3 Photography Pricing Strategies: How to Price Your Work [Beyond Numbers]

[@ChelseaNicole]

Have a pricing strategy that has (or hasn’t) worked for you? Share below so that we can all grow together!

[@cottojn]

Chelsea Nicole Photography what did you mean by saying “I am in a completely different market than you” @7:00

[@ChelseaNicole]

​@@cottojn haha, yeah... I cringed when I watched that part back because I worried it could come off wrong to someone. I definitely didn't mean 'you' specifically, or to put anybody down. The heart behind that statement was simply to share that the reason I'm encouraging everyone to not stay at a low-budget price-point for too long is because I care and truly want you guys to succeed and thrive long term (not for self serving reasons, like worrying about someone undercutting me, which is typically the reason why photographers gripe about low-priced 'competitors'.) Hope this helps clarify! :) xo

[@cottojn]

Chelsea Nicole Photography no worries 😉 thanks for clarifying.

[@paigerobertson8880]

You’re the only photographer I’ve found so far that actually put closed captions on their videos. THANK YOU!

[@julieannemarie1]

Your videos are SO helpful! I recently raised my prices again and could feel that I was really pushing the barrier of that first "bubble" I was stuck in. When I started to lose clients I wanted to panic. But this video made me realize that I'm headed in the RIGHT direction!! Now that I'm not burnt out with tons of low budget projects, I have the extra time I needed to work on my marketing strategies and find those really great clients that appreciate and value my work. I'm still getting the hang of it, and it feels strange turning people away with a really low budget. But I think my business is just going through some growing pains. :) Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with us!!!

[@ChelseaNicole]

YES! Cheering you on Julieanne!! 🙌Pour any extra time into elevating your photography & testing the best ways to reach your new clientele. Being a bit outside your comfort zone will force you to push yourself to that next level. Also, keep in mind the cycle of how far out clients book when things start to get scary. It's the seeds you plant today that allow you to flourish in the months to come. It's all about the long game - making that the focus helps keep us both profitable + passionate longterm!

[@crollinsphoto]

Perfect. You made me comfortable raising my prices OUT of this market. Now in Sept. I will be getting a Canon 6D MKii so I'll know the joy of shooting full frame and that will improve my work also. No matter what price you set, someone will always undercut you. I lost a wedding two weeks ago to a girl who has very limited experience and she said she would do the 7 hour wedding for $250.00 and here I thought I was ridiculous at $650. So after watching this, I more than doubled it, thank you. I would have charged more than double but too afraid in this market LOL but I'll get used to it. Thank you again!!

[@ChelseaNicole]

Hey Charles! I'm so excited for you!! And definitely, you're right - when competing based on price there will always be someone lower, and it's just a really hard business model to sustain unless you're doing massive volume. Raising prices can be a hard step to take, but for me personally, it was the thing that pushed me to improve my craft quickly and switch up my marketing. It's a bit of work initially, but shifting away from the market of price shoppers to a new market can be incredibly rewarding in the long term. Congrats & I can't wait to hear how everything goes! :)

[@lulux9795]

Very very true! I’ve had customers offer me $500 for something that I charge $1500. I’ve ‘lost’ many many clients due to other photographers available at a fraction of what I charge. Stay strong and people will respect your price because they value your work, efforts and time. Xo

[@ingridnorton1]

This video has been incredibly helpful. I applied your points to a manuscript editing business I will be starting in a few weeks. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

[@chriskapcia1715]

Thanks for the insight, Chelsea! You discussed expanding past the current market people are in and conveying options. What about starting in a large market (I live in LA) and starting from a lower price point in hopes to match and/or surpass the average pricing of my market? Thanks in advance!

[@ElizavetaKim]

Thank you for sharing these amazing ideas!

[@BrandonSallinger]

Why did you stop making videos? You're amazing at it, keep going!

[@ChelseaNicole]

Thanks for the support Brandon! Back at it! 🤗

[@saulmirandaaliaga]

What a great video, thank you very much!

[@lindsay.oram86]

Loved this video! Really put things into perspective for me. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@ChelseaNicole]

I'm so happy it was helpful Lindsay! :)

[@cody4509]

Super helpful and very insightful. Not too many photography channels talk about the business aspect.

[@ChelseaNicole]

Thanks Cody! Glad you found it helpful. :)

[@JuanLopez-oz9kh]

Speaking of Real talk. What's your basic wedding setup, camera and lens. I know we guys like to have the best equipment for weddings, but might not be practical. Females tend to be more mindful, specially with heavy equipment. Can you do an update video on your current wedding equipment. I was thinking going with two Prime's and one macro.

[@ChelseaNicole]

Hey Juan! I'll prob do an updated what's in my bag video later this year, but my kit hasn't changed much from what I've shared in this video (which you may have already seen): kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqOthIB_itGXqNE&t This shows my full kit, but at the most basic the 85mm 1.4 and 24-70 2.8 are the lenses on my camera prob 90% of the time. My next most used would be the 70-200 2.8, but it is HEAVY so I only use it for special moments such as ceremony, special dances, toasts, etc, and when shooting in wide open spaces such as desert shoots (I LOVE the compression zoomed all the way in!) My macro sees the least action of my lenses, really only coming out for ring shots. So, if you're debating where to spend (depending on what you already have in your arsenal & what your budget is) my suggestion would be to put it towards lenses that will see more use. You could always use close-up adapters for some of the smaller details, which is what I did for several years when starting. You could also try the 35mm 1.4, which will likely be one of my next purchases. :) Hope this helps!

