You're selling out…
…you're not a real photographer if you sell digital files only… where's your love of the print… love of the craft of photography… you'll bring down the rest of the industry and real photographers looking to make a living from this…
All the way to; it's photographers like you who are destroying photography as a viable business for the rest of us.
Nick dismissed the idea fast.
The products online idea
He decided at this point to invest some time and money to see if he could make selling products online work.
Nick priced frames and mats from his local framing supplier. He tracked down wholesale prices for canvas prints, aluminium prints and acrylic blocks.
Once he had his prices sorted, he was able to put together a price list that would return a profit from each sale. On paper, it all looked good.
It wasn't plain sailing
Nick gave it a red-hot go. He did make some sales. Problem was, they felt like token sales. It was as if clients were just buying something because they kinda felt they had to after all the laughing, joking and fun they had on the shoots he delivered.
Nick told me, “I was only getting a few bookings and I was selling $200-$300 in products from my sessions, which after cost of goods (COG) wasn't much.”
“Not enough to cover the time, energy, samples and everything else going into the shoots and post work,” he added.
At this point, Nick was ready to chuck it in.
Time to focus on the day (real) job, photograph his own kids and family for fun and put aside the idea of doing photography to supplement his income. Forget about ever making it a full time job.
Nick's was thinking… if I can't make money selling products, when everyone says that's the ONLY way to make decent money, what chance have I got? This was a waste of time and effort. I should be just shooting for fun and enjoying my photography.
That's what he did.
Nothing.
Zero.
Zilch.
He stopped shooting for $$$.
Everyone was happy at home
Hayley had her husband back to herself – once the kids were rounded up and chased into bed anyway.
Nick's kids usually run to the car as he pulls into the driveway after work and he barely gets a foot out the door before all four of them launch themselves at him.
No rest when you have kids huh.
All this lasted a couple of weeks. You know how it is when something is gnawing away and you really want to make it work.
Photography does that. You want to make a go of this. You know your work is good enough – you've sold work, friends and family (most of them) keep saying, you're good enough to do this.
In the back of Nick's mind the dream never went away.
His thoughts, kept returning to the problem and trying to solve it… how can I make this work?
He ditched the idea of products.
He decided it's going to be digital files all the way. Forget what other photographers are saying.
It'll be easier to sell, easier to process, easier to buy – hell, that's what my clients have been asking for all along… how much are the digital files?
Off he went to the next few shoots…
SIDE NOTE: if you're wondering how Nick was actually booking these shoots, I'll share it with you in a future email if you like – there’s an option to add your email below.
Nick returned to his acting like a big kid thing and shot some fantastic sessions with beautiful families.
Following the shoot, he culls, edits and uploads his favourites online with a price tag of $1500… $1495 actually. He read somewhere that'd work better and get more sales.
Nick emails the families (includes a URL to the online gallery) to let them know where they can see and purchase their photos… digital files only.
He goes about his day after sending his emails but keeps his phone close by… waiting for that PayPal notification to pop up with that beautiful sound and message indicating… you've made a sale.
Nothing.
Crickets.
No sales.
Nick drops the price to $1095 and says (to himself)… “I'm not going under $1000, no fu%^ing way. If I have to do that, I'm giving up… for good.”
Nick's thinking was… “The families I'm photographing can definitely afford $1000 for their photos – just look at the cars they drive. Surely they will buy them if they love them.”
Then, his thinking changed slightly. “Maybe they can afford them, but in their heads, something is telling them not to part with the $$$ for the photos.”
Nick had no idea at the time, but this was the beginning of the big breakthrough.
Whether or not families can actually afford the photos is beside the point. If they aren't buying, something has to change because Nick is selling close to nothing. He realised this.
In Nick's head… and out loud to Hayley, he asks… “Why is this not working. The photos are good enough, I know they are.”
And, “Other photographers are making this work, what am I doing wrong?”
Hayley knew right away… she told Nick, “You're too expensive. What family is going to pay $1000 for some photos, I wouldn't!”
Nick's thinking, and as a photographer, you can guess this… there's no way I'm going cheaper. It's not worth doing if I drop the price any lower.
He stops shooting again.
It's driving him nuts… the feeling he can make this work just doesn't go away.