Note: Photo tips are answers to questions asked on our Facebook page. If you would like to submit a question, please click here to submit your question. We will then post them on our Facebook page and let our fans respond to the question. We will then transfer the question over to our blog so we can keep them in an organized way for others to see.
Question from Karla: “Hello.. I just started photography and I just did my page couple days ago… I want to do my first sessions at $20 .. I want to promote it on Facebook fan page..how should I advertise to get the word out there/How do I draw more people in to the promotion??”
Emily: Charge more! At $20 you’re literally making less than a bartender. Who works for tips.
BP4U: I would post the promotion on your page and then post it again on your personal page. Ask your friends and family to share, and even ask all your friends/fans to share the special promotion.
Summer: I know you didn’t ask this but i have to say…Don’t sell yourself (and the photography profession) so short. Maybe you don’t realize now how much time and effort goes into photography but you will. Do some research, work out the financials and figure out what your time is really worth before you start offering your services.
Kelli: Either charge more or charge nothing at all while you are learning. Practice with your family and friends. Photography as a hobby is fine but once you turn it into a business, you need to respect the business.
Tia: Im also a beginner. Just received my license in march. I am offer beginner bang rates for the first year. After that. Well. Who knows! Friends. Co workers. Hubbys friends. Etc…
Stacey: I started doing free for friejds and having them sign releases so I had a portfolio… Now I’m spreading business via their mouths because they loved my work… Study prices in your area make it competitive and ensure you get what you’re worth 🙂 Good luck!!
Kathy: The area I live in has several classified pages on Facebook. I advertised on their sites and got a ton of appointments.
Vasthy: I would say do one free mini session, and post the photos on your page, tag the people in the photos so all their friends can see it, but PLease do not work for free and if you try to build a portfolio do not photograph your friends, sometimes they feel like they are doing you a favor when in fact they are not. Try to find people who aren’t your friends. I made that mistake and didn’t get as many clients from them.
Denise: You have to charge more. You’ll soon find out you can’t survive on $20 for a session. Do your math and research prices in your area and figure out your cost of doing business. The ASMP site has good info as do many other professional organizations
Michelle: Hi Karla… before you start charging $20 a session, you may want to read this article>http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2009/10/12/how-should-i-price-my-photography-words-of-advice-from-jodie-otte/ And there are tons more, with wonderful info and insight for people just starting out in the biz of photography. =)
Kathy: Michele – that was an excellent article! I had a hard time as well. I still don’t “promote” myself and do only word of mouth. (I’m my own biggest critic). However, I set my prices and go with them. If you are doing a shoot for $20, you might as well be giving it away if you are driving anywhere and going to do any sort of editing to the photos. I’m also amazed at how many people charge a sitting fee and then give all the images on a CD. I have some family members that ask me to take photos and then don’t call me back after I send them my prices. I don’t give “deals” to family because if they are in a home business, they don’t give me any discount on their Tupperware, or on my auto repairs etc. because it’s THEIR business. People don’t view photography as a business and need to.
Sherrie: I had a few giveaway sessions in the beginning, if your work is good others will get interested. Word of mouth has worked wonders for me.
Andrea: I agree with a few from above. DO NOT SELL YOURSELF SHORT AND #2 it makes it harder for the photographers who are charging full price and the client says, well I found someone cheaper. Screws up the market. I made the same mistake charging so little trying to promote myself
Better yet work for free
And then when it comes time, charge good
I got calls from people who said oh we know ur a new photographer and we are looking for cheaper deals
Well sorry cheaper deals means I will work cheaply. I invest a lot of time in my editing so you pay cheap you get cheap
I believe I just lost a wedding opportunity for charging more then they wanted and I still gave them a discount. They assumed oh she’s new, then I’m sure it will be almost no $$$
So be careful with “promotions”
Timothy: Um if she is charging 20 I would say she is still learning and most likely the quality of her work does not warrant charging much more. Beginners should never come even close to what other photogs that have developed a consistent style and quality are charging.
Renae: Either charge properly or do it for free. Accepting 20 bucks for the job is like a waiter accepting a 5 cent tip. It’s highly insulting
Renae: Work your arse off for free And then when you’re at a good enough level to charge full rates, you can then enter the photography biz world with the right pricing and not have to work your way up from pennies. I went from free to 1k+ instantly. Work for free, get a following, get people talking and you’ll go far
Duffy: sometimes if things are too cheap it turns people away..i agree about either free, do shoot for free and then charge for prints if they want prints from it. and extra for disk,,,,you’ll get people with the free and youll get more money than charging 20 each…. charge 20 for disk and then more for prints
Feel free to keep responding to this question using our comment section below.