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Paul Wilkinson - Speakers Corner - part 2 of 1 2 3

by Paul Wilkinson Published 16/11/2017

The problem with professional photographers today is...
That all too often it’s a conversation solely about price - and that can only end badly. There is ALWAYS someone cheaper no matter how cheap you go. It should be a conversation about service, about quality and about experience. As an industry we all need to pull together to talk about these things. Yes, when you’re starting out it’s hard to charge too much (we’ve all been there) but letting the public - and the magazines they read - dictate the pricing is a mistake as it can be a run to the bottom. I am not saying we should price too high but I am saying that giving away files on a USB for hourly rates that are so low that it’s better to take on a paper delivery round is magnificently short sighted.

What’s the worst commercial error you have made to date?
Charging too little when we started out - it became very tricky to change it!

How did you rectify the mistake?
Slowly! I gained my Fellowship and I entered (and had some success) in National Awards. We talked about those successes to the press and used them to underpin the experience we’re offering: truly personal, truly unique, truly bespoke. Beautiful images for discerning clients. We played to their heart and to their desire to own something that had a reputation for being the best. It took time (it’s still ongoing!) but it has paid dividends in the long run!

The lessons learnt?
Every segment of the market has customers who will say you’re too expensive (or who won’t buy into you because you’re not expensive enough) - you have to find the point where the balance of what you can offer and what your target client can afford is about right. This dictates the equipment you can afford, the number of sessions you need to do per month and the salary you can take home - not the other way round!

Is it getting harder or easier to make a decent living?
We’ve just had our biggest ever year so I would say from that point of view it’s getting easier as we’ve built our reputation and brand. However, there is no doubt it’s a saturated market which makes it hard to find ways of reaching your desired clients and getting your message across.

How do you stay ahead of the game?
We are constantly changing what we do. I’d love to say this is a deliberate strategy but it’s really a happy accident as I get bored doing the same thing over and over. I think the team get frustrated with me (rightly) but it does mean we are always evolving and developing as a natural ongoing process.

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1st Published 16/11/2017
last update 09/12/2022 14:57:26

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