$500 vs $5000 Clients: They’re built different | #64

In my 3+ years of working with product photography clients, I’ve seen the whole spectrum of budgets. I’ve taken on projects for 100 bucks all the way up to $10,000+ and everything in between.

There’s one thing that has been a constant that I’ve learned.

Low-budget clients tend to be way harder to work with compared to high-budget clients.

Yes, there are going to be some exceptions. I’ve had wonderful low-budget clients that I’ve grown with over the years. But for the most part, you will want to avoid these as you progress as a creative business owner.

Back in 2020, I was desperate for any client that came my way. I learned a lot of lessons that year. Here are the 3 lessons I’ve learned over and over from working with low-budget clients.

1. They will negotiate HARD

My minimum for working with me used to be 500 bucks. Already this wasn’t that high of a number. What I didn’t realize at the time, is that this number attracted the wrong type of client.

Often they would only buy the minimum number of photos. And even worse, they would try and negotiate and penny-pinch like crazy.

You just don’t see this with high-budget clients as much.

With low-budget clients, you’re already not making that much money. On top of that, the client will try to get you to lower your already low rate for them. It’s not good for you and not good for them because a lower budget often leads to worse results.

2. They will micromanage you

Often I would find the low-budget clients micromanaging everything.

Sometimes, this is OK, but low-budget clients usually don’t know what they’re doing.

They have no experience in photography, and as a result, the final result won’t be something they’re happy with.

You are the expert here. Meaning that you should be in control of the shoot. They are hiring you because you know what you are doing. But the problem with these low-budget clients is that they don’t trust that you know what you’re doing.

Because you are charging so little, they think that you’re not a professional.

When you charge a low rate, the client feels like THEY have to manage you because a true professional would charge a lot more.

When you charge little, your clients perceive you as cheap, even if you are amazing at what you do. When you charge a lot, clients trust you and perceive you as professional.

Even if the difference between the two shoots is just the price, and the final result is the same. When clients pay you more, they will be more inclined to trust you and love the final photos.

3. You’ll end up chasing invoices

Low-budget clients don’t have much money to start out with. This means that oftentimes it’s going to be hard to get paid on time.

You’re going to have to hunt down your invoices a lot of the time.

You should always wait for a 50% deposit before beginning to work on a project. This usually isn’t an issue.

What becomes an issue is the final invoice. I remember so many low-budget clients that I’ve had to follow up over and over again just to get paid. High-budget clients don’t have this issue since they have huge marketing budgets they’re trying to spend each quarter.

How to get high-budget clients

Over time, you need to be constantly raising your rate, increasing your value, and communicating your value better to your client.

For example, when you start off, you’ll probably be pitching yourself as a great photographer that takes beautiful photos. There are tens of thousands of these out there.

But as you progress, you’ll start pitching yourself as someone who helps companies raise brand awareness and increase sales. This is a real ROI that brands can see when you pitch them. And through this, you come off as way more professional. And your value goes way up.