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Pricing Q&A

A lot of people want to know out there in the chat rooms you do multiple picture books for all the all your different family members in the clients do those albums come from the same vendor and could you let us know who you who you use please? Okay, thank you. I do use this really does sound a little bit rock star ish because it sounds like when I'm in this country I use thes people and we know when that country use those people but it is really the truth. Back home in south africa I I used a print lab called color chrome spectrum it's it's a local lab in durban I've been with them for twenty years I haven't gone to any other lab we went through that digital revolution together when we moved from film to digital. It was quite funny because the owner of the lab told me that I must take my camera and throw it in the in the sea because digital will never take off ah ah ah I realized early on that companies are not going to invest billions in making digital cameras and not following throug...

h it was very difficult in the beginning we used to shoot on one gig memory cards that cost a fortune right in the beginning I know this is like make you know, showing my age but in the beginning a one gig memory card molina, how much do you think a one gig memory caused cost in two thousand two three hundred dollars nine hundred dollars a one gig memory card and it wasn't even a compact flasher was a micro drive nine hundred dollars for what my first digital camera was the nikon d one hundred how much money? Two thousand to three thousand five hundred dollars thirty five thousand rand three thousand five hundred dollars for d one hundred back then which you know that's right in the beginning of it so it wasn't a great camera was good back then, but you compare it to what we've got now it's completely different. So back to the original question yeah keller chrome spectrum in durban on they have a company called monarch photo books on dh you know they are my supply when I'm in south africa I know that they do export as well, but you know that when I'm in south africa then I use them I also use graphic studio albums when I shoot in europe because they shipped directly to the client on dh I don't have to worry about sending our postal system is not as reliable is yours so sending books from from south africa to europe is not a great option in terms of the it's I'd rather just go from europe to the client gets there faster and all that kind of thing so use graphic studio for there those are for my storybook albums but then the printed ones that go into the italian leather ones that that all gets done in color crime spectrum so find a local lab we'll talk about that a little later find a local lab that you can build a relationship with the online ones are also good as long as you khun build a relationship with and if your prince come you know they find me they say look great this is a little light eyes that's what you wanted yes or no okay we'll call that maybe I should re calibrate sorry maybe samantha should recalibrate her screen or something like that it hasn't happened often but sometimes will send a print in and they'll be going like uh you're trying to do this on purpose and we like yes of course it's cool and he's like okay and that would you know that would go off teo print but you need to have some sort of personal report with your printer so yeah for my for my my books and I think having them all done at the same place it is important for continuity purposes I don't think that I don't know what you'd call it like cherry picking like moving from one to the other to find the best price like which which which lab has got a special on at the moment and go with them you know I don't think that's gonna work if you have budgetary issues which is going to happen in the lower end of the market you are going to be hunting for prices you know? And we all know that you know, buying cheap er's buying expensive so so yeah, I think that that stick with one so you have consistency. Okay, any other questions from the internet? We good last segment and this segment quite a few people are wanting to know about custom retouching and specifically they want to know who does your retouching and if you can share that information hopefully not overwhelm her her work flow to my train that with a lot of new clients but also they wanted to know you know how that business relationship works, how you deliver the images to her okay comes back all right, so I've mentioned the name samantha a couple of times yeah, sam sam was was doing my retouching for me working one hundred percent with me on then since she decided to move to london, I decided that maybe I should keep that relationship with her in terms of her doing my retouching on I didn't want to employ somebody who took her place because I think that you know, she's been working with me for so long she knows how I think so I'd rather make it work digitally online they are many facilities that you can outsource your your retouching to you upload them to an ftp site, you know, drop box or file sand or, you know, there's, all sorts of different options that you have basically the way it works for me, is that I I get all my raw files, and I either send it to her with a delivery company on a hard drive, or I'll upload them in batches, you know, maybe fifty images at a time. I'll upload them, and then she khun back home in south africa. I know that you guys wouldn't understand this, but we have capt bandwidth. So once you get to a certain level, you can't send anymore. Same law receive any more data, so not always, but it's expensive, our bandwidth. It's expensive. You guys all unlimited, right? Mostly. Ok, s o that would work for you, but, yeah, I upload those teo to her. She then goes and does all the retouching and probably takes four or five days to finish the wedding on dh, then either sends them back to me, or she will send them directly to my lab. Andi and my lab will print them, and I will get the images straight from them. So I know that she is freelancing at the moment, she's doing my work so back off she's mine, but she is doing my work at the moment and I know that in terms of the wedding work she you know I should twenty eight years, so she does have options for for other people. Teo use her services soon. Her name is samantha lauren and you how do you say it? Lauren l a u r e in