Jason A. Bleecher, Photographer

Credentials

FAQs

• What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
  Going into business provides an intimate appreciation for the inevitable back and forth that is pricing a service or product to sell while retaining a profit that will maintain and grow your business. When I first started working as a professional photographer, for the most part, I took most of my pricing information from my clients. I wasn’t exactly sure how the price was developed. It sounded fair and I was grateful for the work. Growing my business in this fashion was difficult. I began to wonder what would happen if I raised my prices. I began to consider how other photographers could continue to stay in business. If other photographers are accepting these prices as I have then they must be struggling as I am. So I began to develop my own system of pricing. Back then, I hadn’t been in business very long so I had little data with which to begin. I found some help by downloading sample pricing spreadsheets developed by one of the major photography trade organizations. You enter your costs and the spreadsheet will tell you how much to charge per hour. The indexes that they used to develop that spreadsheet must have been based in Midtown Manhattan because in any instance that I entered something realistic for expenses the outcome would be some astronomical price that my clients would certainly not be willing to pay. Does that mean it would be impossible for me to stay in business? How do I know which is correct? Are my clients asking for a fair price based on the market they have encountered? Are the trade organizations encouraging me to ask for too much? I started compiling real data from my accounting and milage records and developed my own indexes based on my own expenses and my own plan for growing my business. The indexes I developed are derived from all the expenses that fuel my business. It should come as no surprise that most of my money is spent on my vehicle. I have taken all the money that I have spent on my car, including fuel, service, insurance and loan payments, then I divide that by the number of miles I have driven. I adjust this index quarterly to take fluctuating costs into account. When I propose a price a significant portion of that price is to cover the cost of my vehicle. Further, I know what that cost is and I know that the price I charge will cover the cost of my travel. I have developed my method of pricing to make sure that my costs are covered by the rate I charge clients. It was no surprise that when I began using this method I found that before I had not been charging enough. I was also surprised to find that I didn’t need to raise my prices very much. The indexes that I developed were designed to calculate cost not profit. Growth in my business will be ultimately dependent on volume. If I am working more I’ll be making more. Most importantly, I know that the prices I charge are fair. They are fair to both my client and me. If a potential client ever feels that I am asking too much it will always be his or her decision whether to accept my proposal. I would prefer that photography shoppers take the time to ask photographers about what is included in the cost. Ask why the cost is so much or why is it so little. If you think it is too much ask how it might be reduced. If you are finding a disparity in costs ask the photographer for an explanation as to why his or her pricing is so much more or less than his or her competitors. I ask those who are considering hiring me to consider a couple things. First, I developed my own method of pricing to make sure I was charging enough to cover my expenses for a given job. That means that if you see a price that is less than mine there is a good chance that he or she is not running a sustainable business. That person might either be struggling to get by or he or she might be paying to be in business. In either case the situation cripples the photographer’s ability to provide a professional-level product. Second, if you find that my price is less than others you have received I would consider the level of service you require. I have found that I can offer a level of quality that others would only produce for much more. I can enhance my level of service by adding value to your proposal. If we have a chance to talk about your expectations we may find that I need to only add a few adjustments and still charge less. One such adjustment may be to add an assistant. An assistant adds a great deal of efficiency to your shoot and can allow for more sophisticated lighting techniques. I may wish to rent some additional equipment. With a more expensive photographer you may find that some of these things are assumed in the cost so you never get the opportunity to pay less for something that works just as well. First and foremost I want my customers to have confidence that their photos are going to be captured and prepared exactly to their proper specifications. I believe a very large part of that confidence can come from knowing that your photographer is running a sustainable business and is mindful of all-around good business practice.
• What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
  There really is no official certification when it comes to practicing photography. I tell folks to beware of photographers with a lot of fancy letters behind their name. All that is virtually meaningless. While many do have a degree in fine art photography I do not. My undergrad was in Philosophy. But I have been working in the photography, graphics and imaging industry for over 25 years and in that time I have found that experience is everything. When I was working for Norwegian Cruise Lines we worked at least nine hours a day, seven days a week. I was photographing things all day under the most strict quality and quantity supervision. It was not unusual for me to shoot a thousand photos in a day. Onboard photographers were expected to perform under a variety of conditions ranging from outdoor and beach locations to crowded dining rooms to posing formals against a studio backdrop. These days I have been photographing three to five days a week. It is always different when you are expected to perform to the satisfaction of your client rather than to one's own creative impulses. Great photographs are always the ones where the photographer delivers something of genuine meaning to an audience who is eager to gather it.