Article from JD Photo Imaging

Here is a great article from our very own Tom Hicks from JD Photo Imaging! Also check out his other article on the website under "In the News."

Thoughts on a $51 dollar 8x10" Print

by Tom Hicks, JD Photo Imaging

I had an opportunity to listen to an outstanding PPA online pricing seminar
recently. The expert computed that at her studio the actual cost for an
8x10" print is $51 dollars after her time and labor is included. In fact,
her lab bill was only 5% of the cost of a print.

It is interesting how many photographers don't price their work that way.
Instead, they consider all the time spent copying, sorting, color
correcting, and uploading digital files as "free", then consider the $2-3
dollars paid to the lab for the actual paper print as the most expensive
part of the order. The pricing expert argued that a photographer's time is
worth so much more than an 8x10" piece of paper.

The expert is right.

I tell photographers that they should spend all their time either taking
photographs, selling them, or marketing their business. While they can do
other things like make CDs of files, the time spent isn't free - it is
taking money out of their pocket. 10 cents for a minute's work here, a
dollar for 10 minutes of work there, and pretty soon the photographer is
feeling so broke, even a $3 dollar print charge looks expensive.

If you only make one resolution this year, I suggest that you make a vow to
consider your time as too valuable to waste on anything that doesn't grow
your business in 2008.

After all, aren't you worth it?

Tom Hicks is a partner in JD Photo Imaging. He can be reached at
tom@jdphotoimaging.com.