For the past few years, the photography industry has been flooded. Absolutely flooded. With photographers, with choices, with product lines ranging from the dirt cheap to the merely ridiculous.
When I began analyzing the market for my entrance into it, it didn’t look like this. But while I was busy learning and prepping to open my business, it changed drastically and I entered the market at the same exact time as all the other newbies.
Yes, I’m a newbie. One that worked her freaking ass off and reached major heights within a handful of years. But unfortunately, professional heights do not equal income heights.
And I find myself and my high quality technical photography having a pity party of two.
Business is not good. There, I said it. Frankly, it sucks and it’s not anywhere near what I projected it to be.
I have a little boutique studio, let’s call it Tiffany’s. But unfortunately, Tiffany’s is placed smack dab in the middle of a county that shops at WalMart, K-Mart and Goodwill. Heck, even *I* shop there.
So, while I’m running my little tiffany-boutique with tiffany-products sporting tiffany-prices, my competition has chucked together some WalMart products with Goodwill quality and KMart prices. And the community that shops at those stores feels right at home.
So, while I’m sitting up on my tiffany-throne, catering to the occasional client, my competition is running blue-light specials 24 hours a day. And staying as busy as a one-armed paper hanger.
So, what to do? I imagine I’m not the only throne-sitter in this predicament.
The way I see it – if I don’t stock the items that people want to buy, they’re not going to shop at my store. I can either keep up with the tiffany-inventory, making the old boys happy to have me in their midst, or I can start carrying some mart-inventory and pulling clients away from my competition.
Are you thoroughly confused at this point? Here it is in simple-speak. I’m too expensive. I don’t sell digital files/CDs. My prints are more expensive because they’re mounted and sprayed and I constantly have clients asking if they can have their prints without these tiffany-features in order to make them more affordable. I keep sticking to my guns and not complying with these requests. And why? So I can make the old-regime happy? Frankly, they’re not paying my mortgage payment, so why do I care?
I need to change the stock carried by my little tiffany-boutique in order to attract more clients . No amount of explaining the difference in quality is going to make them change their minds about what they came in to purchase. The last time I walked into a store, looking for a particular item at a particular price point, I walked back out if it wasn’t sold there. I shop around until I find what I want. The only time I will bend on this is if I just *CAN’T* find it anywhere else.
Photography clients *CAN* find it anywhere else. Multiple places, in fact.
So – the tiffany-stock in my store is going to be somewhat reduced. It’s going to share shelf-space with some lower-end popular items. Prints will be available without all the bells and whistles if that’s what the client desires. Digital files on CD for portrait sessions will be available for the first time ever. Clients are not going to find bottom of the barrel quality and prices, but they’re going to find a refreshing new inventory that will capture their interest.
And I’ll be making some trips down the road to the bank. Thank God.
Christine I too live in Mayberry and am unwilling to move to the big city. Okay that's a lie, I can't afford to on the Mayberry photographer's salary. The saddest part in all of this is that many people no longer value excellent photography with excellent bend over backwards for you type customer service. They are blasted 24/7 with mediocre images that everybody online ooohs and ahhhs over where we can spot 10 problems in 10 seconds flat and would NEVER be happy or pay for such images, or worse, would have known better than to hang out our shingle with that level of work. How do we survive in a sea of spray and pray who doesn't even know where to print 36×48 canvases- nor realize that what they produce can't be printed that large? Those of us who care about our work and our customers need to encourage each other to keep on keeping on regardless of this temporary trend. We may lose a few battles now but I still have faith we will win the war in the end- when the tide changes, the bar raises, and every 2-3 years when the newest crop of shoot and burners finally figure out they're working for $2/hr, hit burn out and quit. I'm not the best in the world and I still think half of what I do sucks but in this and the county 15 minutes away to the left of me, there's only 2 photographers who consistently produces solid work- and neither are facebook queens or what's all the rage. I've decided to do one of 2 things- stay on the "Tiffany throne" (love that analogy!) as long as I can, or pull an Atlas Shrugged (regardless of one's politics the theme is a good one for fellow photographers to explore) and just disappear with no notice. Except for the 2-3 times a year mini session deals (which I'm dropping next year), I'm not jumping on the bandwagon. I wish you wouldn't either. Your work is too good.
Christine,
I was intrigued by your post. I see similar stories all the time. Usually the author doesn't realize that their product is really below the artistic/technical level of a professional who's work is worthy of high end pricing. I checked out your site. You do have skills and talent. But you are not showcasing it. You are worth the money and people will come from far away to pay it if you just showcased the right work. I'm going to be blunt, because you CAN make the boutique model work. But you HAVE to change your website. The design and fonts are out of touch and don't look worthy of a "Tiffany's". The shots you show are technically good… the black and white portraits are awesome, but that is not what people buy at Tiffany's. You have to determine your target and take AMAZING pictures of exactly who that is and have an AMAZING website to show it off. Cute puppies and gritty black&whites will not make the business of your dreams. You can do it… it just needs tweaking. I hope you take this as constructive and encouraging.
