Photo shoots from 8.50 Euros? Market analysis 2017 of prices of pro photographers & photo studios

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1 Photo shoots from 8.50 Euros? Market analysis 2017 of prices of pro photographers & photo studios XXLPIX May 2017

2 Achieve greater value with added value As it is every year, the 2017 edition of the annual market analysis is crammed full with interesting facts and figures. In an extensive survey, our team of experts have compared and evaluated in detail the prices from over 2,000 service offerings, 250 photographers and photo studios work that was well worth the effort this year again. The result of the 2017 analysis is the core finding that prices, after years of stagnation, have now increased significantly for the second year in a row. Prices have rissen to the greatest extent for wedding shoots. That speaks to the professionalisation of the sector. The price is once again approaching the actual value of the service. The average price for a wedding shoot exceeds 1,000 euros for the first time Already in the last few years, the change in photographic service provision has been clear. Apart from the standard offerings such as passport photos, photographic services have become and are becoming increasingly complex. The pure photographic work is being supplemented by additional services such as consultancy or creative added value. Photography is moving in the direction of events, wellness and the feel-good factor. This positioning makes sense for a service which has had to fight to win back an acceptance that was lost to some extent in the course of digitisation. At the same time, the photographer offers his customers an exceptionally emotional product: one s own image. This development is most clearly evident in wedding photography. Services are offered as increasingly complex packages and target a market segment that is traditional as well as relatively price-insensitive. The increasing marketing skills of a new generation of photographers are plain to see: photo shoots that are emotionally-charged and enhanced with additional services are priced accordingly. Consequentially, the price of a large wedding shoot has increased for the first time since this survey began to an average of over 1,000 euros. With value-added services, the modern photographer generates both greater demand and intrinsic value for his services a development that is reflected in the acceptance of rising market prices. As was already stated in the summary to the 2016 edition: In the future, success will belong to the photographer who markets his own services as a high-price lifestyle product or event. Selling photo shoots successfully these days involves the creation of customer-focused events rather than the sale of standardised services. 2

3 Providers who can successfully market their services with this sort of event character not only command higher prices for their shoots but also enjoy a much greater degree of recommendation by their clients. The employment of modern methods of communication such as social media also often works as a multiplier for enthusiastic customer recommendation. About the basis and method for the study: In order to regularly update the data, XXLPIX GmbH examines the business models and service offers of professional photographers and photo studios right across Europe on an annual basis. For this purpose, 250 randomly selected companies are analysed in typical service categories, and their services, products, prices and business data evaluated. Within the selected shoot categories, a wider range of event and target group-specific services are summarised. These serve as a basis for segmented derivation. The data in this report is current as of March The photo shoots selected for this analysis are subsequently evaluated with regard to starting price and maximum price. The resulting data is presented individually and transparently in the report. 3

4 Contents Overall market price developments... 5 Job application shoots... 6 Passport photos... 9 Portrait photography Family portraits Wedding photography Photo products Image processing Number of photo shoots offered About this market analysis

5 Overall market price developments The price for photographic services is continually developing. In the last two years in particular, the increase in price was considerably higher than the rate of inflation in the Euro zone, with 5.89% this year (2017) and 6.24% in the previous year (2016). However, this development is not evident in every area of photographic services. Whilst wedding photography has seen a disproportionate hike in prices (+11.2% on average compared to the previous year), the charges for passport photos have risen only negligibly, if consistently (+1.6% on 2016). Price developments in photography Fig.: Price developments in photography as a professional service, indexed development since

6 JOB APPLICATION SHOOTS Ø Job application shoots We ve been collating the pricing for photo shoots, and of course the prices for job application shoots, too, for many years now. In the market analysis for 2016, we had no CV shoots for under 10 euros for the first time. In 2017, the cheapest price in our sample was 12 euros. Back in 2013, the starting price was still only 8 euros. That was the price that gave the study its name. As applicable as ever is: Even in the case of an application photo, the scope of service can differ significantly. While prices start at just 12 euros, top prices can involve several hundred euros. The price for a small résumé photo shoot has risen in 2017 to an average of euros (previous year: euros) and has reached a value of over 30 euros for the first time since the beginning of the survey. Almost 60% (57.7%) of the photographers set starting prices in the CV shoot segment at between 15 and 30 euros. However, over 20% (21.1%) act with more confidence and ask for more than 35 euros for a small job application shoot. 6

7 What is the minimum price for CV photos? Fig.: Starting price, CV photo shoot, determined values: Ø = median = min = max = 180 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 The cost of large résumé photo shoot continues in 2017 to be aligned along two price levels: Most photographers reckon the price thresholds for their services to be 50 euros and 100 euros, and set their prices accordingly. As many as 22% of the photographers surveyed are offering résumé photo shoots for over 100 euros. Customers are very aware of the importance of the photo on a job application and the willingness to invest in quality has grown. In any case it makes sense to differentiate between the various offerings for application photo shoots because the requirements of the customer are also very different. Managers need different application photos than trainees. It is useful when these varying requirements can be met by offering varied services. 7

