New in wedding video/photo business, need guidance

[BlitzWarTank]

Hello all,

I'm providing both videography and photography service at these rates:

Wedding Videography
- Up to 10 hours
- Express Highlight* and Full Edit Package
- $750
- SAMPLES (Click here)

*Add another $150 if the express highlight is to be edited and be shown during dinner ceremony.


Pre-Wedding MV
- Up to 5 hours
- 1 MV (below 5 minutes)
- $450
- SAMPLE (Click here)


Commercial Videography
- 3 to 5 hours
- 1 (less than 7 minutes highlight) video OR
- 1 Full Edit Video (add another $100)
- $350
- SAMPLES (OpenRice | Dallas) (OpenRice | Brasserie Wolf)


Regards,
Blitz

 

[James Poon]

wrong forum.

 

[iunspoken]

dude, you should at least triple or quadruple your rates man. totally spoiling the market with those videos. for that standard, you're charging waaay too low.

Just my $0.02.

 

[red eye]

dont spoil market!

 

[hamanoshun]

This is why the professionals have a hard time.

I won't even call you a professional because with those rates, I can't even conclude whether you're doing it as a hobby or as a business. But it sickens me.

And moderator please move this to the appropriate forum, thanks.

 

[BlitzWarTank]

sorry guys I don't really know what would be the reasonable rates, as I have never reach out for the customers myself (wedding). I'm normally working under people...

I'm still new in wedding area.

 

[red eye]

by the looks of it you are just a hobbyist trying to make extra bucks, its people like you who spoil market!

do a market study first dont spoil market for those people trying to earn a living and not just out to earn extra bucks!

 

[foktommy]

My friend, just spare a minute to think about this...

For a full timer who depends on photography job for a living, if he is going at your rate (i.e your wedding photog at $450 for full day), he needs to do 10 jobs a month to pay for his living expenses, house, etc, maybe children as well. Do you think it's possible to have 10 shoots per month?

If you think that you are just starting up and want to build your portfolio, you can approach friends or friends of friends to start off. Listing your rates publicly like this really can damage other photog and videog who depends on it for a living. Trust me, your work is worth more than the rate that you listed. Have confidence with your work.

sorry guys I don't really know what would be the reasonable rates, as I have never reach out for the customers myself (wedding). I'm normally working under people...

I'm still new in wedding area.

 

[hamanoshun]

My friend, just spare a minute to think about this...

For a full timer who depends on photography job for a living, if he is going at your rate (i.e your wedding photog at $450 for full day), he needs to do 10 jobs a month to pay for his living expenses, house, etc, maybe children as well. Do you think it's possible to have 10 shoots per month?

If you think that you are just starting up and want to build your portfolio, you can approach friends or friends of friends to start off. Listing your rates publicly like this really can damage other photog and videog who depends on it for a living. Trust me, your work is worth more than the rate that you listed. Have confidence with your work.

And not only that, if the public sees this, they may think this is the going rate for professionals, and you know what happens next.

 

[catchlights]

sorry guys I don't really know what would be the reasonable rates, as I have never reach out for the customers myself (wedding). I'm normally working under people...

I'm still new in wedding area.

when you work under somebody, they are spending the efforts on marketing, sales, admins and logistic, and don't forget they also need to clean somebody backside if the job didn't turn out well, so they will charge a premium and pay you a salary for you work.

now you are on you own, you have to take care of all these things yourself, it will take up 80-90% of you time and nobody is paying you for that, you have to factor all these time, cost and efforts into you package, else you will be in deep sh1t.


I see you rather sincere in this trade, so I move this thread to The Photo Biz, hope we can have some friendly discussions which able to help you and many people like you.

 

[BlitzWarTank]

I've been trying to start this whole business from scratch but to no avail. I believe I have enough videos for my portfolio but just couldn't find anyway to start getting customers that's why I didn't put so high rate in the first place.

