Mistakes Make Magic

5 Surprising Ways your Wedding Photography Prices Impact MORE than Just Profit

5 Tips for pricing your wedding photography services

November 9, 2022

I’m Catherine.
A New Orleans based wedding photographer and educator. We are excited you are here and cannot wait to connect with you!.
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Prices are SAYING something about your wedding photography business. 🗣️

Whether you realize it or not, all of your prices are communicating things to your clients… and actually changing the course of your business! 

We all have goals and plans for our business. We have dream clients or dream venues we’d LOVE to photograph one day. 

But have you ever considered your prices might be holding you back from getting there? 🤔

Read on to learn 5 ways your prices are impacting your wedding photography business.

1. Your Clientele

Believe it or not, your prices affect WHO you end up working with. 

First of all, the clients who are booking with you already have decor, planners, venues, and other investments in their wedding. These clients are going to be looking for their investment in their wedding photography that line up with their other wedding investments. 

Secondly, your prices will impact WHERE you photograph clients. In the same way that a client might look for a high-design venue, they are going to look for a high-design photography style – and they will expect prices that match.

There are, of course, exceptions to this. Sometimes people really value photography and it’s what they plan to spend the most on! 💰 But generally, the investment range you see from clients will match the investment levels of the other vendors as well. 

Bottom line: You’ll want to make sure your prices reflect WHO you want to work with!

2. They Reflect Experience

Pricing is going to reflect on your experience. When you’re first starting out and don’t have much experience, your clients are going to expect lower prices because your experience level is lower. 

But as your experience level grows, your prices should, too. Your clients will view your prices as a reflection of the experience you have.

If you’re someone who has been photographing like I have for 15 years, my investment price is much higher than what it was when I first started – because I have the knowledge to support that pricing. 

That being said, I would not advise charging more than the experience level that you have. But if you DO have a lot of experience and you’re overwhelmed with the work you already have, it might be time to raise your prices! 💲

3. They Set Expectations

Depending on where you are and how you compare to the overall market, that will set an expectation for your clients. 

Your prices tell your clients, “THIS is what the photography I provide is valued at. This is your investment, and this is the type of product you’ll receive.” 

Higher prices = higher expectations from the client. 👆

4. Your Referrals

When you get referrals from other wedding planners and photographers, they’re going to have an idea of where your pricing falls within your market. 

Because of that, you’ll receive referrals that are a good fit for those planners and photographers, based on what you’re charging. When you’re setting your prices, you want to think about those numbers and how they fit into the overall market that you’re serving. 
Additionally, oftentimes our clients are friends 👯‍♀️ And when clients refer you to their friends, those friends are going to expect similar pricing. You want that pricing structure to be consistent.

5. Your Profit

Of course, your pricing is in place so you can do what you love for a living. Unless you’re doing this for a hobby, you’ve got to pay the bills somehow! 💸 

Pricing your photography appropriately in a way that allows you to be profitable is VERY important. For me? I want to continue to do wedding photography as my sole, full-time profession (if you want to do that, too, you can find more information about how to consistently fill your calendar with dream weddings in this FREE class!).

Because of that, I want to always ensure I’m not burnt out. We want to always be able to manage our client calendar well and maintain a healthy work/life balance. And pricing absolutely affects that! 💵

 Unsure Where to Start?

If you’ve gotten this far, maybe you KNOW that pricing is important, but have no idea where to start. If that sounds like you, I’ve created a Pricing Guide to help you get started!

Do you ever struggle to price your products? Do you use other people’s pricing without really being sure WHY or if those prices are right for you? 😓

I created my Pricing Guide to help you: 

  • Understand the WHY behind your base prices 
  • Decide what to charge for your photography 
  • Cover your expenses to remain profitable and sustainable 

Check it out below ⤵️

Get the pricing guide!

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