BUDGET TO LUXURY

By Sophie Kaye

Picture this – you get a new inquiry, and you feel it’s a great one. Beautiful venue, sweet couple, they’re prioritizing photography, and you’re free on the date. You chat back and forth via email a few times, discuss their day, jump on the phone, and finish the consult feeling confident about the potential booking. Then, a few days later, you get that dreaded response:
“We went with someone cheaper.”

Or maybe you haven’t even reached the consultation stage, and you still feel you’re receiving inquiries from budget-conscious couples, with their ideal price sitting thousands below your average investment. Does this sound like a familiar scenario? One of the questions I get asked most frequently as an educator is “how can I avoid the budget bride?” from those all over the world, both beginners in their business and those who have been photographers for 10+ years. I’d like to break down a few tips and recommendations that I commonly share with those who ask, but there are a few things we need to dive into first to be knowledgeable about the concept of a budget bride vs a luxury one.

There are so many factors that go into pricing, and in no situation will there be a one-size-fits-all formula – especially for those of us who own and run our own businesses. There are so many factors that come into play that affect pricing – our cost of doing business (CODB) primarily – that encompasses so many things beyond the basic “business costs” one might expect. Child care, monthly rent, grocery delivery, or film development are all necessary when determining your COBD. If you are a film photographer (as I am), this is a very real – and very prominent – investment to be considered. When I am shooting 40–60 rolls at a wedding and paying for everything from purchasing to development, it is a large expense that I can expect at every wedding. I need to be booking clients who are investing enough to afford the medium I have chosen to document their day.

It is important to be conscious of the reasons you are wanting to target a luxury clientele. Is this because you are wanting to make more money from each job, photograph more highly styled weddings, or to work less? Sitting down and writing out a list of reasons for transitioning to the luxury market is a necessary step for those having difficulty raising prices or booking – if your reasons are abstract, likely your marketing plan (how clients are finding you!) is too. A solid marketing plan is key for successfully booking clients who are investing more in their photographer. Many of those same people who ask me how they can book luxury brides have little social media presence, few vendor connections, and very few publications to their name.

While I am a fan of the concept of quality over quantity – I also believe that we need to work both smart and hard as business owners. Being successful as a photographer, especially in the luxury market, is a constant effort and hustle. Those I know who cater primarily to the luxury market never (ever) stop working – they are always shooting, always editing, always marketing or emailing or Instagram-ing. I say this because I feel many people things sit stagnant, posting on social media once a week instead of daily, or seldom updating websites with new & fresh content. This is especially important in a higher market where jobs are – obviously – worth more money. It hurts our business more to lose a potential job with a budget of 12k versus 2k. I encourage photographers still in that 2k market to start thinking like a 12k photographer and get in that mindset of working smart and hard – constantly envisioning, planning, and creating.

To briefly cover social media as well – it is almost a full-time job in itself. You should have a strong presence on Instagram, I book about 80% of my current weddings off of it with brides who have budgets of 8–12k. It is a free platform and allows you to market directly to potential clients, and is invaluable for those wanting to both expand and curate their audience. Many of you have likely heard the idea of only posting what you want to book, and I agree completely with it. When I first started shooting weddings and wanted to work my way towards what I envisioned my ideal client would be, I made an effort to shoot five images at each wedding that I could use on Instagram or my website that would attract the client I was marketing towards. Whether that was a ceremony photo, detail shot, or portrait – the goal was to get fresh content online and be able to sort of curate the work I was creating.

However, even when I was starting out, my goal was to treat each of those clients like they had spent 10k with me. There is a certain art to the luxury experience. When you go into a store like Louis Vuitton, you’re offered a glass of champagne – they hang your coat up while you browse, they let you try everything on. I recommend stopping into some real-world examples of the “luxury” market – pay attention to their customer service, client experience, and presentation of their goods. Look at their prices – are they whole numbers, or do they end in .99 or .95 (hint: they’re whole numbers). Round numbers to a consumer emphasize value, luxury, and craft. Partial numbers represent discount, promotional pricing, and a sale. Look at the pricing at Old Navy versus Anthropologie – the former is full of $17.99 and $32.95, while the latter is $128 or $60.

