Let’s be honest, most photographers are not running a sustainable and profitable business. Most of us are artists, jumping into a business with no clue how to run it and choosing our pricing based off the photographers we know and experience. Usually, not too far into our business, we realize that we’re earning barely anything, working our butts off and we end up hurt and burnt out. So photographers abandon their businesses and start something new. Then a new photographer pops up in their place. If you’re here, you’re likely the small percentage that, instead of quitting, decide it’s time to learn how to become a profitable photographer and run your photography business like a business.

I’m so glad you’re here because I truly believe this cycle is hurting us, the artists, and hurting our industry.

You may have popped in here thinking I was going to tell you how to market yourself so you can get more clients. And while marketing is a huge part of becoming a profitable photographer, first we’re going to start with for some math.

The living wage in the Vancouver area (where I live) is just over $53K per year. In a family of four, both partners needs to make this amount to support their family. Google says the average portrait photographer in my area charges $800. If we assume our expenses are EXTREMELY low and we keep 50% of our profits in photography, after taxes, cost of goods, etc, In order to reach $100,000 this year, I would need 125 clients. That’s 2.5 clients per week with no vacation time.

Now, to keep my expenses that low, that would mean I couldn’t outsource anything, so I do all my admin, all my bookkeeping, all my editing, all my marketing, manage my website, as well as client communication and photographing. In order to gain a client and serve them well, this is well above a 40 hour a week job.

This doesn’t sound like a career, but a slave-driver! Isn’t the point of owning your business to earn a sustainable income, have flexibility with your schedule and be able to set up your life in a way that gives you more freedom?

If this is how you feel, it’s time to raise your prices. A business owner should be making at least a living wage, if not above that. It’s demanding and time consuming. It would be so much easier to go out and work at Starbucks part time if we’re not going to run our businesses profitably.

I had a similar story – chasing client after client, hoping I could find enough people who loved me were willing to pay my prices to actually make ends meet. After realizing how hard this is in an all-inclusive or package based business model, I switched to an IPS business model. This is more like a high-end boutique than shopping at WalMart, or the Gap.

I started serving my clients better by personally preparing them for sessions, as well as walking them through image selection and providing them with high end, custom artwork. This completely changed my business.

Want to hear more about my story? You can read it here.

Now, I’m not going to say “just raise your prices and you’ll be fine.” It’s imperative that you focus on marketing to appeal to a high end client if you’re going to go this route. Focus on creating a simple, clean and user friendly website that answers your leads questions and educates them on your process. Work on SEO so that you’re easily found on google. Ensure your images are consistent and timeless. It’s going to be work and you need to treat it like a business.

So what are your options? Burn yourself out and quit, continue to chase those 125 or more clients and work yourself to the bone to achieve profitability, or find a way to reach and appeal to high end clients who will invest $2500+ per session, so you can book 40 clients – 1 per week, with 12 weeks off per year.

Which sounds easier to you?

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