography pricing? And what all factors to be considered before coming up with a proper pricing model? But if you are a beginner, it is advised not to focus only on reducing the prices, as it can lead to a decrease in the perceived value of your product photography services.