Sit down and create the luxury experience for your current clients. Invite them to come meet with you to discuss pricing over a glass of champagne or at a boutique coffee shop instead of the local Starbucks. Even better – consider locating an hourly working rental space that is private and exclusive. Purchase one or two custom albums for them to view and touch instead of selling only through a screen. If you offer prints, have some samples of those for them to see the quality and design of your products. If you are lucky enough to have your own space, invest in a nice candle that smells delicious and creates a mood (scent is an incredibly strong sense and can be powerful when setting a scene!) I always have a Diptyque Figuier candle on hand for when clients come to meet with me.

This extends beyond the physical too. How are your emails sent? Do you have a beautiful signature with your logo, or is it blank? When clients pay, are they taken to a private client server a la Honeybook or Tave, or do you just send a generic PayPal invoice? Experience is one of the big differences between serving a budget or luxury client, and I encourage you to dip your toes in now as you work to raise pricing.

Referencing the idea of showing what you want to book, styled shoots are a popular (and ever-growing) presence in our industry. I personally feel they were vital to establishing my business and credibility in the editorial–bridal world early on, and owe much of my booked work to images clients saw from styled shoots. I have to insist that a) I do not think your full portfolio should be styled shoots. That is untruthful to those booking you and to yourself – you cannot possibly be able to realistically tell your skill level when only working with models. And b) It is important to create your own shoots. While I think attending others put on by stylists or other photographers is a good way to create content without the planning required, it is important to make images that are yours. Whether you work one on one with a planner or create the whole shoot yourself, it is important to have unique work that can be used to attract new clients that others haven’t shown.

When you are working towards raising pricing and have photographed a new shoot, take advantage of that – submit it for publication, freely share images with the vendors on the team – and maintain those connections. Once you hit a luxury wedding point, many new inquiries that come in are from planners or other vendors – and it is vital to your growth to establish connections with people who are open to referring you work. Do the same for them as well – I am quick to share names of stylists, florists, or videographers I love with my brides. If a vendor recommends me and I enjoyed working with them, I will often thank them by including them in my recommendation guide. We benefit so strongly as an industry by supporting others’ businesses and encouraging our clients to book a team we trust. Remember – you are often a voice of experience to a new client, and they will likely appreciate you suggesting that talented, luxurious florist whose work you admire.

It is important to find and establish your unique presence and talents in the industry. While our community is filled with incredible, inspirational work from thousands of photographers, I have often felt that if we were to take 1 image from any hundred “fine art film wedding photographers” and combine them all, it would be difficult to tell everyone apart. It is remarkable to me how many websites of unique, interesting people say exactly the same thing as everyone else. Dive deeper. Identify your passions, your inspiration, your loves. The things that you get excited to photograph or document. Encourage clients to fall in love with you and feel they are investing in a person that gets them. I began my start in the fashion industry and working for magazines, and I still push that as something fairly unique and characteristic in my work. Most of my brides book me because they envision an editorial aesthetic to their photography, love fashion, or work in the art industry. Pull things that will set you apart from every other talented photographer out there – it is what will help clients see value in you. And the more value they see in you, the more valuable your services will be to them.

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Sophie Kaye
Sophie Kaye is a fine art film wedding photographer and educator based out of New York City. After launching her business, Sophie worked primarily in the fashion, editorial, and commercial world before her expansion into weddings and events. She still works closely with many designers, publications, and fashion brands and consistently draws inspiration from such a dynamic and artistic industry. She currently lives on the Upper West Side with her French Bulldog Olive, and when not working she is often wandering nearby Central Park, visiting art museums, and antiquing for pretty styling finds.
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