It’s not often I’m told my services are expensive, but my answer is usually “compared to what?” If you measure it against taking a few snaps on your phone’s camera and publishing them online, I guess it looks expensive. If you compare my day rate compared to the industry’s top visual media professionals then I am low cost. Comparing weddings or commercial photos, against, say, getting your washing machine fixed, isn’t really fair though. What these comparisons fail to take into account is the value photography brings to the customer.

I have a couple of commercial photography clients that know that the images I’ve taken have lead to business far more valuable than the cost of the sessions I’ve carried out. The images for one furniture manufacturer directly lead to orders ten times the value of the photographic session. Another client I met earlier this month told me that commercial photos taken at a session in 2017, were an important element leading to nominations and a shortlisting for industry awards.

I’ve been working with the furniture manufacturer for around four years; I take photographs of his client’s rooms where he builds his custom made furniture such as wardrobes and cabinets. Showing the furniture in use by his customers – clothes hanging on rails, shoe racks neatly lining up boots and sandals – lets his prospects imagine how these storage areas will look in their own spaces. The high quality of the furniture and the way a room looks with these wardrobes in place has a huge impact on people thinking of buying the service. The photos help seal the deal. With the work being several thousands on any one installation, spending a few hundred on photography is great value and easily justified.

The other client I mentioned is an architect. Its work on a modern renovation to a 1930s home in Kent was shortlisted for ‘Best Renovation / Extension Architect or Designer’ in the BuildIt Awards for 2017. The photos were submitted as part of the entry for the awards, leading to the shortlisting. As part of this process, the project was featured in the Built It magazine (although, due to copyright, images were reshot for the article) Originally, the company wanted images that highlighted the quality of the build, adding to its growing portfolio of work. That alone gave the architects a value in excess of the cost of the photo session. The shortlisting and subsequent editorial in a leading magazine then added valuable kudos to the company that it can capitalise on for many years to come – The increased publicity with free PR for this client again meant the value of the photography far outstripped its costs.

If you are thinking of using visual media but are worried about costs, please call us on 077945 071446 to find out how we can keep costs reasonable and discuss ideas of how your business can get the maximum amount out of your photos sessions. You can also email for more details on photo sessions.