When I talk with customers and other business owners, I can generally follow the logic behind their budget and how products or services are priced. I often draw an analogy to the automobile market. Cars all perform the same task; they get you from point A to point B. But they have a huge range of selling price. That’s because different people have different budgets and will spend varying levels of money to purchase a car.
A Thomas Image is signed up to get alerts from brides looking for photography services. In many of these alerts the bride can list her budget. I can understand that some brides will have expensive taste (especially if Mommy and Daddy have lots of money to spend on them) and some brides want to put their money into a house rather than a fancy wedding. I applaud people who think ahead like that.
Here’s my dilemma. I see more and more brides trying to put a wedding together for a total budget of $500.00 to $2000.00. That’s their TOTAL budget for a hall, decorations, food beverage, entertainment and photography. We’re not talking about a small wedding for 15 to 20 people either. The figures appear to include wedding photography. Am I missing something here?
How can anyone hire a professional anything, expect them to have top notch equipment, a back up of everything, spend time with the couple to prepare for the wedding, shoot the wedding, come back into the studio to spend 8 to 30 hours to sort and prepare images to view and do all that for a measly hundred bucks. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect wedding couples to pay my entire mortgage for the month. But at least let me clear some money to put towards the mortgage or buy some food.
If things are that tight, maybe couples should simply continue to date, get an education and start a career in hopes of someday being able to afford to get married and afford to run a household. Are couples that out of touch with reality, to not have a handle what things cost? Does everyone think they are entitled to whatever they want and should be able to get it for FREE or near nothing?
I’m willing to help people keep costs under control. As a business owner I have to do the same thing – keep my costs under control and work within my budget. What am I missing here? Can someone tell me? This photographer is truly baffled.
