How Much To Charge | #15
Jan 30, 2023I get asked this question all the time. There’s no easy answer. When I started out I priced my work really low and then doubled my rate until people started saying I was too expensive. At that point, it became a balancing act of how much I thought I was worth and what the client wanted to pay. I started out charging $10-25 a photo, now I charge thousands a package.
Thinking in terms of the return of investment for the client will be a good way to know what to charge. If your photo will get the client more sales, that’s a high ROI. If the client is spending thousands on paid ads, and they have good photos, they’ll make their money back and then some.
A quick example.
Your Photo $1,000
Ad Spend $10,000
Manufacturing + Other Expenses $50,000
Revenue $100,000
Profit +$61,000
Your photo helped the client make a boatload of money. Now I know it’s not just the photography that plays a role here, but it is instrumental in driving sales.
This is mainly an exercise for you to realize the value you can provide. Thinking in these terms allows you to figure out how to price your work better. The more value you can provide to a client, the more you can charge.