One of my rantings from Febuary 16, 2011

Here I go on a little side note again…..  I often get calls from customers who ”only” want a couple of 5×7′s or a couple of wallets, or an 8×10….. you get the idea, and they are offended by the price that I quote them.   I try my darndest to create exactly what every customer wants, but because so much of what photographers do is behind the scenes I do not think people are aware of what they are actually getting, or asking for.  The next time that you want only a 5×7 I think that I may give it to you for free if you are willing to pay for my time.  I try to be upfront about prices and value and to give every customer the best value that I possibly can, but think of this next time you think that paying $35 for a 5×7 is too much.  For the last couple of months I have been tracking every minute I spend on a “typical” customer to see where I am spending my time.  Believe me, if I was independently wealthy, I would do what I do for free, but in the current ecconomy, I just might have to go get a real job that pays by the hour. 

here is the diary of one 5×7 print (aprox value $35)

Day 1:

Initial contact with customer      5 min

create customer file                    2 min

Day 2:

Prepare for consultaion              10 min

meet with customer                    20 min

clean up from consultation         5 min

Day 3:

Session reminder call/ email          5 min

Day 4:     Day of session

set-up for session                      15 min

greet customer/ paperwork        5 min

session                                      45 min

clean-up from session                 10 min

Download images, back-up images   10 min

Day 5:

sort images                                  15 min

color balance                              15 min

prepare images for viewing        10 min

Day 6:

Schedule viewing                        5 min

Day 7: Day of Viewing

Set-up for viewing                    10 min

meet with customer                  45 min

facebook preview                     5 min

on-line gallery                          10 min

Day 8:

edit image                               8 min

submit to lab                            5 min

Day 9:

Receive order from lab            2 min

Quality check/ package order      5 min

call customer to pick up order     5 min

Day 10:

Customer pick-up                     5 min

final paperwork                      10 min

thank-you follow-up                10 min

                               total time to create and deliver 1 5×7 print: 297 minutes or roughly 5 hours.   

$35/ 5 = $6 per hour gross.   Can you imagine what the net would be?    

What should you expect to pay?   Professional services usually gross about $60 per hour.   Please don’t be offended if I tell you that your 5×7 print or digital file is going to cost you $300. 

I get a very simular scenario from customers looking for a wedding photographer.  Maybe, I will work on the diary of a wedding photo someday.  On average a small wedding only needing a couple of pictures takes approximately 40 hours of work before an image is ever put on a piece of paper.

I love what I do, and hope that you love what I do enough to see the value in it.

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