How to Price Your Wedding and Portrait Photography

I have seen the question over and over in every photography group and thread there is… “What should I charge for wedding photography”? 

Fill in the blank with senior portraits, family sessions, headshots. You name it!

In this blog post, I will teach you how to take control of your business and know exactly what you need to be charging. The workshop can apply to any photography field. 

Most photographers get stuck in the mindset to charge based on their personal and business expenses. 

It’s the classic Cost of Doing Business (CODB) method of setting prices. It totally makes sense to start with this in mind or to check your pricing and value structure against your CODB to make sure you are profitable, however, the issue is that 

Your expenses might outweigh the value you give your clients, and therefore what they are willing to pay. (That’s a can of worms that will send us down the rabbit hole of value-based pricing, but I’ll save that for a future blog post.)

All this being said, this is a calculator that can help you determine the viability of your current pricing relative to your lifestyle and business expenses.

Once you use the calculator you have 4 choices: 

1. Do a happy dance that the numbers look good and you are on your way to hit your goals!
2. Increase your Average Value per Customer (aka raise your prices or introduce a new product/service)
3. Increase the number of Clients that you work with 
4. Take a step back in your Lifestyle (Decrease your expenses)

For many there will be a combination of the 4.

With my course, Booked Solid, you have access to the full pricing calculator that I go over in specific detail on how to use. But if you’d like a simplified idea of how it works without purchasing the course, I have a free version mentioned in the video as well. 

Click here to watch the video.

In this video I’ll share with you the 50-20-30 rule which will completely change what it means for you to have a business that SERVES your life.

I’ll cover how to calculate your personal expenses, tax write-offs. Oops, I meant business expenses. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and then bring it all together to help give you a clear vision for your business!

For my life, I go off what I call the 

50-20-30 Rule

Having an honest look at your numbers might be a hard thing to do. BUT, sitting down and seeing your actual numbers will cause awareness. 

When you know where your business stands, then you can set actionable goals. 

Push through the anxiety of fear of looking at your numbers. It’s all possible.

The number one thing you can do for your clients is making a profit in your business.

If you run a business that runs into the ground, your client can’t hire you again next year. 

If you don’t have a profit, you don’t have a business. 

Click here to watch the video to learn how to price your wedding photography

For access to the full pricing calculator, sign up for the Booked Solid Course. 

Or click here for the simplified free version.