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What is your worth?
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Feb 20, 2021 14:22:24   #
mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois
 
I couldn’t agree more.
I chose to make a living elsewhere, but pursue photography with study, experimentation, and effort, with what I believe are excellent results. I don’t really care what others think, though I certainly enjoy the compliments!
All that being said, I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich. Rich is better.

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Feb 20, 2021 14:25:42   #
mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois
 
PHRubin wrote:
I do not attempt to sell my photos, yet I believe my audience believes my efforts are worth a lot. I value the friendships it has offered me.


....missed the “quote reply” button. I intended the PHRubin post.

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Feb 20, 2021 14:28:58   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
My theory, and only a theory at this point, to make a considerable and regular income with photography is as follows:
1. Photograph a notable public person, preferably one who is viewed as having a moral compass, in a very compromising situation.
2. Make a copy of the original file and give it to a trusted friend with the instructions that it should be made public in case anything untoward should happen to me.
This should not be a close friend, as they are too easy to discover. Just a trusted friend with whom few would know to be associated with me.
3. Approach the subject of the photograph with a proposal that "for a fee" publication of the photograph can be delayed. Incidentally mention the file "in storage".
4. Arrive at a fair price for the photo work not being done and paid on a monthly basis.
5. Voila... steady income.

Now for those who will quickly jump on the blackmail wagon. Au contraire, for all outward appearances, I'm simply being paid to not work on a photograph.
--Bob
Rongnongno wrote:
As a photographer, what is your worth?

Folks here do not seem to understand marketing and how to approach the upper end market.

It all about how much you think your time AND TALENT is worth. If you think it is average, print a price list and go for it. You will not go far and will have to work your *** off in order to make a decent living.

If on the other end you are good (you do not need to be extraordinary) and are introduced to the right folks by the right person basically two events a month makes the same amount you do shooting three/four events a weekend or a week for a month.

If you know you are in demand and highly recommended you set your price depending on your client's means and demands. In this case there is no price list, ever. The price fluctuates and usually goes up with time and 'weird demands'.

Once upon a time I was in demand by the Ross Perot entourage. These folks do not nickel and dime but have specific requirements both in time, location and more often than not have expensive demands to deal with. Not request, DEMANDS. Either you do it or you lose an opportunity. There is no price on this type of service. It all depends on how capable you are and how you come across.

So the real questions are:
WHAT IS YOUR WORTH?
Then
How do you come across?
And finally
Who do you know who can introduce you to a STILL very lucrative market?

The only ethic issue here is DELIVER. If you do not you are burned, end of it. Even smaller markets close on you. These folks will make you or break you, just like that, they have the reach.

The gravy train lasted two years and ended when we moved to Italy.
As a photographer, what is your worth? br br Folk... (show quote)

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Feb 20, 2021 14:34:23   #
Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA
 
Rongnongno wrote:
As a photographer, what is your worth?

Folks here do not seem to understand marketing and how to approach the upper end market.

It all about how much you think your time AND TALENT is worth. If you think it is average, print a price list and go for it. You will not go far and will have to work your *** off in order to make a decent living.

If on the other end you are good (you do not need to be extraordinary) and are introduced to the right folks by the right person basically two events a month makes the same amount you do shooting three/four events a weekend or a week for a month.

If you know you are in demand and highly recommended you set your price depending on your client's means and demands. In this case there is no price list, ever. The price fluctuates and usually goes up with time and 'weird demands'.

Once upon a time I was in demand by the Ross Perot entourage. These folks do not nickel and dime but have specific requirements both in time, location and more often than not have expensive demands to deal with. Not request, DEMANDS. Either you do it or you lose an opportunity. There is no price on this type of service. It all depends on how capable you are and how you come across.

So the real questions are:
WHAT IS YOUR WORTH?
Then
How do you come across?
And finally
Who do you know who can introduce you to a STILL very lucrative market?

The only ethic issue here is DELIVER. If you do not you are burned, end of it. Even smaller markets close on you. These folks will make you or break you, just like that, they have the reach.

