I'd like to broach a sensitive subject: price. The number of dollars given by a customer to a service provider is a delicate matter in any industry. As the old adage goes: you get what you pay for. Sometimes you don't need the best, and it's perfectly acceptable to sacrifice quality if it means lower cost. Other times, nothing but the best will do, and you pay out the ear. Usually, there is a happy balance that can be reached.
Something we hear often from our prospective clients goes like this:
"Well, I like DM Photo's pictures better, but ABC Photography Company is offering me a lower price."
Most people think that quality is the most important factor influencing their decision to hire a photographer. However, a lower price has the sneaky tendency of quietly tempting folks into sacrificing quality for a more "economical" solution. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly times when this is appropriate. We believe, however, that events during which mission-critical photographs will be taken do not qualify as such times.
Before you decide on the low bidder, consider the following: 10 years from now, if you have paid an extra $500 or $1,000 to hire photographers that produced stunning images that you absolutely adore to this day (again, 10 years in the future), how upset will you be that you forked over that extra cash? Our guess is not very. Now, imagine yourself 10 years from now having gone with the less expensive photographer and having received images that were just so so. Now how upset are you? How insignificant does that extra investment seem 10 years from now?
For frequent purchases, you want to be as frugal as possible. No question about it. For critical purchases that are infrequent (or even once-in-a-lifetime), however, SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY! We promise it will be worth it!
Are we biased? Absolutely! Do we want you to hire DM Photo, even if it means spending more than "the other guy" will charge? You bet! But, that doesn't mean we're wrong. And 10 years from now, as you look at the pictures you have been so in love with since the day you received them, our guess is that you won't have a single regret.
