We're Not Swimming That Way
Yesterday a fellow photographer put out a post looking for wedding photographers and said that she is "wary of anyone who charges under $1800 for a full wedding day since they may not be operating legally."
Yeah, WOAH.
Every blog, book, and podcast on photography I constantly hear people preaching a gospel of "Charge more," "you're worth more," and "to keep growing you have to keep increasing your prices by a minimum of 10% every year." I also hear this from fellow togs all the time.
I call bullshit. (pardon the language)
We swim against that tide and I run this business with an attitude of abundance. We also view our customers as friends and clients for life. IF we cover your wedding we want to be there to photograph your growing family and your kids when they graduate from high school. We also work with a lot of educators, artists, and non-profit businesses and I actively work to keep things accessible to that (our core) AWESOME clientele.
We have no desire of moving into a luxury market and my goal is to add more photographers so we can cover even more ground and share the love. I LOVE growing a team and sharing my skills with the next generation. High quality visual memories should not be something reserved for the rich. I also applaud anyone who does decide to remain a solo operation and advance into a luxury clientele base or other kind of niche. That is just not the "droid we seek," so to say.
We are deeply dedicated to running a welcoming and inclusive business that serves ALL. You will see people of all shapes, and sizes and colors in our work and we do a LOT of free sessions, non-profit work as well as fundraisers. And oh, we grew our business by 160% last year while lowering some prices on services like our (now) $150 half hour mini sessions. And yes, we are operating legally and fully insured while paying taxes that help our community infrastructure. My employees are also some of the highest paid in the business.
While I don't have to justify my business practices to anyone I did want to put this out there because this is a hill I will die on...with a camera in my hand feeling exceptionally fulfilled. HUZZAH!
#leadership #economyofscale #teamwork #bedifferent
📷 PC: the uber talented Art Goans at Art Goans Photography
