How should a wedding photographer price prints when clients already receive high-resolution digital files?
Asked 7/19/2011
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We include high-resolution digital images in our wedding/fashion/family packages and are considering adding print sales through an online gallery. Since clients can already take those files to inexpensive consumer labs, we're unsure how to set print prices in a way that feels competitive without undermining the value of professional lab prints. We may create sample prints from a pro lab and from consumer labs to show quality differences. How do photographers typically approach print pricing in this situation?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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Unfortunately, with the current copyright laws in Canada (as of this writing), the full-res images are part of the package, whether you like it or not, since your customers hold copyright in the images. That's not likely to change without a lot of political wrangling (we came so-o-o close to getting a bill before Parliament to enact changes a couple of sessions ago, but the session was prorogued before the bill was introduced -- back to the lobbying). You might want to help that cause along by becoming associates (and, perhaps, eventually, full members) of either CAPIC or PPoC (through PPoC-Ontario, since you're in Cochrane). Not wanting to get overtly political, but the fact that you don't own your work unless you're just doing it for the lulz is manifestly unfair.
You are going to have to differentiate on quality. The customer may own the work, but they don't have the know-how to prepare it for print, how to select the best medium/printer for the job, how to artfully put together albums and so forth. And for the sake of anything you hold sacred, get a real lawyer to help you draft a contract that can salvage a workable business model from the work. I think you'll find that any substantive alterations you do to the original work (remember, the customer owns that) to add value with the customer's permission and knowledge becomes a derivative work in which you do hold copyright. PPoC has great resources and a great community (and pretty darned good legal counsel); use their knowledge base to come up with a plan -- I don't know how the digital world has affected editing/retouching and so on (I haven't worked as a pro for quite a long time). If the original files are meh and the colour-corrected, contrast-enhanced, sharpened, etc., version knocks their eyes out, then they have to go to you for the value-added stuff.
Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2719
15y ago
0
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If clients already receive full-resolution files, print sales become an optional convenience and quality upgrade rather than a captive revenue stream. That means you usually can’t compete on price with big-box or discount labs; instead, compete on quality, consistency, and service.
A practical approach is:
- Start with your actual lab cost, shipping, packaging, and the time you spend ordering and handling prints.
- Add a margin that makes the sale worthwhile for you.
- Compare the final price with other professional photographers and pro labs in your region, since print pricing varies locally.
- Use sample prints to demonstrate differences in paper type, finish, color, and overall quality versus cheap consumer labs.
If you keep giving full-res files, expect fewer print orders, so your pricing should reflect that prints are a premium add-on, not your main profit center. In that model, being “competitive” usually means fair for professional-quality prints, not matching discount-lab pricing.
For future packages, many photographers avoid including unrestricted full-resolution files if print sales are important, and instead provide web-size files or separate digital and print products more clearly.
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