samantha lauren and you can find on facebook samantha lauren retouching and yeah, but please, guys she's mine don't offer her more money than what I'm paying her, okay, anything else? We're all good. Okay, so you would somebody was talking a little earlier on about, uh, inclines say this and, you know, you know, kinds are expecting this and expecting that one of the most important things when you're dealing with your client is don't get emotionally involved don't take things personally when a client asked you a question like laurie was saying a little bit earlier on with regards to cutting, cut and paste what questions to ask your photographer that's what they doing, they're just being consumers. You might have been asked that question fifteen times that week and it's very, very annoying, but it's the first time that they've asked that question, so just deal with it without any emotion if something really irritates you in an email take half and hour, go for a walk, get some fresh air, come back and answer that e mail do not answer it straight away, because that is goingto effect your your clientele and your psyche don't do that half on hour before you answer any emails that you wanted to just right from within those fifteen minutes, so they are no, you've really sent him. So you were on the phone? They asked for a quote. You said fifteen minutes, I'll send you an e mail, you sent that email? You've done what you needed to do, she replies to you haven't committed to any other time frame when you gonna get back to her, okay, so that's a very interesting question on the screen now would be I would be exactly that type of email that you were talking about now, so I sent a wedding coordinator sent me an email, please, may I have a quote for a certain date? So I'm like, cool, no problem here's your quote, I can't not call, no problem, you know? I mean, you know, that's, a nice to work with you and all that kind of thing, right? Then I get it, I get an email back from her, and I'm not going to read all of this, because it's very long winded and it goes on and on and it's this is back and forth with a client so what I'm trying to get through to you here's hard to negotiate with a client and hard to stick to your brand values and hard to remain calm under fire because it can be irritating you feel as if it's an emotional personal attack on you but you've got to stop that because it's business all right so here it is I send the court and the court you saw it it's quite self explanatory there's nothing complicated about it. Okay hybrid thank you for your court I've sent it on to the bride and she's come back with a few questions please forgive me she's somewhat of a fussy one you have been warned now immediately I'm thinking you know this wedding coordinators saying negative things about her client already do I really want to be in this area anyway? I wouldn't ever say anything negative about my client ever maybe to my wife or to my mates but I'll never never write it down in black and white anyway apparently you only give the client disk we can talk about this I'll do this straight after the slide we'll talk about it apparently you only give your client a disc one year after their wedding she wants to know if this is the case and if it wass could she possibly get it sooner no if I've done it for six hundred people and I don't even know you, why am I going to do it for you? You know it's second it's a strange concept anyway, how many pictures do you take on the day how many will be on the disk? You obviously take family shots bloody bloody block all of these long winded questions and I'm gonna answer it by saying hi there unfortunately I don't give out the higher is ray's disc sooner than a year except for the largest package which includes unlimited reprints I take his many images is necessary to cover the wedding that it out there let me know if there's any questions that's it I don't give up I don't need to answer all the other questions because I've really disqualified myself with the first question then she says hi there thanks so much for this last question it was like your last question last questions the albums how bigger they how many pages all event go for a half an hour walk okay come back okay hi there. No problem at all. There are handmade italian never albums that this is the size depending on the package that the client chooses back and forth thank you thank you for getting back to me in terms of the package or the requirements that the bride has requested by the following budget is going to be this I went nine hours of photography a thousand edited black and white and color images on dvd you know we've all had these kind of e mails this is exactly what lorraine was talking about a little earlier wedding album edited to perfect digital images into color black and white and two cleanups skin billion blemishes etcetera travel on the day are you able to put likes something like this together and then I reply high they as discussed I do not do this not negotiable that's it I don't have to answer all the rest hey will you give the dvd after a year second emily we dealt with this already if so, we can start to work with us now if I bent and buckled in the beginning I would be doing that wedding they would have me wrapped around their finger so what about the rest of the requests? Well, I wasn't going to go into the rest of the ore request because they're irrelevant because off the first section anyway. Okay anyway, can we work with something? Yes, thanks again for your mail that I say unfortunately, I'm not unfortunately I'm not able to accommodate your client's request on then I explain it I said with the reduced amount of hours so it was, you know, unlimited time now you want nine hours, so with a reduced amount of hours you reducing the amount of time by one hour but you quadrupling the amount of images it's not an option basically I'm saying no then she says oh thanks I completely understand why you don't really because anyway if this goes back and forth and I just stick to my guns clear concise message I don't go rent on facebook until everybody wanted what a horrible client I have anyway we work we carry on going on and this goes back and forth back and forth and then and then I say to her as per my email I do just now she wants unedited pictures as well. Now she wants all the unedited pictures back and forth back and forth heart and now back to asking me how many pictures