One of the most common questions we get asked by photographers is how to increase their prices. No one really knows where to start when it comes to pricing your photography services. It’s understandable; any business owner knows it can be difficult to value yourself correctly. We’ve put together a simple guide to help understand how to increase your prices.

Understand Your Position as a Wedding Photographer in Your Market

One of the most valuable things you can do as a wedding photographer is to understand where your business fits into your local market. Who are the top working professionals in your area? Are you constantly booked and busy, or are you up-and-coming? It can make a huge difference when determining your prices to understand where you currently fit in. One of the best ways to understand this is to look at how busy your calendar is, and where your leaves are coming from.

Conduct Market Research on the Local Wedding Photography Scene

You’ll also want to conduct market research on other local photographers to see what they are offering. If your area has a lot of photographers working in the same niche as you (ex. Fine Art Wedding Photography), you’ll want to price pretty competitively. However, if there are not a lot of people working within the same genre (ex. Film Wedding Photographers), you have more room to breathe.

Highlight Your Most Outstanding Qualities as a Wedding Photography Business

Tailor your marketing to your strengths. You’ll want to highlight the best qualities of your business in your business as a wedding photographer. This can include showing off unique wedding days, special locations you’re an expert in, and more. Set yourself apart from other businesses to ensure that clients know exactly why they want to book you from the get-go.

Improve Your Client Experience as a Wedding Photographer

If you want to increase your prices, you’ll need to show people what makes your business a luxury experience. Higher prices come with the understanding that the cost is justified. You’ll want to deliver something truly exceptional to your customers. As a wedding photographer, you have a lot of control over your client experience. From the initial point of contact on your website or social media, you’ll want every detail to shout out why you’re worth it.

What is Unique to Your Client Experience?

What can you offer clients that is unique to their experience with you? This has a major impact on how you price yourself. Many wedding photographers can take great photos on a wedding day, but can they bring out natural emotions? Are they experts at posing? Do they have fun tricks up their sleeve for their clients? Look at what sets your business apart from others.

Top Tips to Give Your Wedding Photo Clients a Luxury Experience

As virtual assistants for wedding photographers, we’ve helped our own clients deliver a luxury experience to their customers. Here are some of the things we recommend you do to make your business feel worth it to your couples:

• Experience Guide: Instead of emailing over a price list, creating an experience guide can make a big difference. Share a well put together webpage or Canva booklet that will guide your clients through everything they need to know.
• Client Gifting: A little ‘thank you’ goes a long way. To show your appreciation, send your couples a gift after they sign with you. This is also a great marketing tool that allows you to get your name in front of the friends and family of your couples.
• Personalized Emails: Work with a virtual assistant to ensure every communication feels special and personalized.

Take Your Personal Calendar into Consideration

One thing every wedding photographer needs is… more time. If you’re increasing prices, it’s likely that you’re going to be able to take a couple of extra days off in your season. Instead of working double (or triple) wedding weekends, increasing prices can help free up some time. Calculate how many days off you’ll want to have in the year ahead, and adjust your prices to make up for the lost revenue on those days.

Get More Free Time as a Wedding Photographer by Raising Your Prices

Increase your prices to free up more time in your busy life. As wedding photography VAs, we understand just how busy things can get for you and your business. Raising your prices will not only allow you to take more days off, but will also allow you to re-invest in your business. Work with our team at the Genie VA to get your calendar booked… without overworking yourself.

Photography Credit: Megan & Kenneth