 

[lobsterkia]

I've been trying to start this whole business from scratch but to no avail. I believe I have enough videos for my portfolio but just couldn't find anyway to start getting customers that's why I didn't put so high rate in the first place.

You is think, lower prices would definitely get u customer ?450 a day... might as well do tuition

Or higher prices means won't get customer?

u done fishing before? U put big bait, fish sure would bite? The way u cast the line, time and location u cast also affect your catch.

U can try to pm the pros and/or seniors here and ask in private (politely ) how to "cast" your lines

 

[zeehamzah]

No offence but dont mind me asking, those sample (link) works that you provide, are those from you yourself or from you and other videog wen you are wrking under people?
Because I think Ive seen those couples before from another company's work. So Im just wondering.

 

[BlitzWarTank]

No offence but dont mind me asking, those sample (link) works that you provide, are those from you yourself or from you and other videog wen you are wrking under people?
Because I think Ive seen those couples before from another company's work. So Im just wondering.

Yes those are entirely my work (Editing: 100% | Filming: 90%) when I'm working under my friend, I still have the working/project files with me

I'm also the main videographer, sometimes with another videographer just to have more content for full edit as I'm focusing on express highlight mostly, I also do full edit.

 

[JasonB]

I've been trying to start this whole business from scratch but to no avail. I believe I have enough videos for my portfolio but just couldn't find anyway to start getting customers that's why I didn't put so high rate in the first place.

That could be the problem.

Many newbies think that charging a low rate is safe, it is actually counterproductive.

To some customers, it may look fishy, it may implies a lack of confidence or competency, and a portfolio that doesn't correspond to pricing implies dishonesty, if your work is good but price is cheap, a customer will wonder if there are tricks or dishonesty somewhere. It is as bad as lousy work but high pricing.

To the real pros, you are just a cancerous cell that needs to be ridden off of. Sorry to put like that, but to people relying upon this line for a living, its just a normal survival response in the brain. The well-doing pros have many business, sometimes too much that they cannot handle themselves and will start to look for associates and industry friends to form alliances. A cancerous cell that hurts the industry will never be considered into those closed doors.

If you have no confident in charging a decent price, best work for others, or let a salesman do your sales, he can sell clients at $2400, pay you your $400, and he keep that $2000. A win-win situation for everyone.

 

[armee]

Give him chance leh.. Everyone makes mistake when it starts going into the business world. He will learn along the way..

 

[sjackal]

Give him chance leh.. Everyone makes mistake when it starts going into the business world. He will learn along the way..

I think they are educating him, which is better than giving him chance...

 

[catchlights]

I've been trying to start this whole business from scratch but to no avail. I believe I have enough videos for my portfolio but just couldn't find anyway to start getting customers that's why I didn't put so high rate in the first place.

it is possible to find many bargain hunters by offering very low rate, but do you think by charging lower rate, the customers will be less demanding and more forgiving?

just take this case for an example, Photographer for birthday party - Page 2
how are you going to tell this customers this is what she will be receiving for the kind of price she is paying?
or can you tell her should be more thankful as she still able to find somebody to shoot her son's birthday party at this price?


this is a calculator to help you to understand what is your cost of operating your business and how much you should charge for the way you want to work,
https://nppa.org/calculator

 

[Zeisser]

Yes those are entirely my work (Editing: 100% | Filming: 90%) when I'm working under my friend, I still have the working/project files with me

I'm also the main videographer, sometimes with another videographer just to have more content for full edit as I'm focusing on express highlight mostly, I also do full edit.

If these are really your works then must admit that you are under charging yourself. The clips have a 'cinematic' feel and the editing style is there
and like what others have expressed here your rates will certainly kill others.

 

[iunspoken]

Bro I replied your DM. But for the benefit of the community, here's a couple of links that I personally like, and might help you.

What is Content Marketing and How to Include it in your Marketing Mix
Wedding photography for $1,000? | Kat Forder