Pricing is hard. Especially when you are putting a price on anything creative. You are basically asking someone to pay you for your creativity, time, expertise, heart and soul. Yet, you have to offer a reasonable value in order to book sessions and run a viable business. That’s what we face as professional photographers. At the same time, you are constantly bombarded by “experts” who have the answer to pricing and how you should do it in order to be successful.
I’ve expressed in the past my feelings about prints vs. digitals. The idea of those digitals sitting lost on a computer or jump drive somewhere is a difficult thought to have as an artist. However, in the world of digital photography, the demand for digital images is higher than ever before. Clients want digitals over prints 99% of the time. I have even polled my friends and family and wrestled with business decisions regarding pricing and digitals. It is not an easy task.
In the end, you have to do what is best for your business, and including digitals is what is necessary in this saturated world of family photography. So, my pricing has officially changed. My session fees are now all inclusive. I am excited to head into a new season of photography and to continue to capture those precious moments in time for families, while offering them the advantage of not having to choose only a handful of photos.
I am currently booking both traditional and lifestyle session dates for the fall and holiday season. Dates for mini sessions will be announced soon! If you are interested in booking a session, visit my website at http://www.fullergracephoto.com and follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates and announcements.
To sell, or not to sell digital files? That is the big question of the new decade. Professional photographers seem to be in two totally different camps when it comes to whether we should sell, or give away our digital files. It’s true that we live in the digital age and that Social Media is king these days. But, what are clients actually DOING with those digital images? We know they are sharing them on Facebook, Instagram, and all the other Social Media platforms out there. But, are they printing them? If so, are they having them printed by a reputable company? If not, what is happening to them? CDs and jump drives end up buried in the junk drawer or in a box. Computer hard drives crash or become corrupted and unless they have been backed up somewhere, those images are lost forever.
I love digital files. They are my bread and butter. And I have been playing with and creating fine art with digital files since Photoshop first emerged on the scene and blew the minds of creative people all over the world. Believe me, it was not a hard sell to get me to put down my film camera and pick up a digital one. Half of my prints have been digitized, still working on the other half, and I love sharing photos online. How else can my sister in North Carolina, my aunt in Tennessee or my cousin in California get to see how much my daughter has grown and what she is doing as an 11-year-old?
But digital files are temporary. They won’t last. The countless framed prints of my daughter from birth to 5th grade that I have hanging on the walls of my home…those will last. And the best thing about prints is that I can see them all the time. I don’t have to dig through multiple layers of files on my computer or try to find that Facebook post from March, 2016 when I THINK I posted that photo from the Irish Festival.
This is why I’ve decided to change the way I sell my portraits and to try to encourage prints over digitals. Whether you purchase a 16×20 inch fine art, wrapped-canvas print, a photo book filled with memories, or a few 4×6 prints to share with family, the print is right now and it’s long-lasting. It stirs that emotion instantly, rather than building up frustration while digging through the junk drawer to find that jump drive that you are pretty sure you tossed in there thinking you would get those images printed “one day”.
I still plan to share digital images with my clients, because I know how important it is to share those images on Social Media. For every image you purchase (and yes, this includes images in photo books) you will receive a Social Media friendly digital file of that image. Plus, you are welcome and encouraged to share any of your own photos that I share on my website, Instagram or Facebook. I am excited to begin helping clients choose what photos to print and provide them with beautiful works of art to hang on their walls, or enjoy in a high quality, personally designed photo book. Let’s join the movement to bring back the beauty of prints, because when we are gone, will our great grandchildren know what’s on that jump drive hiding in the back of the junk drawer?
I’m sure it’s pretty obvious that some changes are happening around Fuller Grace Photography! A few years ago, due to some life challenges, I decided to “retire” from my photography business and took a much needed hiatus. 2019 brought a new interest in re-emerging from my hidey-hole and giving it another go. With this decision came a lot, and I mean A LOT, of training on some new ways of doing things that I had in the back of my mind to try for a while. So, here is a short, Happy New Year, Roaring Twenties, Q & A about the changes that are happening in this new decade!
Why change the branding?
When I initially started my business, flourishes, backgrounds, dark colors were all the rage in photography branding. Back in the early 2000s, if your website wasn’t dark with a Ken Burns slide show and sappy, copyright-free, (read annoying) music didn’t start playing from places unknown, you were just not in with the hip crowd. Fast-forward to the late 2010s and into 2020 and things have changed. So, I have to change with the times. New logo, new website, new sessions, and new pricing.
What’s up with the new pricing?
Let’s face it…the photography market is saturated and is probably getting ready to be even more saturated with all those people who got a “nice camera” for Christmas. Everyone and their grandma is a photographer these days. Through my hours and hours of training, one thing kept cropping up and being drilled into my brain is prints over digitals. Yes, I know everyone wants those digitals. I mean, we live in the Social Media era. Previously, I offered digitals along with my session fees. Bad news: no more digitals with session fees. Good news: session fees will be less expensive! Plus, I’m adding a new type of portrait session that I think is going to be the new direction of photography in the Twenties!
What if I want digitals?
OK, don’t panic. There is still hope. But, here’s my take on selling high-resolution digitals. How many of you have actually, and be honest, had prints made of those digitals or put them in a photo book or hung them on your walls? One of the things that initially got me into photography in the first place was a box full of old photographs that were passed down in my family. We added to those photographs with our little film and polaroid cameras. I still have them. In a box. But, I also have countless prints framed and hanging on my walls. Photos are meant to be enjoyed, therefore, I am really going to encourage my clients to purchase prints, rather than digitals. But, here’s the good news. For every print you order, regardless of size, you will receive a Social Media digital to share on Facebook until your heart is content! And any photos that you allow me to share on my business page…those are yours to share on Social Media, as well! So, you will still have access to digitals and I encourage you to share them on Social Media! High-resolution (printable) digitals, however, will not be included with sessions. If you absolutely MUST have your high-resolution digitals, we will try to work something out.
What is Lifestyle Photography?
I’m so glad you asked! This is the direction that my photography work is naturally heading, and so I want to offer this to those clients who are not into cheesy poses or trying to coordinate clothing or dealing with hot, cold or rainy weather. Lifestyle Photography tells a story…your story. These sessions will capture your family interacting either in a pre-planned activity or just as you are, at home, in your natural environment. No worrying about what to wear, how to smile, or how to get Dad to get off the sofa and have pictures made. Dad can stay on the sofa if he wants! I prefer you to pretend I’m not even there and I will capture the emotion and interaction of your family in that moment. These images usually translate best in photo books and I am excited to start assisting Lifestyle clients with creating these one-of-a-kind mementos that you can keep and enjoy for generations to come!
But wait, there’s more!
In January, I will be announcing an exciting program that I believe all you mommas with small children will be excited about! Also, I will be offering mini-session events several times throughout the year, and will be including the option of video “greeting cards” with some of these!
I have so many fun things planned for the new Roaring Twenties! I hope to hear from you and look forward to meeting you and your family as we bring back the good-ol-days of preserving our photographic memories!
Located in Fort Worth, Texas 