Clients scanning in photos... what to do about it?

Chris O

I searched but was unsuccessful at finding anything.

A repeat client ordered a single 4x6 of about 15 images from a portrait session of her daughter. I sent her a thank you email, along with those images sized for the internet with a small self promotion tag on them (Name, website). I did that since last time she scanned them in, and her scanner is terrible. Well, I never heard back from her, and a week later I see the prints she ordered on Facebook with terrible scans.

I'm 90% sure she only ordered those to be able to scan them in to make copies. Not many people only order just one of their favorite photos. I was suspicious a little at first about it, but figured she probably has tons of photos of her daughter already.

Should I raise the price of 4x6's to be closer to the cost of digital downloads? Or should I just accept it as a reality of the photo business when dealing with families?

Currently:
4x6 - $2.50
Digital - $5

Snowgirl

Chris O wrote:

I searched but was unsuccessful at finding anything.

A repeat client ordered a single 4x6 of about 15 images from a portrait session of her daughter. I sent her a thank you email, along with those images sized for the internet with a small self promotion tag on them (Name, website). I did that since last time she scanned them in, and her scanner is terrible. Well, I never heard back from her, and a week later I see the prints she ordered on Facebook with terrible scans.

I'm 90% sure she only ordered those to be able to scan them in to make copies. Not many people only order just one of their favorite photos. I was suspicious a little at first about it, but figured she probably has tons of photos of her daughter already.

Should I raise the price of 4x6's to be closer to the cost of digital downloads? Or should I just accept it as a reality of the photo business when dealing with families?

Currently:
4x6 - $2.50
Digital - $5

Raise your price! At least that way you won't feel used and abused. There's no way to stop people from copying, scanning, screen capturing etc. try as we might. And I hate to see poor quality photos being distributed with my name on them - makes me look like I'm not very good and not very professional.

As to a solution? not sure. I haven't found one yet.

catspaw

I'd price them so that a small print > cost of digital download and printing at a local lab.

Chris O

catspaw wrote:

I'd price them so that a small print > cost of digital download and printing at a local lab.

You know, that would actually make more sense to the client now that I think about it. I just look at it from a copyright and sales standpoint, but to them, a physical print should be worth more than a digital copy.

Cameron

Chris O wrote:

Should I raise the price of 4x6's to be closer to the cost of digital downloads? Or should I just accept it as a reality of the photo business when dealing with families?

Currently:
4x6 - $2.50
Digital - $5

I'd either raise the price of the 4x6 or only offer larger sizes - let's face it, 4x6's don't look great anyway.

Qarik

my solution is different. I charge everything up front. No watermarks, no right click protection, etc. Complete access to website and hi rez images on a dvd..and if they need help printing..at cost.

It's so much simpleer and easy that way.

catspaw

Qarik wrote:

my solution is different. I charge everything up front. No watermarks, no right click protection, etc. Complete access to website and hi rez images on a dvd..and if they need help printing..at cost.

It's so much simpleer and easy that way.

Alas, event photography is difficult that way. More sales once folks SEE the photos.

Tim Kamppinen

Qarik wrote:

my solution is different. I charge everything up front. No watermarks, no right click protection, etc. Complete access to website and hi rez images on a dvd..and if they need help printing..at cost.

It's so much simpleer and easy that way.

I've thought about doing this but it always seemed to me that if I charged enough up front for it to be truly worthwhile, then I would discourage customers who would otherwise pay a smaller sitting fee and then only order a few prints, while on the other hand those people who would order lots of prints anyway just got a license to basically take money out of my pocket since they can now make an infinite number of prints at cost and I get nothing for it.

If I charge enough so that I don't care about the print-junkies, then I'd lose all the low end business. If I charged less to keep them in the game then I'd never be profitable. How do you strike a balance between this if you want to avoid prints as your primary moneymaker? I guess if you had a steady stream of high-end clients that were willing to make the digital copies worth your while it could work, but sadly that's not something I can count on in my area... any thoughts?

msf

Tim Kamppinen wrote:

I've thought about doing this but it always seemed to me that if I charged enough up front for it to be truly worthwhile, then I would discourage customers who would otherwise pay a smaller sitting fee and then only order a few prints, while on the other hand those people who would order lots of prints anyway just got a license to basically take money out of my pocket since they can now make an infinite number of prints at cost and I get nothing for it.

If I charge enough so that I don't care about the print-junkies, then I'd lose all the low end business. If I charged less to keep them in the game then I'd never be profitable. How do you strike a balance between this if you want to avoid prints as your primary moneymaker? I guess if you had a steady stream of high-end clients that were willing to make the digital copies worth your while it could work, but sadly that's not something I can count on in my area... any thoughts?

Im fairly cheap compared to others on this forum, and those prices look crazy cheap to me.

If you can get a digital file for $5, why would anyone order an 8x10 for $10 or what ever you charge? I dont like the idea of selling digital files, so I charge accordingly. I charge a nice figure per image that they select, minimum 5 pictures. This way if anyone orders digital files from me, Ive been paid more than I average on print sales.

About the scanning prevention, you could get the proofs made up with a texture. It doestn prevent them from scanning them, but it makes the scanned result even worse.

Perhaps print up a copyright information sheet, not everyone is knowledgeable about copyright. Some think since they bought it, the images are theirs to do with as they see fit. Perhaps mention the penalty for registered copyright infringement. : )

Chris O

msf wrote:

Im fairly cheap compared to others on this forum, and those prices look crazy cheap to me.

If you can get a digital file for $5, why would anyone order an 8x10 for $10 or what ever you charge? I dont like the idea of selling digital files, so I charge accordingly. I charge a nice figure per image that they select, minimum 5 pictures. This way if anyone orders digital files from me, Ive been paid more than I average on print sales.

About the scanning prevention, you could get the proofs made up with a texture. It doestn prevent them from scanning them, but it makes the scanned result even worse.

Perhaps print up a copyright information sheet, not everyone is knowledgeable about copyright. Some think since they bought it, the images are theirs to do with as they see fit. Perhaps mention the penalty for registered copyright infringement. : )

Yeah I know my print prices are crazy low, but at the same time, my sitting fee is about double what most people charge from what I've seen ($100-$150 depending on if it's one hour or two). For me, sales are just icing on the cake, however, I like a lot of icing haha.

I really should flip my pricing around a little bit.

Qarik

Tim Kamppinen wrote:

I've thought about doing this but it always seemed to me that if I charged enough up front for it to be truly worthwhile, then I would discourage customers who would otherwise pay a smaller sitting fee and then only order a few prints, while on the other hand those people who would order lots of prints anyway just got a license to basically take money out of my pocket since they can now make an infinite number of prints at cost and I get nothing for it.

If I charge enough so that I don't care about the print-junkies, then I'd lose all the low end business. If I charged less to keep them in the game then I'd never be profitable. How do you strike a balance between this if you want to avoid prints as your primary moneymaker? I guess if you had a steady stream of high-end clients that were willing to make the digital copies worth your while it could work, but sadly that's not something I can count on in my area... any thoughts?

I suppose I have never dealt with folks who just want a few prints. I simply approach customers with the "up front" model and let them decide. To be honest I am new to the game though so I don't have much experience dealing with a wide variety of different needs. I think I would shy away from the "sitting" fee approach even if it was presented to me. I do have the luxury to do so since this is merely an entertaining hobby to me...heh.