8 Maximum price for application photos Fig.: Max price, CV photo shoot, determined values: Ø = median = min = max = 380 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 In 2017, the average price of a large job application photo shoot exceeded 80 euros (81.29 euros; still euros in the year before) for the first time. 8

9 PASSPORT PHOTOS Ø Passport photos Passport photos are a standardised service that obviously does not offer much scope for variation in price and service. The consumer expects a solution to a simple need. Leeway for creativity is also limited because of the prescribed requirements and regulations. The limits within which this service is priced are thus correspondingly narrow. This means that passport photos continue to be offered at a de facto standard price. This lies between 9 euros and 20 euros. However, the average price for the service has continued to develop and reached euros this year. 9

10 The de facto standard price for passport photos Fig.: Prices for passport photos, determined values: Ø = median = min = 9.00 max = XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 The average price for 4 passport photos increased by 1.6 % in comparison to The current median price for passport photos still lies at 14 euros. It would be advantageous for the industry if the price of 15 euros could prevail as the lower threshold value. 10

11 PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY Ø Portrait photography The term portrait photography covers a very varied range of services in the market. This means that the gap between starting prices and those for comprehensive shooting packages is particularly wide here. Contrary to intuition, extensive photo shoot packages are priced increasingly defensively. Starting prices are rising, however. As a result, portrait photography services will condense in the long term to a standardised service and offerings will resemble each other increasingly in terms of scope and price. New types of photo shoot offerings would be the countermeasure to this. The absence of differentiation is, on the other hand, presumably the result of the absence of customer demand. Here, there is a distinct lack of the creative impulse from the photographers that could stimulate an increase in demand. 11

12 What are the starting prices for portrait Fig.: Starting prices, portrait photography, determined values: Ø = median = min = max = 180 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 Even though the average price for the entry-level portrait shoot has increased (to over 50 euros euros for the first time in 2017), many photo studios continue to set their prices rather lower. More than half (57.7%) of photographers still charge 50 euros or less as a starting price for their services in This means that they miss the opportunity to position their high-quality services in the market at an appropriately higher price. This devaluation makes it consequently much harder to up-sell through photo sales, for example. Another consequence is that the sale of high-priced shoots is made significantly more difficult. Inexplicably, portrait photography is also on offer for less than 20 euros the price bracket for passport photos. These photographers are devaluing their services in an impressive way. The number of photographers with this price arrangement is dropping, however. Whereas 15.5% of shoots were offered for under 20 euros in 2016, only 8.9% of photographers still price their services thus in

13 This is how much portrait photography can cost Fig.: Maximum prices for portrait photography, determined values: Ø = median = min = 14 max = 499 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 Now we come to the large portrait photo shoot, which continues to gain value. Only 28.8% of photographers still offer their large portrait shoot for less than 100 euros. In 2016, this figure was still at 36.2%. Overall, we see a maximum price for portrait photography of euros in This represents a plus of 1.8% compared to the previous year. 13

14 FAMILY PORTRAITS Ø Family portraits Family portraits analysed here as also representing group or couples shoots document the strong alignment in the branch towards price thresholds. 40.8% of photographers orientate towards the 50-euro threshold. A further 49% align themselves with the second threshold of 100 euros for their starting price in family shoots. But there are some instances of confident pricing: 10.2% of prices surveyed were above the price threshold of 100 euros. Prices for family shoots continue to develop defensively. This may be an expression of the decline of a cultural tradition: the family photo, the family or the family tradition. 14

15 What s the minimum price for a family portrait? Fig.: Starting prices for family portraits, determined values: Ø = median = 59 min = 10 max = 125 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 In contrast to portrait photography, price offers for family portraits have a lower price range. The vast majority of starting price offers in family portraiture sit on the price thresholds of 50 euros and 100 euros. As in so many years before, photographers orientate their price communication once again in 2017 towards these thresholds. These are the maximum prices for family Fig.: Max. prices for family portraits, determined values: Ø = median = 137 min = 19 max = 499 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 Price thresholds also play a decisive role when it comes to large family photo shoots. The market defines these at 100 euros and 250 euros. The vast majority (67.6%) of the offers evaluated were aligned along these two thresholds. The average price fell in 2017 compared to the previous year, albeit slightly by 1% to euros. 15

16 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY Ø Wedding photography Wedding photography is the most expensive private occasion for booking a photographer. And, as might be expected, the services offered in this segment vary widely. From accompanying the couple to the registry office to a shoot over several days including highquality photo products, a wide range of services is available. The cheapest service on offer under wedding photography was found again in 2017 to be euros. The most expensive package was priced at 3450 euros. Of course negotiating is more common here than in any other segment and requests, which in particular reflect individual requirements and wishes, are priced separately. In 2016, 27.8% of photographers surveyed still offered their wedding photography services for less than 100 euros. In the meantime, most photographers have abandoned this type of pricing strategy and in 2017 we could only find 17.9% of photographers still providing wedding photography for under 100 euros. In contrast, 35.8% now have starting prices of no lower than 300 euros. In 2016, only 22.2% of photographers implemented this pricing policy. The average minimum price for wedding shoots climbed by 16.3% in 2017 to euros (previous year: euros). 16

