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Mark Ashworth Photographer Profile - A long career as a leading photographer - part 3 of 1 2 3

by Mark Ashworth Published 01/06/2009

I took the decision to offer my clients the best possible experience in terms of service and quality, and the ultimate in finished products. Just like the airline, I have made sure that we also give the client the best possible images.

If there are lots of opportunities on for candid and informal shots, then these will be taken. If the situation is more demanding, then the people skills help to achieve the images that I need to get to justify my cost. An example of this is images on disks. Generally I do not like to sell the disk of images, but it is different if they buy an album or a framed image initially. Our services do not offer images on disk as part of a package, but they can add it on. I don't see enough value in giving the files on disk. When you buy a DVD of a concert it may cost around £15. If you pay for the best seats at a live performance it could cost up to £200 - you still see the same show. This is why photographers find it so hard to price their services with images on disk whether they are screen resolution or high resolution. Clients perceive a disk as a cheap option and will often, therefore, be surprised at the price.

Profitability is high with electronic files, but you must make sure that when they walk out the door they are happy. I would feel much better if they bought a framed portrait or beautiful finished album and a disk at a 'special price' rather than just an expensive disk. This way they have something to show for the main part of their spend and the added bonus of having images they can print themselves. This is a really grey area with no easy answers. You really have to do what you feel is right, but I really feel that the whole industry is suffering as a result of photographers giving or selling image on disk with no other product. I don't have a problem in principle, just with the fact that this option is very hard to control in terms of how each customer may perceive thevalue.

Our service is customer focused right from the start. We stay in touch with our clients right through the whole process. We make sure that it is just enough and not too much, and are very confident with our experience and knowledge in order to ensure a smooth ride. This also makes the task far easier and more enjoyable for us, meaning that we can always get great shots every time that all our clients are happy with. I shot a wedding a few weeks ago and the weather was awful. The bride wore her wellies for most of the day and we did more than just take the photos on the day. The following day we received a beautiful bouquet of flowers thanking us for our efforts - before they had even seen the photographs. That is the ultimate illustration of perceived value. I also know that our images and finished product will match the level of service we provided on the day.

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1st Published 01/06/2009
last update 09/12/2022 14:51:18

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