Many photographers fail to understand that a client’s budget determines their work. In an ideal world, it would be the other way around. But sadly, the ideal world and the real world don’t often intersect.
Don’t confuse “work” with “effort” or “creativity”. The latter two should be independent of the client’s budget. Whether the budget is $1,000 or $10,000, the photographer has to put forth the same effort and creativity.
When you go to a grocery store, that store wants you to buy a shopping cart-full of products. But if your budget is $20 then the grocery store can’t afford to sell you more than $20 worth of products.
At a camera store, the clerk would love to sell you a $5,000 new camera. But if your budget is $1,000 then the store simply can’t afford to sell you more than a $1,000 camera.
All businesses operate this way.
When a client calls a photographer, let’s say, to request three business portraits, the photographer would love to sell the client a $6,000 corporate photography package which includes three hours of photography, massive studio lighting, several background choices, five looks per person, fantastic retouching and many years of usage rights.
But if the client’s budget is only $1,000 then the photographer simply cannot afford to sell $6,000 worth of photography to that client. If they did, the photographer would be losing money and the photographer’s prices would be meaningless.
If the photographer chooses to meet the client’s $1,000 budget, the photographer might offer to shoot the business portraits with one hour of photography, available light, ambient background, one look per person, no retouching and one year of limited use.
The client’s budget determines the work. Just like all other businesses.
Tags: freelancing, negotiating, pricing
