Repeat the lie often enough

There is an old saying that if you repeat a lie often enough, it will ring true. That is, people will believe it. We have a big, often repeated lie to overcome: digital is cheap.

Pretty much nothing in professional photography is cheap. We use Macs (overwhelmingly) which are higher priced (and much higher value, in my opinion), camera systems cost many thousands, the software licenses for things like Photoshop aren’t $29.95, and don’t even get me started on lights, stands, etc. Setting up a photo business is a large investment and maintaining it is not something you can do for a buck and a quarter. A good chunk of that cost is now directly related to maintaining the digital technology.

And yet, over and over, I hear photographers say “digital is cheap.” Look, it’s bad enough clients already have that in their minds–don’t contribute to that lie. Digital, even if you were given all the equipment, software, etc., is still not cheap. You have to process the images and that, dear friends, costs your time and your time is (as the other old saying goes) your money.

Let’s say you shoot 100 digital frames for your client. You need to convert them to something viewable for your client. You don’t just post (or hand over, heaven forbid!) the RAW images–you make jpegs and edit out the obvious clunkers (model with closed eyes, assistant in shot, whatever) and you present them in an aesthetically pleasing manner (web gallery or disk) that is branded to your business and looks better than just throwing them up on some server. You may even do some basic digital correction/retouching before the jpegs get seen. How long does it take you to do all that? Do you do it well–that is, do your images look good when you show them to your client?

If you are not charging for that time, effort, and expertise, you are cheating your business and making it much harder for you to be successful.

You are also making harder for the next photographer who does respect his/her business enough to charge for this.

The worst part of this lie is the implication within it: clients won’t pay for this. Horse-hockey (as Col. Potter used to say). Most clients will and those who won’t are not good clients. They are clients who are taking advantage of you. Why do you want to work with people who do not respect you and your business?

Only you can show clients that you value your work and your business. And you know, even when you feel less-than-self-confident, that your work is worth it. I definitely know it–I see it every day in the work my clients share with me.