Why Photographers Are Struggling?
I leaned back in my chair, staring at my laptop screen filled with unedited wedding photos. It was nearly midnight, and my phone buzzed with yet another message from a client. “Can you swap out a few photos in the album? We want to select them ourselves.”
I sighed. This wasn’t how things used to be.
Ten years ago, things were simpler. Back then, photographers worked with film negatives. They selected the best shots, put together an album, and handed it over to the client—no questions asked. Clients trusted their expertise. The process was smooth, efficient, and fulfilling.
But today, everything has changed. Clients demand control over the selection process, extending delivery timelines endlessly. Every step—photo selection, correction, teaser revisions—has become a drawn-out negotiation.
The worst part? The race to the bottom.
I remembered a time when cinematic wedding films were considered a premium service. Studios used to charge a fair price and deliver high-quality work. But now, newcomers flooded the market, offering the same services at shockingly low rates. And it isn’t as if their work is bad—some of them are genuinely talented.
“I have no choice,” I overheard a fellow photographer say at a recent wedding. “If I don’t lower my prices, someone else will take the job.”
That is the sad reality. Many photographers, desperate for work, keep undercutting each other, driving down prices across the industry. I had seen friends go bankrupt because they charged too little and couldn’t sustain their business. Some photographers delivered half-finished work, unable to afford proper editing. Clients, frustrated with these experiences, became even more demanding and doubtful.
But I had learned a crucial lesson: the problem wasn’t the clients—it was the photographers.
The truth is, most photographers had never learned how to run a business. They focused on cameras, lenses, and editing software but ignored pricing strategies, contracts, and business education. No one taught them how to sell their work at the right price.
I have seen respected senior photographers struggle, their businesses crumbling despite years of experience. Camera companies continued to launch new models, selling them at premium rates—but photographers failed to do the same with their services.
