Don’t Do This When Pricing Your Service

This is going to be a bit of a rant. I’ve seen too many of these types of posts, and I need to address them.

Does this post sound familiar?

“This is why photographers charge so much:

Camera 3k

Computer 2.5k

Lenses 5k

Software 200/mo”

I hate this type of post. Your expenses don’t justify your cost. When you go to a coffee shop, they don’t justify their 7 dollar lattes in this same way. They just cost 7 bucks and you either accept it or you don’t.

They don’t have a big sign that says “Our espresso machine was 10 grand and we pay 3k a month in rent, that’s why our lattes are 7 bucks.”

No. The coffee shop understands business and they don’t have to try and justify their price to the customer. The price is the price.

Same with your rate. You don’t need to justify your rate to your client. Your rate is your rate.

Your rate is a reflection of the value that you provide. You charge a lot because your photos are valuable to the client. You don’t charge a lot because your camera was expensive.

As a business, you take on expenses, in hopes of increasing your value. This is a subtle distinction between charging based on value and charging to pay off your gear.

Just like that latte example, you’re not paying 7 bucks for a latte because it was made with an expensive machine. Someone can make a latte just as good with a cheap machine.

You’re paying for the latte because you find it really good and it saves you time from making it yourself.

Clients pay you for your services because they think you do good work, they can’t do it themselves, or it saves them time.

Stop trying to justify your rate because you took on a lot of expenses. Justify your rate with the value you provide to your client.

End rant.