Karey – thanks for the input, but…my website template had a security hole in it and my hosting company deleted the questionable file, rendering my galleries invisible. I recently switched to a new site and am having to rebuild from scratch. The header is already in the process of being designed – this is a temporary placeholder. I am just getting the galleries replaced and the first up is the home page slideshow which is my collection of award-winning images. Hang tight and the rest should be up within a few days. Nothing like a website crash to screw things up. 🙂
It ain't the quality it is the experience……. it is not about the photography it is about the service……it is not about having the best of anything, it is having something that EVERYBODY wants! Now the guessing game begins. You have to project a guess from a different point of view out into the future and hope that you might have something that could possibly cause a point of interest that somebody can't sell cheaper, faster and market better. Then you have to price it to pay….overhead, employees, taxes, credit card discounts, bank fees, lights, the lab and after all of that is paid then you may get to pay yourself if there is not a camera, light or computer that needs to be replaced.
What if what emerging photographers are producing was not the problem, but the symptom? Think about art history and the dramatic differences between the styles of Rembrandt, Rousseau, Manet, Monet, Seurat, Van Gogh, Dali, Picasso, Pollock, and Warhol. I have no doubt that at each period each new 'style' was ridiculed by its predecessors. Just for a minute let's not judge this 'style' of photography as professional or amateur, good or bad. As difficult as it is to put ourselves in the shoes or minds of potential clients, let's see what they see. What they see is something new which, let's face it, is as you point out night and day 'different' from what most photographers have been doing for decades. If people can't judge quality, then maybe they aren't settling, but simply attracted to new photography. If the issue then is that people have been starved for something new we can either offer 'new' or settle for what we get doing what we've been doing. Don't get me wrong. My solution not to imitate this style or any style. Instead create a new 'category' with a new style or brand name, tag lines, visuals, and marketing message. And if you expect anyone to notice it too must be night and day different from what everyone else (and you) have been doing.
I agree the new product is the symptom and the new technology is cause. Art is created with labor by a master not the laziness of the master. But to educate the masses on art is not our issue it is guessing what "product" will tickle the masses in to parting with their green rectangles.
I appreciate the response. If you go a bit deeper, and in keeping with providing help to photographers, what would your clients tell other people about their 'experience'? What do you think people would say is your specialty, the thing you offer that other photographers in your area can't offer?
I’m a specialist in actor headshots and theatrical production photography. I’m also the only area photographer that offers creative sessions. I’m one merit away from earning my Master’s degree with the PPA and all of those merits were earned in the last 2 years with client work, which should give you an indication of my quality level. The sad truth is that, no matter how much my clients love me, and think highly of me, there’s only so much of me they can afford. I’m revamping my offerings to include highly desired items and I’m offering less expensive options. I’m not chucking it all to the wind and joining the “$50 for everything on disk” brigade. I’m making carefully thought out changes to my business model in order to stay competitive. Tiffany-stock will still be available for discerning clientele. 🙂
Offering great photography is now what people expect. And when we produce what is expected it's deemed 'average'. Even in communities with a depressed economy there are enough people to sustain a boutique studio, but these people crave something that's not expected. Nobody brags about their cleaners.
I offer great photography, I offer the "experience." I offer a high quality product line. The smallest thing in my studio are 4 framed 16×20 canvases. The largest is a 36×48 gallery wrap.
I agree Rick. But photographers should understand that they are not in the photography business. They are in the marketing business and just happen to produce photography. The irony is that too many photographers can see the lack of skill in their competition, and the inability of the masses to see how much better their photography is (over the competition) but fail to see the need to either hire an experienced marketing person, or invest more in learning how to market their business as they do in becoming better photographers.
If all you have to offer is what people CAN buy at Wal-Mart, this is your only choice. If you have a product people can't find elsewhere, then you can have a different business model. Last time I checked, Wal-Mart doesn't sell custom painted portraits on canvas, or 30×40 framed "wall furnishings". If your product is 8×10's, then sure, you are competing against Wal-Mart.
Oh seriously – give me a break. I'm in a community where the unemployment rate is just now DOWN to 8.7%. I am too expensive for the market I am in. I have been offering high level quality and products for almost 4 years. There's not a damn thing wrong with my work. I live in Mayberry and I'm not willing to move to a big city. I need to revamp what I'm doing.
I'd be very interested in the marketing 'message' you've been using to create a 'Tiffany's' brand. Such a brand must be established by an emotional connection that people will have with your business. And the emotion can't be based on their ability to distinguish the quality of one photographer from the next. You and I can, but not enough potential clients know how to 'judge' photography. So, as with companies like Apple, Starbucks, Harley Davidson, and Tiffany's, you must inspire people who already value professional photography to choose you because you've consistently and frequently motivated them with more than why your photography is better or with price discounts which attracts price shoppers.
Sing it sister. Breaking my ankle was the final blow. Hopefully reopening in June, the 10 year anniversary at this store front. I hope my PPO and PPA and WPPI's won't kick me out….