“How much should I charge?” is one of the hardest questions a professional has to answer – but it doesn’t have to be a headache, says Rita Chandarana, business manager of the highly successful Maz of Leicester studio

Pricing is one of the hardest parts of running a business,” says Rita Chandarana, business advisor to the highly successful Maz of Leicester studio. “Although there’s no scientific formula, there are many basic things that can make pricing your product easier.”
This can prove to be the quietest period of the year for social photographers and so, if bookings are light, it can be the ideal time to look at such things as the pricing structure you operate. “Try to start each year with a blank sheet,” advises Rita. “Evaluate everything, especially what you’re charging.”
When pondering your prices, it’s often a photographer’s natural instinct to go sniffing around the local competition and compare your charges to theirs. Rita warns against this. “Photographers so often forget that people in their local area aren’t necessarily their competitors,” she says. “There are studios around here that charge ten per cent of what we charge at Maz of Leicester – but then our product is totally different to theirs.”
‘Undercutting’ the local businesses is a tempting but dangerous game to play, as no-one’s prices are the absolute bottom limit. “If you drop your prices to compete with the high street, you can easily be undercut again.” says Rita, “And then you’re caught with your pants down. If you reduce your prices any further, suddenly you’re out of business.”