But What About the Cheap Headshot?
Before we get into high pricing, there is the flip side you should know about too. Here’s a scenario you might not want to encounter. You are in search of a photographer to get good headshots. After all, no one wants a bad headshot or a bad experience. You come across a photographer promoting a headshot session for just $99. You found cheap headshots in Los Angeles. You jump at the chance for that price. After all, you say to yourself, you would only be out $99.
You get directions to meet up with the photographer. You show up only to find your meeting on some random street. There is no studio to go into. The photographer then pulls out their basic camera and kit lens that was bundled with the camera. Or worse, they pull out their iPhone to start shooting. What did you get yourself into?
You’d probably be upset, right? You have an expectation that the photographer will at least have some proper equipment and capabilities, and perhaps a physical commercial studio too. So, just like there is probably a ceiling as to how much you might be willing to pay, you should expect that there is also a floor to how low you should go before things get bad on results.
A photographer that has invested in setting up a commercial photography business has a lot of expenses, like any other business. There are upfront costs like equipment. A high-end camera body can cost from $3,000 to $20,000 and each high-end lens can cost the same. Sure, there are camera bodies and lenses for less than $1,000. But here is where that cliché of “you get what you pay for” applies. Some in the industry argue it’s about the photographer and not his or her gear. Not true. The gear matters. Then there are the countless other items that are necessary in a studio, the supporting cast of equipment. Oh, and there are recurring licenses, subscriptions, leases, insurances, and so on to pay for.
So, you should expect such a photographer to charge more than $99. You should also expect better results than with an iPhone. The point is, there is a low end to the minimum you should pay, particularly for a photographer with their own studio. A photographer with a studio is capable of providing a real photo-shoot experience, which has extra worth.
Market dynamics drive pricing too, like how many good competing photographers exist locally. There are common marketing elements at play too. Low-price photographers are all about pushing how low their fees are. Expensive photographers use different marketing to attempt to justify their higher pricing.
Scenario 1: You’re an Actor Seeking the Best Headshot Photographer
Photographers may claim they are recommended by talent agents. Photographers may also claim their pervious actor clients have had success working on film, streaming, or TV projects. Others may claim their actor clients have found agent representation using their headshots. And on, and on. These are worthy measurements for picking a photographer, no doubt. They should seriously be considered as factors for working with someone.
But most photographers that have been in business for years photographing actors can claim any of these successes. So, that is not unique to any one photographer in Los Angeles, New York, or elsewhere.
Others will then go on to claim they are unique in other ways, with how they shoot or what their process is. At the end of the day, look at their work. Do you like it? Do you like it more than all the others? If so, okay, how much do they charge? What if they charge two to three times more than any other photographer you were considering? So, do you like it two to three times more? Are their shots really that superior? Do they check all the other boxes for working with them? This includes boxes like, how are their reviews on Google, Yelp, etc? Do they have a commercial studio in a good location? Can they shoot in studio or outdoors? And so on.
So, yes, maybe go with a photographer that has had proven successes with creating headshots for actors, and that has a commercial studio. In addition, one that shows they can pull off more than just one light setup. Can they do commercial looks that do not all look the same, and theatrical looks that do not all look the same? Can they do that in a studio with studio lighting and with natural light? These are the measures of a capable photographer, not their rates being higher than most.