[@Smoothblue90]

Loved your in my bag video. Very impressed you shoot with the D4.

[@MartinCastein]

Chelsea you need to get back to this!

[@ChelseaNicole]

Martin!! How are you?! Thanks for the love & support! 🙏🏻 I have a new video coming this week. And just filmed 3 more I can’t wait to share! 😃

[@MartinCastein]

Chelsea Nicole Photography good stuff I’m doing well thanks! Looking forward to the new videos !

[@xeler8r]

THANK YOU! That's totally what happens when raising prices - always end up shrinking back down! In shame. I never thought about leaping to the next bubble! 🤯! Watching again!

[@ChelseaNicole]

So glad this was helpful!! And we've all been there! The amazing thing is in that next bubble what was previously a 'strrrrettttch' and struggle to afford for your previous clients, is now your new target market's low point. Just got to take the leap and do the work to justify and reach that new market.

[@RamiroGalan]

Great tips, thank you for sharing your wisdom yet again! Keep up the good work!

[@ChelseaNicole]

Thanks Ramiro!! :)

[@cindyanntrades]

Do you still do mentoring?

[@ChelseaNicole]

Hey Cindy, I do! I'm currently accepting 1:1 students for Q4 and have a few spots left! Or, I also just launched my new natural light photography program: shoottoedit.chelseanicole.com - which includes 6-weeks of grouch coaching! Shoot me an email or DM if you have any questions. :)

[@Emma-mi7ye]

Thank you, this was really helpful! I love your videos, I always learn so much!

[@ChelseaNicole]

Thanks Emma! I'm so happy it was helpful. :)

[@veronikajurickova3997]

I love your content Chelsea! All of them are so helpful! ❤ I just wish you uploaded your videos more often 😊

[@ChelseaNicole]

Thanks so much Veronika! ♥ Took a small break because I got married this year (woo!) and between personal wedding plans + a busy wedding season I had pretty limited bandwidth. But one of my biggest passions outside of photography is teaching, and I love creating videos for you guys! I'm actually working on some content I'm crazy excited to share. :)

[@veronikajurickova3997]

@@ChelseaNicoleNo worries. I totally understand 🙂 I have seen the amazing wedding photos and you as a bride 😍 I can't wait for your new content! Keep doing great job! 😊

[@AndreiJikh]

Super useful! Thank youuuu! Content content content!! :D

[@ChelseaNicole]

Thanks friend!!!! Congrats on hitting 50K! 🙌🔥

[@AndreiJikh]

@@ChelseaNicole Thank youuu! Excited for more videos :)

[@ericyz9]

LMAO ANDREI HI. From photography business to teaching stocks on youtube. I want to be like you one day.

[@godfreyerasto1737]

thanks Chelsea, missed you so much!

[@ChelseaNicole]

Awww thanks Godfrey ♥ 🤗

[@obakengphotographyrsa]

🤸🤸this is on point, thanks.

[@Smoothblue90]

Love your hair. Love your dog. Love your advice. Great video.

[@ChelseaNicole]

Thanks Tim! 🐶♥ Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@brettmaguire6973]

I drew so much inspiration from this talk. Just did my first video project for a client this past weekend, and your advice guided much of that process. Thank you!

[@triplestrafe]

1on1 omg...

[@ChelseaNicole]

😘

[@KristaNCBarril]

Should you list your prices in your website?

[@hanssurnam6046]

Your video are real helpful. Thanks for sharing. Hope you could review my work

[@ChelseaNicole]

Thanks Hans! I've been toying with the idea of doing a photo critique for a while... If I do I'll prob put out word my community tab to collect subscriber photos. :)

[@grandwenno9317]

Out of topic but Have you been cancelled bcuz ur too beautiful? And the bride got jealous? 😂

[@ivan_12345]

you don't even analyze the average monthly salary in your area? "vision, mindset, pink ponies" - what about real economics? unless you're in a big city, I don't think there's a lot of wealthy people around, so it's silly to put a high price just because you want to

[@ChelseaNicole]

Hey Ivan - thanks for your comment, but I think you missed the point. This video was very clearly titled pricing "beyond numbers" and is more about deeper pricing strategy and psychology than crunching numbers. Also, in no way do I teach "just put a high price" and hope for the best. Instead, this is an important conversation around premium pricing (which doesn't just apply to big cities by the way.) Many people have very limiting beliefs around money, what clients will pay and what's possible for them, and this is one of THE biggest things that holds a lot of photographers back from earning what they are worth. You can crunch all the numbers you want... but (and this is said with love) if you forever operate from the place of _"people in my area aren't willing to spend more"_ it will indeed limit your growth.