in the album you can see this goes on for days you know back and forth there and eventually eventually it says how soon after the wedding we'll images be ready what pictures will be included? I tell her all of that what is the deposit? The deductible reservation fee remembers not a deposit deductible reservation fee how the pictures protected in the album if they stuck in bloody bloody block and then I give her all of that information and her final email to me is hi there bread can you send me a copy of your contract? I'd like you to book I'd like to book you for the second package we have a winner and and if you had buckled to the beginning thought you know no no no this is this is something else we moving on to the next line yeah no that's not her she's the she's my best client ever no no no no no no this is this is that this is this is my perfect target market this I've shocked for this family for a couple of years now I've got to know the family and they don't even think about asking any other photographer for for this is not her I promise you okay any other questions with regards to pricing negotiating with the client and dealing with declined the internet has made has always have questions for you too mate how's christian all right suzanne is wondering what the claim doesn't want four parents albums will you exchange product yes but it's never going to decrease the price you know if she if she says uh let's just say for example let's say for example she says I don't weigh don't have for divorced parents maybe there's wei need three parents albums I'll say okay I will get all throwing a framed image to replace that give a nice big framed image to replace the fourth one so it's not it's not a case of you may chop and change you know you can't adapt the pricing structure is going to change the pricing structure or but if they have specific requirements, I am going to be accommodating like that it's going it's like going to the fine dining restaurant and having saying I will have the caesar salad that'll be lovely, but I don't need the tomato. Thanks tomato sorry tomato that also answers in lootings photography question in handling clients who want to customize their own package that pretty much answers, but the price is not going to change. And the answer to that question when the client says that, you know, do you have any more affordable options? And I love the psychology love the psychology around pricing you're too expensive. Society has a way of shifting blame or projecting so it's like it's like how funny is that? Don't you think? It's so funny? Like if you're if you're charters don't fit you because you've got too fat how you blame the trousers hey yeah things have got so small like that haven't changed but psychologically we like to blame we like to lay blame so you say you know it so many times I operate he's so expensive essentially that means oh brett, I can afford him you know it's not it's a psychologically it's it's, quite a quite a strange one, so if somebody asks you, do you have a cheaper option? Your retorts to that could be, and you've got to do it with confidence say, you know, I'd really like to accommodate you. I think we've got a great report I think you're winning is going to be amazing, however, whether you book me or not, I am going to be booked on that day at my my full pricing structure that I would like to, so if you've got two people at your wedding bride and groom and this has happened with me before and I've being the witness, the bride and groom, you're two people at your wedding or you've got four hundred fifty people at your wedding, my price is still the same because I could be shoot it's opportunity cost, I could be shooting another waiting at the full price for somewhere for somebody else. I'm not going to reduce my pricing because you've got a small, intimate waiting when somebody emails eunice it high, they have got a small, intimate waiting what they're saying is high there. I need a cheap photographer because if somebody's got money to spend it's irrelevant on what size they there, they're waiting is, do you do all the corresponding with your clients? Some? Yes, I do, I know that you're going to like kind of thing like when does this guy sleep, but I I've made it a policy that I will reply to every single email that's ever sent to me personally every phone call that is that is mine I will always get back to the client if somebody finds me hi can I speak to bread? You know sorry is not available at the moment can be taking messages take the message and then I will then phone that person back another nice interesting topic here is if you've got a phone call to make that you're dreading do it now because you just get it over with if you brew on it's going to take three four days and then you just you just you're a mess yourself you have to speak to you know uh something might have gone wrong uh get back to them get say for example and this has happened in south africa there was ah railroad strike a truck strike on dh they couldn't get paper to the lab I'm like I promised this this bride that should have album but I don't want to make this phone call and I know she's gonna be disappoint phone now high they just need to let you know that there has been a truck strike she knows about the truck strike is going to be a slight delay in the album and I don't want her to fight like I don't want to leave it leave it leave it and then she finds out you know where where's, my product and you like, uh, yeah, there's been a truck strike, you know, it's going to make it somewhat effective communication with your client. I've lost my china thought used your question that you asked wass I have answered that, yeah, correspondence course, but yeah, so the same thing goes with my social media as well. You know, with I'm not that great on twitter. I'm learning about twitter, facebook, you know, always even if it's just thanks for the support or acknowledge that somebody has, you know, wanted to get in touch with me for some other reason, you know, if somebody mean it's happened already with creative life, you know, the the amount of people asking me questions, I will try my best to answer every single thing that I can. Obviously, I it's not humanly possible to do that. But if there is a common question, I will right back to them and say, look, I'm going to be dealing with that in an article emma might then go and write an article and post that.