Why Don’t Photographers List Prices?
We get it, why don’t photographers just list their prices so it’s easier to narrow down if they’re a right fit!?
As an industry leader we can share some insight. When it comes to accurately quoting a customer, we first must understand the details of what the customer is looking to accomplish, and then we can offer a recommendation in terms of coverage, and consequently price. Photographers and videographers want to book your wedding, but if they were to just have a generic price for a wedding, the customers that have unique needs will look elsewhere thinking the photographer isn’t a right fit. In an effort to have the opportunity to speak to the customer directly, they will give pricing once they are contacted. Some photographers will post their prices, but by doing so they will undoubtably potentially lose out on business by alienating some customers that would have actually been a right fit had they taken the time to speak to the respective photographers. In our opinion, there is no right answer. If prices are listed, some potential customers will be lost because price will be a bigger component of the decision making process if they never spoke with the photographers, but compare you with ones they’ve interacted with. On the other hand some customers may think that because you are offering competitively priced services that you may not be as good. However if photographers don’t list their prices they will have more sales calls, and that time could be spent working on client projects or working with clients. Generally speaking, most photographers do not share prices because they want to negotiate pricing, and they are willing to discount some weddings or events based on details but not others, so by disclosing a price they have to commit to something wherein the fine details can matter significantly for them in terms of post production work load.
Another reason is that photographer prices can change over time, so to ensure accurate pricing they opt not to publish pricing. We recommend for the average bride to steer away from photographers that don’t offer at least a range, as it usually indicates a non-established price structure.
And finally, photographers may not disclose their prices upfront as they may have some wiggle room in pricing and want the opportunity to negotiate based on the complexity of the project. Some companies on the budget side of weddings that simply hire subcontractors disclose pricing right away because the packages are built without customer consideration. This eliminates the need to speak with someone, and it allows for impulse purchases locked in by contract. We recommend taking a few days to think about whether the photographer or videographer you choose is the right one for you. Your gut feeling is usually right, but you want to take a moment to think it through without having a deadline to ask for a deposit refund.
Price publication in general should not be seen as a negative or positive. Just understand that there are operational reasons photographers may want to speak with you first before disclosing price, and in our professional opinion, you should absolutely speak directly with your potential photographer, because you want to see how you feel about them as your photographer or photographers. To those searching for photography and videography services it may appear as though hiring a photographer is just about knowing how many hours of coverage you are looking for, but wedding photography can be more nuanced. If the goal is to deliver the best possible product for the customer, it’s important to understand exactly what the customer has envisioned.
