Friday, December 4, 2009

What's That Price Again?

Recently, a customer booked us for a portrait shoot after investigating several alternatives, including photography at a well-known department store and another big-box retailer.

We've all seen the photography specials at these stores; they promise dozens of portraits at a ridiculously low price. In fact, the price they offer is often below our actual printing cost for the same amount of portraits.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And in this case, that's exactly what our client found.

First, she was limited to a single pose. That wasn't going to work for her; she had three children that she wanted in individual poses, she wanted a family shot, a photo of her and her sister, a photo of her parents, and a large group shot. Oh, and could she include her pets?

Wow.

The single pose was out of the question.

She wanted multiple prints of those multiple poses. But at the department store, she was limited to prints from a single pose without incurring extra costs. And to top it all off, she was limited to a small number of poses per session.

The big-box retailer seemed to offer a good price and selection, until she asked if she could buy the rights to use the photos on her own. That price alone pushed her simple package above the cost of ours.

In the end, she became our client because we were not only cost-competitive, but for what she was looking for, we were actually cheaper. Her final package included a one-hour photo session, well over a dozen different poses, over 100 4x6 proofs, a copyright release for all her photos, and all her pictures on a CD-ROM. She can place orders directly from us, through a secure website, she can print them at home, or use her favorite photo processor.

Just as important to our client was the service she received, and the individual attention. Working with two dogs, three children and four adults is a challenge, but one we took on willingly and with a lot of fun. She wasn't pushed through on a schedule, and we took the time to give her a great experience.

That's the difference between having your portrait taken at our studio versus the store where you bought your lawnmower. Give us a call, and compare our pricing. We're sure we'll see you soon when you do.