Today’s topic is about how to make money as a photographer. A lot of photographers burn brightly for two or three years and then they burn out. They close down their business and move on to other professions. Becker and I talk about why photographers struggle so much to make money and make a sustainable business.

Chris Becker has been in the business for more than 20 years and has a wealth of knowledge and insight to the photography industry. Becker still shoots weddings, coaches people on losing weight and consults photographers one-on-one pricing for their business.

SUMMARY:

What are your thoughts why photographers have a hard time making money in this industry? [00:03:03]

• This is my 21st season as a wedding photography.
• It does depend on the kind of clients that you have. It's more than photography. You have to have a solid business background.
• I've got my style of photography but beyond that, I always pride myself on giving a killer experience to my clients and make sure they have fun on their wedding day.
• Maintaining relationships with clients is crucial.

Why do you think photographers are timid to set a price that allows for sustainable business? [00:07:34]

• One factor is the lack of confidence. I hate being pressured so I hate to pressure my clients.
• The hardest part of the business is getting booked. If you don’t believe in yourself nobody is going to either.
• Another factor is that photographers just put prices together not knowing what it's going to cost to get the wedding edit or build an album.

Can you go back to your early days and think about some missteps that you made or something that changed your direction of your path as a business owner? [00:11:20]

• I was a teenager when I started doing weddings. I wasn’t trustworthy because I wasn’t experienced in charging for the job.
• I started as a fashion photographer and I felt let it pushed me into wedding photography. I took a workshop about wedding photo journalism.
• The most important thing I learned is instead of selling pictures, charge a fee for your time and talent and make everything else available. I embraced that concept.
• There is the perception that if you charge more, then you're worth it. So, I learned that from Denis I started charging as an artist.
• My goals were to every single year, shoot fewer weddings and make more money.
• [00:14:43] Story of my mentee Mike Colón who was charging small rates for wedding photography but later fixed high rates and clients began to see him as better.
• [00:16:26] One of the elements of this is owning your art, talent and business.
• There are many photographers are fantastic with great work but there is this mentality of “I'm not good enough to charge that money.”
• You have to believe in yourself. If you don’t, then nobody will believe in you but at the same time, you must justify the rates you're charging.

There is a connection between raising your price and owning it. When you raise your price, you feel you have to perform at that level. Would you agree with that? [00:20:02]

• Yes. I've always thought that you should charge a little bit less than what you're worth. That way, when you're meeting with the client, you’ll be, “Hey look I should be charging $5K and I'm only charging you $4800.” I believe that anything in life, your attitude and how you approach it really have to do with your results and stuff like that.
• Set your goals high.
• The bottom line of making money in the photography business is happy clients. If your clients love you, they would refer you to their friends.

What kind of advice can you give somebody when it comes to making your numbers? How do they begin figuring out that number that actually gets them to where they can sustain their business? [00:24:28]

• Everyone is different. There are a lot of factors that contribute to it.
• Photographers should know figures like their rent, their overhead, what they need to make every week.
• Don’t worry about what other photographers think, think about what you need to put food on the table for your family.
• I have basic package and other packages, I add more value to it. When you are selling a package or an album, have that exact album.
• When selling your work, look at it from the client perspective. Don’t just pick numbers for your prices.
• If you're starting at $2000, you can't just have a $20,000 package because it doesn’t make sense.

Is there some strategy to the way you sell without being overly salesy? [00:33:23]

• For me, my whole entire career, I've always used a very low-pressure sales pitch because if the fear of rejection.

To summarize today’s conversation about how to make money as a photographer: [00:35:45]

1. Own your art and craft
2. Have a good level of confidence
4. Refine your sales process to reflect you and your personality and adding value.
6. Providing a great experience for your clients.

The BECKER system [00:36:27]

B stands for better photos.

E stands experience delivered.

C is cultivate relationships with clients and other photographers.

K is for killer branding.

E is for Efficiency.

R is for right attitude.

If you would like to learn more about making money as a photographer, check out Becker’s coaching program here.

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