Posting Portrait Price Lists Online - PART 2 of 4

INTERJECTING SERVICE BACK INTO THE EQUATION

Continued from Part I...

For instance, when I went online to locate a dentist to help me with a painful tooth, I read amply about services, people, credentials, and testimonial, but prices were absent.

Had my dentist posted the cost of a tooth implant at $6,500, I would have quickly gone elsewhere until I found one for $250. My vast ignorance would have dictated my search, and in the end, I would have been terribly disappointed.

This is assuming I desired to have my tooth replaced utilizing the latest techniques, the finest materials, the best skills possible, be a painless process, all while enjoying the use of it trouble-free and lasting a lifetime. In other words, I didn't know what was entailed for superior service until I was educated. Once I was, I found a way to pay for it.

Gratefully, since my dentist did not post his pricing structure (which would have sent me running), it necessitated that I contact him and discuss the procedure. Far from being deceptive or insensitive to my need to know (by not disclosing his prices right up front), my dentist demonstrated compassion for me, as well as his understanding of his service and the people who need it.

This is not to say that I did not swallow my gum when I learned my implant would mean my new Canon 5D Mark III would have to wait. But quickly afterward, when I weighed the intricate nature of the surgery, the many quality levels of materials available, and what can go bad in a hurry if not in the hands of a highly skilled/experienced surgeon, $6,500 seemed like a deal. Did I hire him over the much cheaper dentists? You betcha! Am I elated today? I would never think of going back to anyone else.

Conversely, for dentists who list their prices, the consumer views them as commodity. They cease to be some-one worthy of respect for their individual talents and skill, and are simply consigned to some-thing - a item to be used.

It's the same for the photographer - no longer perceived as an artist with a unique voice of visual expression, but just a thingamajig. And for those who not only post their pricing but offer pricing that is substandard, their work is summarily downgraded from the mere "inexpensive" to an even lower mark on the respect scale: "cheap." This is not Mark Jordan's subjective assessment, but as is affirmed by every marketing research/model to be found.

Obviously, the particular facet of marketing research we're speaking of is not in regards to the perceptions on commodities (i.e potatoes, peas and pigs) but those who offer a service (jeweler, carpenter, financial advisor, educator, lawyer, doctor, photographer...). Or is it that we've so lost our way that we've come to believe a photographer's primary purpose is to sell specifically patterned dyes on paper? Or even worse, hawk digital files on a compact disc?!

Suffice it to say, while price-posters are focused on other price-posting competitors and beating each other up on price (i.e as is the nature of a commodity), the professional photographer highlights her craft, articulates her uniqueness, and adds value by interjecting service back into the equation.

There is much we can learn from the dentist (not to mention many equate a portrait session to sitting in a dentist's chair), and if only we might study the business models of successful ones, we too might enjoy the lifestyle their earnings afford.

As I see it, the challenge of the day is that regardless of the the detrimental reverberations from posting one's cut-rate price-lists online, for many a neophyte, they appear to be content on building their business with.... Part 3 Part 4

Mark

©Photosical - the photographic and philosophical observations of Orange County Photographer, Mark Jordan Photography

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Orange County Photographer, Mark Jordan Photography, a family portrait photographer in Rancho Santa Margarita, specializes in crafting striking family portrait photography with styles ranging from contemporary, traditional, and storytelling. Mark Jordan photography (as award winning beach photographer) also specializes in beach family photography, high school seniors, children portraits, babies, maternity and headshots. Mark Jordan, a Photography Hall of Fame photographer (a Rancho Santa Margarita portrait studio), and provides family portrait photography throughout Orange County and Southern California. Mark Jordan's Orange County family portrait studio also serves San Diego County and Inland Empire. Studio Photography Services are also provided in Riverside County and Los Angeles County. Local Cites where Mark Jordan photography studio services are offered are as an Aliso Viejo Photographer, Anaheim Photographer, Costa Mesa Photographer, Coto de Caza Photographer, Dana Point Photographer, Dove Canyon Photographer, Huntington Beach Photographer, Irvine Photographer, Ladera Ranch Photographer, Laguna Beach Photographer, Laguna Hills Photographer, Laguna Niguel Photographer, Lake Forest Photographer, Mission Viejo Photographer, Newport Beach Photographer, Northwood Photographer, Orange Photographer, Orange Park Acres Photographer, San Clemente Photographer, San Juan Capistrano Photographer, Santa Ana Photographer, Tustin Photographer, Villa Park Photographer, Westminster Photographer, Yorba Linda Photographer, Corona del Mar Photographer, Riverside Photographer, Temecula Photographer, Chino Hills Photographer, Loma Linda Photographer, Rancho Bernardo Photographer, Carlsbad Photographer, San Diego Photographer, Turtle Rock Photographer, Shady Canyon Photographer. Portrait Photographers everywhere (photographers in O.C. as well) are welcome to contact our family portrait studio for mentoring/guidance.