Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Browncoat" data-source="post: 34506" data-attributes="member: 1061">&quot;The market&quot; has been dictated by the wrong people.&nbsp; By and large, buyers have set the price instead of photographers.&nbsp; This is a practice that began in the editorial markets and has crept its way into stock photography on the internet and finally into the local markets.&nbsp; Photographers have no one to blame but themselves.You're absolutely right.&nbsp; Most photographers look at this as a product industry and try to compete on price.&nbsp; If you subscribe to that mindset, you're not going to be a professional photographer for very long.&nbsp; Your kids will go hungry because we can not compete on price against the internet and big box stores.&nbsp; Potential customers who shop price alone are not the target audience for professional photography.Photographers who succeed realize that this is a service business.&nbsp; We provide something that Sears, Wal Mart, and microstock sites can't provide: customization.&nbsp; Moms with small children come to me for their baby photos because I do not have 3 outfit change restrictions.&nbsp; I do not have a time limit like the big box stores.&nbsp; Most of my mom clients come back again on the same day or schedule another appointment if their baby is fussy, and I don't charge them extra.&nbsp; I am flexible and work with everyone on an individual basis.Competition is a good thing.&nbsp; I argue that if someone undercuts my prices, more power to them.&nbsp; They will eventually discount themselves right out of business.&nbsp; They will have to continually lower their prices in order to maintain their reputation as the cheap photographer.&nbsp; Personally, I would much rather target the Abercrombie &amp; Fitch clientele than the Dollar Store folks.&nbsp; I have a family to feed.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Browncoat, post: 34506, member: 1061"] "The market" has been dictated by the wrong people. By and large, buyers have set the price instead of photographers. This is a practice that began in the editorial markets and has crept its way into stock photography on the internet and finally into the local markets. Photographers have no one to blame but themselves. You're absolutely right. Most photographers look at this as a [I]product[/I] industry and try to compete on price. If you subscribe to that mindset, you're not going to be a professional photographer for very long. Your kids will go hungry because we can not compete on price against the internet and big box stores. Potential customers who shop price alone are [B]not[/B] the target audience for professional photography. Photographers who succeed realize that this is a [I]service[/I] business. We provide something that Sears, Wal Mart, and microstock sites can't provide: customization. Moms with small children come to me for their baby photos because I do not have 3 outfit change restrictions. I do not have a time limit like the big box stores. Most of my mom clients come back again on the same day or schedule another appointment if their baby is fussy, and I don't charge them extra. I am flexible and work with everyone on an individual basis. Competition is a good thing. I argue that if someone undercuts my prices, more power to them. They will eventually discount themselves right out of business. They will have to continually lower their prices in order to maintain their reputation as the cheap photographer. Personally, I would much rather target the Abercrombie & Fitch clientele than the Dollar Store folks. I have a family to feed. [/QUOTE]

Verification