Small Town Photography Budgets

Q:

I’m a Photographer in a small town, and I know I’m not charging enough. I don’t know how to charge more or reach bigger clients. I’m asking very low rates ($200 for half-day shoots and $400 for month-long progress images), but I’m still getting asked to lower my rate by people who want to work with me. How do I reach out to bigger clients, and how do I know what I should charge? Is there a simple formula or standard rates?

A:

We all wish there were a simple or standard formula for our rates. I can personally tell you that fee budget calculations don’t always make sense to equal out proportionally with the project. I’ve heard some photographers use stock image sites to see what they charge per usage, but we don’t have an overall chart for this. Based on the fees in your area, can you ask others what they are charging? My approach is how I know the average budget clients are spending, and then I speak on a human one-on-one level with a client to understand how high they can go within their budget. It is a numbers game where I try for more and use the usage terms for negotiation.