Feather & Finch Photography | How to Increase Sales & Value within Your Business | FloInsider Ep #20

Welcome to the 20th episode of FloInsider – a podcast for photographers and creative business owners who seek inspiration and a fresh perspective on how to run their business, navigate this weird time that we all live in, and find meaning and happiness in their daily routines. 

Today, we speak to Ryan from Feather & Finch – a brilliant wedding photography duo from Australia. Ryan tackles a business aspect many creatives are often confused about but need to get better at: Pricing.

Are you are just starting out in the photography industry and wondering what your pricing should be? Are you starting over in a new location? Dipping your toes into a different market? Or maybe you’ve been in the business for a while, and are rethinking your prices. If you answered “yes” to any of these questions – you will love this interview! It’s packed with practical tips and wonderful stories from our talented guest speaker who has been testing different pricing strategies for over 6 years!

Tune in to hear the psychology behind pricing, the mistakes Ryan made, and the advice he gives from his own experience. 

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A few cliff notes from our chat with Ryan:

• Be realistic when you price yourself. Don’t over (or under) estimate yourself. Ask yourself: what am I offering to the client? If you’re providing an amazing experience; if you create exceptional photographs that are beautifully curated and stand out from the crowd – that allows you to charge more. Don’t just charge what everyone else is charging on the market. Look at yourself realistically: where are you in comparison with your competitors? Where do your work and services fit on the market?

• More money means more value. If you increase your prices, you have to provide something else in return. Whether that’s a faster turnaround time, better images, better experience, you name it. If someone is paying you more, be 1000% invested. Provide the best experience, especially if your clients are paying a premium. You cannot increase your price without giving value back.

• Growing your rates also means improving your craft, so that you can increase the value of what you offer. Get a mentor, invest in learning, try out different techniques, study light, colors, learn to curate your work better. Your learning should never stop, even after 10 years in the industry. And that can be anything from polishing your craft to improving your social skills.

• For all of you who don’t charge enough. When you price yourself, keep in mind your responsibilities and commitments. Half of the money you receive from a wedding goes to taxes, rent, equipment, etc. At the end of the day, what are you left with? Understand that there is a lot of value in what you do, and your work is literally irreplaceable. Value it properly.

• A great tip on your Pricing Guide format: Avoid sharing PDF files. Most clients are going to open your email on their phones. PDFs are clunky and small on mobile devices and they don’t help your SEO either. If you send your potential clients to your WEBSITE instead, and they spend 10 minutes reading all the info, looking through your prices – Google “thinks” that there must be something important on your site and will rank it higher in the search results. Create a designated pricing page on your website. It’s completely up to you if you share it in your main site navigation or as an unliked page.

• On discounts. Many photographers tend to offer discounts, especially early on in the business. You don’t necessarily need to take away from your prices – you can offer discounts in other ways that are not monetary. For example, you can give away a free engagement shoot when the couple books the wedding. Instead of taking away, add more value to your package, for free.

You can follow Feather and Finch’s work on their website featherandfinchphotography.com.au and their Instagram: instagram.com/featherandfinchphotography.

Thank you to our lovely host, Nadia Meli, whom you can follow via instagram.com/nadiameli or via her website: nadiameli.com.

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