If pricing your printed portraits feels like a guessing game—or worse, a panic spiral—you are not alone. Most photographers start by selling digital files cheap and telling themselves they’ll “figure it out later.” But what happens is burnout, lost sales, and clients who never print a thing.
In this episode, I walk you through the exact 5-step system I used to go from giving it all away to building a multi-million dollar portrait business. These steps will help you price with confidence, stop feeling gross about sales, and finally make the income your talent deserves.
So if you want to charge premium prices and still have clients crying happy tears at their order appointments, hit play and enjoy the episode!
The Five Steps to Profitable Portrait Pricing
1. Know Your Cost Structure
Your business isn’t broken—you’re just underpriced. And more clients won’t fix that.
- Learn what COGS (cost of goods sold) really means
- Why your time belongs in your pricing formula
- How charging $100 for a $20 product gets you to 20% COGS (the sweet spot!)
“One $2,000 boutique client = 10 digital file clients. But with way less time and effort.”
2. Create Value Clients Can Feel
Price objections aren’t about price—they’re about perceived value.
- Why clients don’t need more digital files—they need heirloom art
- How to guide them with pre-session consultations and scale mockups
- The boutique model vs the Happy Meal model (which one are you?)
“In the absence of value, price becomes the issue.”
3. Talk Pricing Early and Honestly
The pricing conversation should happen before they ever book you.
- Learn how to create an “assumption of sale”
- Use the phrase: “Let me tell you what makes me different…”
- Why being upfront removes awkwardness and attracts right-fit clients
4. Use Price Psychology
Even when they want it, clients need to justify it. This is where strategy helps.
- Use “price anchoring” to connect their emotional desire to logical spending
- Reframe the investment using real-life comparisons (like a summer golf package!)
- Let them sit with the decision in silence—it’s part of the process
5. Believe You’re Worth It
None of this matters if you don’t believe in your own value.
- Surround yourself with successful photographers charging profitably
- Practice the conversation until it’s second nature
- Build confidence by linking your work to what matters most—family and legacy
“Confidence is contagious. When you believe in your value, your clients will too.”
RECAP & NEXT STEPS
If you want to stop guessing and start charging prices that pay you and serve your clients well, these five steps are your roadmap. Don’t wait to “get better” before you charge more. Start believing you’re worth it—and build the system that proves it.
RESOURCES
- Go from Hidden to Hidden to Hired this Season: Get the Formula
- Photography Business Tools to Get Started
- Join Our Facebook Group: We Are Portrait Photographers
- Learn About Boutique Breakthrough
- Subscribe & Review the Podcast
