‘Can you do it cheaper?’ No and here’s why.

Recently, I got asked to lower my price for an event, not for the first time in my career.

I know I’m not the first creative small business to have this asked of them, so let’s talk about it a little and break it down.

Times are definitely tough, and I always want to help as much as possible, but you would never ask this of an accountant, a GP, or a chef.

There seems to be this misconception that creative industries just pull a quote out of thin air when asked, with little thought behind it, or we’re all overcharging because we can, whereas neither of those are true at all!

My website always has my rates listed, which rise annually, roughly in line with inflation - but rarely jump otherwise, and definitely not for no reason. My pricing is definitely fair, as is most photographers out there - you just need to remember it doesn’t only cover a couple hours spent photographing your event.

When I send a quote to you, I’ll mention either an hourly rate (eg 3 hours for $600 all up), which is generally for wedding packages, events, and smaller marketing/headshot/sport shoots, or a half day/full day rate, which is generally roughly 4 or 8 hours but is flexible.

The rate not only includes my time quoted to be with you for your session, but the the admin hours to chat and confirm the session, and the time spent editing afterwards. Your photos will always be culled through and then edited (NEVER raw) to ensure you receive the best possible selection of photos from your day.

For every hour I am photographing, it generally equates to 1-2 hours culling, editing and uploading, plus an extra 30-60 mins of admin on comms and prep.

It is never just the time spent on site with you.

Plus, people think photography is a low-cost hobby, but photographers have a loooot more overheads than you realise. Think: up-to-date camera gear, repairs and maintenance, editing hardware (computers) and software (hellooooo monthly Adobe subscription). Subscriptions for days, for their CRM of choice, their cloud storage of choice, any workshops or professional development we do to keep our skills up to date. Not to mention insurances for public liability and contents/camera gear.

And that’s just for the business to run - your photographer also needs profit, just like any other business, to put back into marketing, and just to pay the bills and mortgages and feed their families. Just like your accountant or your GP.

If you find a photographer that CAN do it cheaper when you ask, or their prices seem much lower than others, it likely means they’re cutting corners somewhere else and it’s more of a red flag than a win for you.

So no, I can’t do it cheaper for you without taking the hit myself, and I hope this helps you to understand.