3 Signs It’s Time To Raise Your Prices

Photographers- one of the trickiest business issues we face on a yearly, quarterly, or even monthly basis is knowing when to raise our prices. It can be a scary thing to increase our rates. We may be thinking- what if I don’t book at these higher rates? Will I need to lower them back down?

While many factors play a role in deteremining if and when it’s a good time to raise your prices, here are 3 solid signals that it’s a good and secure time to make a price increase.

1. You are consistently booking your highest package

Do you find that your clients tend to book your highest package? Is your lowest package just collecting dust? Then this is a good sign that you are ready for a price increase! A well structured pricing guide will have clients most frequently booking your middle package, not your highest. I reccomend pricing your middle package at whatever your highest, most frequently booked package is, and then adjust the rest accordingly.

2. You are getting close to your “fully booked” number

As photographers, we have a limited supply of our services. There are only so many dates and weekends on which we can photograph our clients. If you find that you are booking up quickly and are fast approaching your “fully booked” ideal number, then it’s a good time to raise your prices!

Personally, I use this supply and demand model to increase my prices with every 5 weddings I book, instead of waiting till I’m closer to my goal number. This way the increase is more gradual and spread out over time.

3. You’ve improved your skills, knowledge, or gear

This one is often overlooked, but is so important! If you’ve invested the time, money, or resources in improving your gear or skills, then that warrants a price increase! If you can feel confident that you now can provide a better experience or product for your client, then you deserve to be paid as so.

Have you upgraded your lens, and now have even more beautiful images? Bump up those prices! Did you learn how to better use your camera, control lighting, or overall improve your client’s experience with you? Then you are improving your value as a photographer and should increase your prices.

I hope those tips were helpful! Remember that pricing is a tricky topic that truly looks different for everyone. Big factors that can play a role are your financial goals, current financial status, and what this business looks like for you. Try your best not to compare your pricing to others, and instead do what feels right for you & your business and is getting you results!

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