Making Your Photography Services and Their Value Loud + Freakin’ Clear

“But nobody around here actually values photography to pay over $100 a session…”

Sound familiar?

Britt + Kelsey here! When we heard that exact quote on a recent strategy call with a newborn + family photographer, our hearts went out to her. She was literally being turned down left and right by EVERY client that contacted her about booking a session.

“They just don’t value photography. They just tell me that they found another photographer that was cheaper…”

When we asked this photographer to tell us about her ideal client, who she would LOVE LOVE LOVE to book, she was a bit stumped. She sat for a second, trying to gather her thoughts, and finally said:  

“I don’t even know. Just someone that…. gets it. Someone who gets me and understands the value of my work. Someone that they can trust and come back to for family sessions because they LOVED working with me…”

So, why weren’t her prospective clients “getting it”?

Why weren’t they understanding the incredible experience that she provides to her newborns and their families? Why didn’t they “get” that she couldn’t realistically charge the price they were expecting to hear?

Because she wasn’t effectively communicating the value of her newborn + family photography services on her website.

These clients simply thought she’d show up, take some pictures, then send them all the pictures right after the shoot. And, of course, she’d only spend a few minutes to grab a couple photos, so she’d probably just charge them a cheap hourly rate, right? 

So, when they got her pricing and it was a couple hundred bucks for their anticipated newborn session, of COURSE they were a little taken aback by the price! 

They had NO clue that her newborn + family photography services included:

• Personalized online styling service for the entire family
• Customized questionnaire to capture all the details for the one-of-a-kind session
• Welcome guide full of tips, advice and common questions
• 90-minute session to capture the newborn + family in all the best ways
• Access to wraps, headbands, gowns and other props to accentuate photos
• An 8×8 album gift, along with a USB drive of digital photos

It’s so important to educate your clients and let your website do that marketing for you. You don’t have to get into ALL the pricing details, but give them at LEAST a starting at price, along with some of those deets that will help you to stand out from the photographers that they may already be comparing you to. 

Because, let’s face it — it’s just as important to attract your ideal clients as it is to repel the not-so-ideal clients.

If you’re struggling with how to do this for your photography business, reach out to us about those not-so-dreamy ones to the curb. 😉