The gravy train lasted two years and ended when we moved to Italy.
As a photographer, what is your worth? br br Folk... (show quote)
For me photography is a hobby. So is videography. So is being a musician. I do it strictly for personal enjoyment and satisfaction, whether anyone else likes what I produce or not. But I never considered making money with those skills because I wouldn't make much. I had a job I was good at and made my money there. I agree you need to be good at a job to make a good living at it. All of the things mentioned about opportunity and luck and contacts probably apply to any job, not just the arts. Also hard work and becoming immersed are factors as well as how you manage your relationships with others.

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Feb 20, 2021 14:41:48   #
Wyantry Loc: SW Colorado
 
quixdraw wrote:
Congrats, you have created a new philosophy - Amoral equivalency.


And you are now the “moral police”?

I certainly do not see what would possibly justify a seven-figure price tag for that particular photograph, but I surely would like to have sold it !

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Feb 20, 2021 14:44:30   #
User ID
 
rmalarz wrote:
My theory, and only a theory at this point, to make a considerable and regular income with photography is as follows:
1. Photograph a notable public person, preferably one who is viewed as having a moral compass, in a very compromising situation.
2. Make a copy of the original file and give it to a trusted friend with the instructions that it should be made public in case anything untoward should happen to me.
This should not be a close friend, as they are too easy to discover. Just a trusted friend with whom few would know to be associated with me.
3. Approach the subject of the photograph with a proposal that "for a fee" publication of the photograph can be delayed. Incidentally mention the file "in storage".
4. Arrive at a fair price for the photo work not being done and paid on a monthly basis.
5. Voila... steady income.

Now for those who will quickly jump on the blackmail wagon. Au contraire, for all outward appearances, I'm simply being paid to not work on a photograph.
--Bob
My theory, and only a theory at this point, to mak... (show quote)


Amoral is not immoral. 👍👍👍👍👍

But always watch your back .....

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Feb 20, 2021 14:45:31   #
hj Loc: Florida
 
quixdraw wrote:
No price list, setting your prices based on your customer's wealth - ethical? Just a con game.


I thought the same thing. Not ethical to up-price because of a person's wealth.

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Feb 20, 2021 14:46:40   #
Wyantry Loc: SW Colorado
 
CHG_CANON wrote:
The easiest way to make money as a photographer is to sell your equipment.


Yep! Dump that new-fangled mirrorless crap and go back to a REAL mirrorless: a view camera! Heck, maybe a 8X10 or 11X14 . . . .

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Feb 20, 2021 14:48:44   #
User ID
 
Wyantry wrote:
And you are now the “moral police”?

I certainly do not see what would possibly justify a seven-figure price tag for that particular photograph, but I surely would like to have sold it !


Open your mind’s eye and see.

Somebody paid it ... most likely by outbidding some other 7-digit bids. Therein lies all the justifications that could ever be found, and all that will ever be needed.

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Feb 20, 2021 14:48:50   #
Rongnongno Loc: FL
 
rmalarz wrote:
My theory, and only a theory at this point, to make a considerable and regular income with photography is as follows:
1. Photograph a notable public person, preferably one who is viewed as having a moral compass, in a very compromising situation.
2. Make a copy of the original file and give it to a trusted friend with the instructions that it should be made public in case anything untoward should happen to me.
This should not be a close friend, as they are too easy to discover. Just a trusted friend with whom few would know to be associated with me.
3. Approach the subject of the photograph with a proposal that "for a fee" publication of the photograph can be delayed. Incidentally mention the file "in storage".
4. Arrive at a fair price for the photo work not being done and paid on a monthly basis.
5. Voila... steady income.

Now for those who will quickly jump on the blackmail wagon. Au contraire, for all outward appearances, I'm simply being paid to not work on a photograph.
--Bob
My theory, and only a theory at this point, to mak... (show quote)



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Feb 20, 2021 14:51:08   #
hj Loc: Florida
 
Rongnongno wrote:
Have you ever dealt with the higher end market? I think not. If you did you would realize that there is no sticker price on almost anything.

