The Pro Photo Business Forum

PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT A COMMODITY
by Bryan Lindsey
BCL Photography

A commodity is something that can be obtained from several sources, and as a result, no single seller can control the price. The quality of products is either similar or identical from seller to seller.

It used to be that there were limited products that could be sold as commodities. Groceries, gasoline, anything in town where there was more than one seller of the product (and where there was little variation between the quality of the products from different sellers). The Internet has changed that. Now, via ebay, Amazon, Nextag, and hundreds of other sites, we can compare prices around the world for the exact same product in different locations. The Internet has made products like digital cameras, designer clothing, and automobiles into commodities – we can easily compare similar/identical products from multiple sellers.

Photography is not a commodity. The ‘quality’ of photography varies from person to person, and this makes it difficult to compare photographers and make a decision on who to hire. A person may choose to take the commodity approach to photography – solicit quotes from multiple photographers and then choose the lowest one. This person has every right to do that, it is their choice to make, and sometimes budgets are very tight. Just realize that in the photography business, you get what you pay for. Bargain hunting is not clear cut and limited to price, a photography ‘bargain’ involves getting RELATIVELY high quality at a RELATIVELY low price. If you can help the potential client to understand this, you may have a better shot at closing the sale.

So in conclusion, it would be great if we were able to compare apples to apples when comparing photographers. The decision is a little more complicated when we consider that photography is not a commodity.

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Bryan Lindsey
BCL Photography
Houston Wedding and Portrait Photographer