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Although the life of a starving artist might seem romantic and “soulful” at first, at the end of the day if you cannot earn at least food and roof over your head by doing what you love, you would have to earn it by doing what you hate. To avoid this less romantic 9-5 cubicle the artist has to treat his art as a business with a net worth, and his art-work as a product with the set price.
Mr Bergman shares: “Every other industry in the world relies on money to be exchanged for goods and services… Why shouldn’t your business run the exact same way? The most important thing is to communicate with your clients even if it’s just your friends and family. Make sure you have that awkward conversation up front, before taking any pictures! “
David continues: “Explain to them that you’d be happy to do the photo session, and this is exactly what it’s going to cost. Then get a deposit from them up front, so they take you seriously and know you are there to work, and require payment upon delivery of the final images so that you don’t have to chase them down for payment after the fact. “
“Now setting a price for your services – that’s a whole different conversation, and you have to factor in a lot of things including usage, your overhead, and your level of experience, but keep in mind at all times – you’re the seller and they’re the buyer! You walk into any store in the world and there’s a price on each item and you can either choose to pay it or not. The owner of the store is not going to be offended if it’s out of your price range. Your business should run the exact same way. Sometimes the client will tell you what they’ll pay for photography, but I can’t think of any other industry where the client sets the price. Of course you can negotiate but try this as an experiment – call a plumber, tell them the pipes are leaking and you have fifty dollars in your budget for plumbing this month. if you even hear them laughing before they hang up the phone, I’ll be surprised!”
“Look at the end of the day, don’t be afraid to talk about money. You need to make money to be able to continue to do the work that you love. The more you talk about it the easier it will get, and you’ll find your clients will respect you and they’ll be willing to pay the appropriate price and everybody will be happy! “
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Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV: