How much do you all mark up prints?

anonymouscuban

I know a lot of you wedding folks sell packages but in those packages, you must factor some sort of mark up on your prints. Or for those cases when people are ordering ala carte prints, whats your mark up?

I'm very curious.

Thanks.

Alex

Sam

Sam

anonymouscuban

Awesome Sam. That's the exact formula I'm currently using!!

kdog

I don't mark up my prints at all for my event photography. I charge a fixed rate for the job for digital images, and they can order all the prints they want at my cost. People really don't order many prints anyway. Are you delivering digital images? If so, then you really can't mark up your prints because they'll take them to Walmart and get crummy prints instead. I'd much rather have them order prints from my Smugmug site and get a good product. I think the era of print-based event photography is rapidly dying. Books are a different story though. I sell books to my clients for about half the jobs I do.

jasonscottphoto

kdog wrote: »

Are you delivering digital images? If so, then you really can't mark up your prints because they'll take them to Walmart and get crummy prints instead.

I don't necessarily think that is true... we sell tons of prints AND people still buy the digital files... I think it depends on the customer...

jasonscottphoto

anonymouscuban wrote: »

I know a lot of you wedding folks sell packages but in those packages, you must factor some sort of mark up on your prints. Or for those cases when people are ordering ala carte prints, whats your mark up?

I'm very curious.

Thanks.

Alex

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3329759/prices.pdf

anonymouscuban

Thanks for the replies guys.

Joel... I also don't sell a lot of prints since I do a lot of head shots. With my portraits, I do sell prints but I also sell the digitals so I don't mark up the prints that much. I still need to though since I order them and then deliver them to the client and that costs me my time.

I'm asking because I'm now on my second gig where they only want prints. I've come up with pricing based on my costs, time and the value of my work but I just wanted to get an idea of what others are charging.

Matthew Saville

anonymouscuban wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys.

Joel... I also don't sell a lot of prints since I do a lot of head shots. With my portraits, I do sell prints but I also sell the digitals so I don't mark up the prints that much. I still need to though since I order them and then deliver them to the client and that costs me my time.

I'm asking because I'm now on my second gig where they only want prints. I've come up with pricing based on my costs, time and the value of my work but I just wanted to get an idea of what others are charging.

There's definitely a good way to go about this, and that is IMO to be up front with your clients about this day and age. We all know how cheap a 4x6 is at the local drugstore. A 5x7 or 8x10 isn't much more expensive either.

This is why the focus of your efforts should be on larger prints, if not fully framed prints or ready-to-hang canvases. That is the only way your clients will see true value in investing in you rather than going to a local shop.

Therefore, I approach it this way: I don't even offer 4x6's individually, I flat-out encourage clients to take my (high-res) images to the drugstore if they want a print that small. I also am honest about how easy they can get their own 5x7 or 8x10.

However at that point I mention the main reason why they should consider paying ME to do their prints: Quality retouching, and guaranteed final color correctness. This is what they can't get at the drugstore. If they want to make a 16x20, it should probably be retouched professionally. STILL, I continue to be honest with them- I tell them that legally, they're welcome to take the JPGs I provide and go to a pro lab themselves, and request retouching / correction. I admit they might save a few bucks by doing this themselves.

Next though, I also joke with the client about how difficult it is to mount and frame any image larger than 8x10. An image will wrinkle / crease with the slightest mis-handling, especially if purchased online and shipped curled up in a tube. If they ruin it, they're on the hook. Me, I eat the cost until it's perfect.

Finally, I tell them that clearly, my business model is not based on print sales. In this day and age, I tell them, digital is king and I prefer to run my business with an upfront investment, not a back-end sales pitch. I am simply here to provide printing if they should desire it. The products I offer are the best quality, and will look great on walls / coffee tables for generations to come.

Oh and of course, if they order something right now (or within a fixed timetable) they can get a bundle or a package discount, etc. etc.

This works pretty well. It takes time, but eventually you'll have people coming in your doors not because they saw great photos on their friend's facebook page, but actually hanging on their wall. This is when you'll actually begin to see a worthwhile return on your investment of time and customer support. So even if sales are few and far between at first, stick to it, maybe give away a couple free canvases to your favorite clients who you think will rave about you, and see what happens! PRINT SALES NOT DEAD. It just takes a while to build the business model.

jonh68

I charge $30 for an 8x10 and go up from there. I offer prints and digital where prints are the cheaper option for smaller budgets but customers can buy digital files and do their own printing.