17 Wedding shoots from Fig.: Starting prices in wedding photography, determined values: Ø = median = min = max = 990 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 The average prices for a large wedding shoot have become more expensive compared to the previous year. More and more photographers (42.3%) are finding the courage to price their services above 1,000 euros. Nevertheless, the 1,000-euro mark is still the most important price threshold in the wedding segment. Wedding photography has traditionally been available in a very wide range of services so it is natural that prices should also range widely from simple to complex packages up to 10 times the basic price. Only 26.9% of photographers still offer their large wedding packages for under 500 euros. The prices from the rest of the service providers are widely spread up to 2,000 euros and beyond. In 2017, almost half of the photographers (42.3%) offered a package for over 1,000 euros (previous year: 30.2%). 17

18 A large wedding shoot package costs over 1,000 euros Fig.: Maximum prices for wedding photography, determined values: Ø = median = 899 min = 60 max = 5000 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 Compared to the previous year, the average price for a large wedding shoot increased again in At 1010,20 euros, it is over the 1000-euro mark for the first time. 18

19 Photo products Although high-quality photo products are an attractive and impressive opportunity for presenting professional photography, nearly half of all photographers still forego this revenue opportunity. Only a third (33%) offer photo prints proactively. 28% of photo studios offer only one large format product usually canvas or poster. These studios are not only missing out on attractive sales potential, they are also passing up the chance to use the impressive visual impact of large format to win new customers and this against a background of a rapidly-growing market for large format prints. Moreover, it is this last step in the value chain that is decisive for the visible end product. The high-quality work of the photographer is devalued by bad printing work. 33% of photographers offer no photo products Fig.: Number of photo products offered, XXLPIX GmbH Berlin

20 Image processing Post-processing or the retouching of photos on a computer is offered by 79% of the surveyed photo studios, meaning that 21% are still not offering these services. (Values from the 2016 survey) Image processing is standard Fig.: Image retouching/ processing offers, XXLPIX GmbH Berlin

21 Number of photo shoots offered Professional photo studios differ considerably in the services they provide. This is reflected directly in the number of photo shoots on offer. Whereas almost a quarter (24.1%) of those surveyed offer their customers only up to five different shoots, customers could choose from among 10 or more photo shoots at another quarter (28.6%) of the photo studios. The highest reported number of different packages on offer in 2017 was 21. Number of photo shoot packages Fig.: Number of photo-shoot packages, determined values: Ø = 8.74 Median = 7 min = 1 max = 52 XXLPIX GmbH Berlin

22 About this market analysis Population: 250 European photo studios were surveyed. Over 40 % of the studios surveyed operate in large cities with populations of over 100,000. Only 6% operate in locations with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. Fig.: Urbanity in photo studio locations XXLPIX GmbH Berlin 2017 The analysed population for the report consists of 250 randomly selected XXLPIX customers (from amongst more than 35,000) in Europe. Our client structure has a geographical bias in Western Europe, for example Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Businesses in these countries are over-represented in comparison to Eastern European countries due to this client structure. XXLPIX customers are as previous studies have shown very commercially active and have above-average interest in sales, marketing and raising turnover. This also has an influence on price structures. Business size: The size of participating businesses according to the number of employees was analysed for the first time in % of studios are run by one photographer as sole proprietor. 80.7% of the businesses have a maximum of three employees. Only 8.4% of the photo studios surveyed have more than six employees. 22

23 Survey period: Data collection was carried out in the period from 2 February to 19 May The data was subsequently evaluated and analysed by our XXLPIX consultants. Prices: Prices which were given in a currency other than Euro were converted at the exchange rate for 19 May Further information: Additional information and graphical representations on the market price survey are provided online under Authors: J. Behrens, C. Roth, B. Bouliere, A. Janssen, T. Haibach - Layout: M. Tzscheppan About XXLPIX: XXLPIX is one of Europe s leading solution providers for professional photographers, photo studios and specialist dealers. The photo lab supplies over 35,000 professional customers with premium large-format photo products. XXLPIX is active Europe wide and delivers its products and services to over 50 countries all around the globe. The company headquarters are in Alexanderplatz in Berlin Mitte. Copyright: Reproducing or using this publication or parts of it in other media, including electronic media, and publication in these is permitted with the agreement of XXLPIX GmbH. Images, graphics, text or other data may be subject to the copyright of third parties. If this is the case, these are identified as the copyright of third parties. Rights to these lie with the copyright holder. All brands and trademarks mentioned in this publication which may be protected by third parties are subject without limit to provisions of the respectively applicable law. 23

24 Do you need uncomplicated support? Thomas Haibach - Specialist consultant - Telephone: Fax: thomas.haibach@xxlpix.net XXLPIX GmbH Alexanderstrasse Berlin Germany b2b@xxlpix.net +49 (0)