Hey, hi, hello! It’s me, Lindsey. Forget everything you know about pricing and let’s go step by step. K? Alsooooo before we keep on going, I do not do in person sales (IPS), my packages are all-inclusive and priced in that dreaded ~middle ground~ that all photogs, coaches and mentors tell you to stay away from. 🫣 Uhm also, as I’m writing this I’m realizing how long it’s gonna be. Whoops.
First step, besties.
Take a bit to figure out these three numbers for me (you).
The $$ you need to live off of: this is not to live the most minimalistic life it’s simply to keep up your current vibe! How much do you normally spend in a month to go out to eat, pay bills, go to the movies, go on vacay, maintain your car, get coffee with friends, etc. Mine is $2500-$3000
Your GOAL $$: this is what you’d like to make CONSISTENTLY within the next 18 months. Mine was originally $5k then moved to $10k then $15k then $20k and now it’s at $35k, currently sitting at $30-$32k consistently but getting there!!
Your dream $$: this should be something that seems outrageous! Mine is $137k per month. Don’t ask why because honeyyyyy, idk it just is. I made it up literally 7-8 years ago and stuck with that bitch. This is not a number you ever have to reach, it’s just a made up sum that truly puts your goal number into perspective! Yeah, I might never hit $137k per month BUT who cares?! It’s not the goal, it’s just here so you don’t limit yourself to some bull shit number like $10,000 monthly.
mkay, got those? dope let’s move on!
CODB – cost of doing business
You’ll hear every photographer and their brother saying this term in the 72 photography groups you’ve joined on FB. They’ll always say “calculate your CODB.” “I can’t tell you how to price your services.” but they follow it up with “but that’s too low” or “you’re undervaluing the industry”.
Girliepops, that’s a lot of pressure to put on someone, chill. It’s not that deep.
Think solely about yourself when pricing your business, yeah you don’t want to fuck with the value that other photogs provide to their clients or say that their pricing is “too high” but also don’t stress too much about it. ilysm but you’re not the problem, you’re here trying to learn and do what’s best for you so start there – the ones who are charging $75 for an hour long session and giving 100 digitals are doing a disservice to the industry by undercharging BUT we all start somewhere, it’s temporary. Hell, I did it, you might’ve done it, the biggest names in the industry likely have done it too. It’s. All. Good.
This is a great resource, plug in all the numbers and get a rough estimate of how much someone else is saying you “should” charge and adjust from there.
k, here we are! step 3 or whatever
so you’ve figured out how many dollas you need to live off of, how much a lil calculator says you should charge per session and now you *might* be more confused than ever but don’t worry. I gotchu! But also, don’t hate me when I say that you will likely also change your mind + your pricing a few more times in your career…
Here’s mine, fair warning – I’ve broken all of the “rules” set in place by our big name photography gods. I don’t do in person sales, I give all of my edited digitals, I don’t have a bunch of up-sells (just one), I put my exact pricing on my site not a range, I have a fuck ton of text on my site, my consult calls are 5 min and really just to make sure clients laugh at my jokes (bc it’s awkward if I’m being hilarious and they’re not laughing, then add in the fact that they’re half naked, no thanks), I don’t charge extra for extra outfits or sets and I’m in that “dreaded” middle ground pricing. Guess who gives a single flying fuck? No one. Wanna know why? Because I’m doing my own thing, minding my business and empowering people through boudoir and that’s what other photogs are doing too! No one is going to scold you for not following these arbitrary “rules”. You’re an adult, do you babbyyyyy!
I offer a 30 min, 1 hour, and 2 hour session package! – Click there for my pricing!
I actually prefer where I’m at pricing wise, let me explain why!
how I break it down in my brain:
$100 to $300 = bargain basement: will ask for the sun, moon and stars but pay pennies and then compare how they used to pay $50 for a mini session in 2014
$300 to $500 = shmiddle: will still ask for a shit ton but sort of “value” photographers all while texting you 2 days after their session asking when their gallery will be done
$500 to $750 or $750 to $1,000 = my faves: they give off the same vibes for me, they know it’s a nice chunk of change but a lot of times they can go ahead and pay my 50% retainer without it being a huge deal, they say “take your time” but also don’t expect intensely edited photos like the IPS crowd does (airbrushed/smoothed, altered bodies, etc)
your turn!
Don’t mean to throw you into the deep end but baby, I hope you can swim! Truly, don’t think about it too hard. Here are some more tips to add value to your sessions, help you determine pricing + things to keep in mind! Price your sessions how YOU want to but also getting inspo from your fave local and not so local photogs is more than okay, just be respectful what info of theirs that you repurpose – don’t use their tag lines, exact wording, etc. Simply getting inspiration and doing market research is wildly different than straight copying their shit.
-For my clients, I say I give “30+ edited images” that can mean 32 or 200 but I don’t limit myself because for me, I can edit a gallery of 200 images including butt pimples, bruises, color correction, cropping/straightening, and throwing it in b+w AND exporting/uploading within an hour. It’s easier for me to NOT have to narrow down a ton of images but rather give them “all” of them! By giving the silly, slightly blurry, and “whoops” shots clients feel very confident that I didn’t leave out any of their photos. They know that I delete the test shots and random ones of them being mid sneeze or something ridiculous but the rest they get. Psychologically speaking, by seeing the “bad” or “whoops” shots they feel even more confident when looking at the shots that are fabulous! I say that I want them to LOVE 75% of the photos and the other 25% can be a mix of like and ehh, that’s not my fave because I do give them so many photos, they aren’t feeling disappointed with the ones they DON’T like!
-I show my clients EVERY single photo before they change into their next outfit so they can admire how delicious they are but also so they can tweak how we do a pose. If they can break their back and pop their booty out a bit more, we’ll fix it right then and there! No need to wait to deliver their gallery just to have that be their reaction! This ensures they know that I’m actually fabulous at my job AND I get to know which angles and poses to focus more on during their session to make sure they feel like the baddest bitch in the world!
-I don’t limit the number of outfits, I’m intensely efficient and will go through 7-10 outfits during an hour long session. That’s not a requirement BUT for me, the less time they have to think the better! Less thinking = less chance to overthink or second guess if they should’ve done a spray tan, should’ve waxed vs shaved, etc. On that note, I don’t shut the fuck up. Honey, I speak in capital letters and I just don’t stop – this also makes the client super comfy and doesn’t force them to have to fill an awkward silence.
-Starting with the same pose or one of two to three poses for each session! This is key! I start with a guaranteed win from one of my two to three starting poses – snatched waist, cleavage for days (even with the smallest of chests) or booty cheeks cheekin (even with the not so round booties). You’ll see a lot of these poses on my IG!
-If you feel like you aren’t getting clients at your current rates, give it some time but also recognize if it’s a YOU problem vs a client problem. You can’t expect clients to just find you out of no where, you need to be showing up everywhere: social media, google, a website, Pinterest, etc. It’s a lot of work, that’s no secret but as someone who has done this full time for a literal decade, it’s possible and it gets so much easier once you have certain things in place (like SEO or a steady social media following for examples).
You got this, feel free to message me on IG – I’m happy to answer your questions!
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