Instead of charging session fee I start at the minimum order for smaller weddings and they get credit applied to the order. They have options to upgrade after the fact. For larger weddings I just set a price and they get the digital files and can order prints at cost.

Matthew Saville

Oh, and regarding the pricing: Usually the best thing to do is to come up with both an hourly rate for retouching, and a fixed / curved %% markup on print prices. Say, $20 minimum retouching fee, and $60 / hr billed in 10 min increments beyond that. If they want the fully retouched digital files WITH the prints. Otherwise, just take the print price, and go to 400-1000% depending on how much you have people banging down your door, or what the initial cost of the product is. (Might need 1000% markup on a $1 print, but only 400% on a $300 canvas.

Another way that some folks approach it is to be even more transparent and honest with your clients- give them a basically at-cost print price, but charge them for color correction. This is a good way if you get people complaining about "why should we pay you to retouch the same image three times if we just want three of the same print?" So maybe add 50% or a fixed $10-20 to the cost of any print for your own handling time, and then charge $50-100 / hr for retouching billed in 15-30 min increments.

Play with the numbers, and let us know if you come up with something you'd like further feedback on!

jonh68

These are good points. It does involve educating the client. They know the prices to print. You have to remind them you are selling images and not paper. My time editing a 4x6 is just as much as a 8x10. For larger canvas my time is spent going back and forth with the client to get it right. This is what they are paying for, not the canvas itself.

Matthew Saville wrote: »

Oh, and regarding the pricing: Usually the best thing to do is to come up with both an hourly rate for retouching, and a fixed / curved %% markup on print prices. Say, $20 minimum retouching fee, and $60 / hr billed in 10 min increments beyond that. If they want the fully retouched digital files WITH the prints. Otherwise, just take the print price, and go to 400-1000% depending on how much you have people banging down your door, or what the initial cost of the product is. (Might need 1000% markup on a $1 print, but only 400% on a $300 canvas.

Another way that some folks approach it is to be even more transparent and honest with your clients- give them a basically at-cost print price, but charge them for color correction. This is a good way if you get people complaining about "why should we pay you to retouch the same image three times if we just want three of the same print?" So maybe add 50% or a fixed $10-20 to the cost of any print for your own handling time, and then charge $50-100 / hr for retouching billed in 15-30 min increments.

Play with the numbers, and let us know if you come up with something you'd like further feedback on!

Matthew Saville

jonh68 wrote: »

These are good points. It does involve educating the client. They know the prices to print. You have to remind them you are selling images and not paper. My time editing a 4x6 is just as much as a 8x10. For larger canvas my time is spent going back and forth with the client to get it right. This is what they are paying for, not the canvas itself.

Well yeah, but for a 4x6, are you really going to do ANY retouching at all, unless the image a super close-up of skin / a face? Half the time I make a stack of 4x6's, (again, I don't sell them individually) ...I just check the color correction and then dump 99% of the images straight to the lab.

This is another thing you can be honest with your clients about, that they'll appreciate. I tell my clients that 90% of my images are ready to print as 4x6's or 5x7's with just my minimal proofing, so it's a waste of their money for them to pay me to fully retouch every single image they get. It would cost them an extra $1000-2000, and they're only going to make a BIG print out of a few images, so they're better off just paying for those few products themselves.

jonh68

For the most part I do. They may get the prints and decide they want an 8x10 afterwords. If a client goes the print route they get the same edit an 8x10 would. Large canvas prints get a different level of edits and there is a back and forth between me and the client to get it right.

Back to the point though, we are not selling paper but the images on the paper. It doesn't matter how cheap the print is, the value is the image.

Matthew Saville wrote: »

Well yeah, but for a 4x6, are you really going to do ANY retouching at all, unless the image a super close-up of skin / a face? Half the time I make a stack of 4x6's, (again, I don't sell them individually) ...I just check the color correction and then dump 99% of the images straight to the lab.

This is another thing you can be honest with your clients about, that they'll appreciate. I tell my clients that 90% of my images are ready to print as 4x6's or 5x7's with just my minimal proofing, so it's a waste of their money for them to pay me to fully retouch every single image they get. It would cost them an extra $1000-2000, and they're only going to make a BIG print out of a few images, so they're better off just paying for those few products themselves.