Wedding Photography Pricing Myths Exposed
Wedding photographer Taylor Jackson recently took on what he’s calling “wedding photography pricing myths.” In a 30-minute video, Jackson tackles some of the most common tips, advice, and outright myths that he found online, setting the record straight for beginners who want to get into this business.
Jackson didn’t initially set out to “expose” wedding photography pricing myths.
“I wanted to do a beginner pricing video, and I started looking at all of the information that was out there that people were probably learning from,” he explains. “And it turns out, I found a lot of it to be misleading or just plain false.”
Jackson felt that a lot of the advice out there—especially advice targeted at beginners—was either outdated or inaccurate. So he took it upon himself to expose and dispel some of the most common myths he discovered, including some of the very popular pieces of advice you see below:
- You should set your price based on this equation:
Goal Income = (Total Price – Expenses) x The # of Weddings You Plan to Shoot - You either have to be free or expensive, there’s no in-between
- “Know your value as an artist”
- Create a pricing list that can cater to multiple different budgets
- Don’t set your prices too low… or too high…
- If you’re giving your couples digital files, you’re ruining the industry for everyone else.
Jackson dives deep on each of these points (and many more), revealing what he agrees with and what he feels is just plain wrong if you want to start a thriving wedding photography business.
A point he comes back to again and again is that you will need to spend a year or two growing your business and portfolio before you reach some level of “success”—there’s simply no way around that. That’s his main issue with “know your value as an artist” advice for beginners. In the beginning, you’re not being hired for your artistry, you’re being hired as a (probably affordable) solution to a straightforward problem: they need wedding photography.
This might not be the most popular opinion Jackson shares, but it’s hard to argue with his advice that “in the beginning […] it is critically important to just get out there and start working.” Even if your prices are quite low.
Check out the full video up top to hear more of Jackson’s thoughts on this and many of the other myths and misleading advice out there. And if you’re looking for more tips, tricks, techniques, and advice in regards to wedding photography, you should definitely check out Jackson’s YouTube channel.
(via Fstoppers)