As I typed. You are worth what you think you are. In your case peanuts, as I am now since I am out of it. Find me a higher end market, I would go back to it in a flash as would anyone offered this opportunity.

Why do you think a few recent pictures were sold over a million dollars?
Because some folks like you want to call it a con job or unethical it should be sold for what? A few hundred of $$$? Grow up.

Most expensive photograph so far...
Rhein II, Photographer: Andreas Gursky (1999)
Dimensions: 73 in × 143 in
Sold at auction in 2011 for $4,300,000.00.

Now tell me, what is extraordinary that justifies the price?
You cannot?
Well, I can. Someone was willing to pay for it. That's it.
Have you ever dealt with the higher end market? I... (show quote)


AND, there are idiots who will pay big bucks for a canvas with paint splattered by real monkeys. Can you document that someone paid over four Million dollars for the picture you posted? If they did, they must be the poster child for "A Fool and his money is soon parted".


(Download)

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Feb 20, 2021 14:58:00   #
User ID
 
hj wrote:
I thought the same thing. Not ethical to up-price because of a person's wealth.

Perfectly ethical but poorly phrased.

The maximum true and ethical price may not be truly knowable, but the wealthier buyers can help us approximate it. Lower prices for the less well off are merely generous discounts.

Get real.

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Feb 20, 2021 15:10:33   #
smf85 Loc: Freeport, IL
 
rmalarz wrote:
My theory, and only a theory at this point, to make a considerable and regular income with photography is as follows:
1. Photograph a notable public person, preferably one who is viewed as having a moral compass, in a very compromising situation.
2. Make a copy of the original file and give it to a trusted friend with the instructions that it should be made public in case anything untoward should happen to me.
This should not be a close friend, as they are too easy to discover. Just a trusted friend with whom few would know to be associated with me.
3. Approach the subject of the photograph with a proposal that "for a fee" publication of the photograph can be delayed. Incidentally mention the file "in storage".
4. Arrive at a fair price for the photo work not being done and paid on a monthly basis.
5. Voila... steady income.

Now for those who will quickly jump on the blackmail wagon. Au contraire, for all outward appearances, I'm simply being paid to not work on a photograph.
--Bob
My theory, and only a theory at this point, to mak... (show quote)


If the person is high end political or truly wealthy then immediately after step 3 it changes:
4. A Meet absolutely humorless person who explains why what your doing is a bad idea and bad for your health. B get persuaded to relinquish all local copies.
5. Find out the humorless person hired a “finder” who found and deleted all stored copies.

The saw about everything living forever on the Internet is only partially true. Not impossible to delete something off the internet - just extremely difficult.

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Feb 20, 2021 15:32:41   #
chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA
 
quixdraw wrote:
No price list, setting your prices based on your customer's wealth - ethical? Just a con game.


With respect, I've made my living interacting with people, contracting, doing jobs. Pricing a job has many ramifications, least of which is actually *doing* said job. You have all aspects of logistics as operant factors (and a big part is location), in addition to the knowhow. I live maybe 15 miles from the ocean. The closer I get, the more I charge. <shrug>

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Feb 20, 2021 15:59:12   #
sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri
 
I believe that photography is most often an "emotional buy". It can also be bought as a "show of status" or as a "perceived investment" with the buyer anticipating a later gain in its sell price or increasing the value of the estate.

Nothing is worth any more than what a buyer is willing to pay. Even the most perfect and unique diamond only has a value if...and when it is sold. If it is never sold it is worth no more than any rock in the driveway. Even in an estate it only has value that is used to tax it to the inheritors and that value is purely subjective of the appraisers. Keep in mind that we are referring to a photograph as the topic. A piece of paper with tones of color on it.

It may have historic value which is far and away different than a photograph of a landscape or the door of an old building, etc. The actual photos taken by the astronauts on the moon landing are perceived valuable for several reasons being historical and after all....who else is going to go there and take one. Ansel Adams photo of El Capitan for example can...and has...been photographed by untold numbers although of course by those not worthy of his fame.

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