You want to find an affordable photographer who will give you quality photos. You don’t have a big budget for that. Maybe you have a special reason for wanting those photos, and you can’t seem to find anyone that you can afford. Here are some tips for finding someone you can!
Tip #1: Search for Affordable Rexburg Photographers on Instagram or Facebook
Google can be a great place to look for photographers, but typically, those who have their websites optimized to show up on Google aren’t going to be as affordable as those who do most of their promotion on social media. This isn’t always the case (for example, I’m pretty affordable), but it’s a good general rule of thumb. This is often because if a photographer has not only photography skills but web design and other graphic design skills, they typically feel they can charge more – and the truth is, they can! Another reason is that when they can show up on Google, they get a lot more business so even with their high prices they never run out of people asking for photos. Smaller businesses will keep their prices lower to stay in the competition!
Tip #2: Look at Follower Count
If you can’t find their prices on their Instagram (which you usually can’t, unless they have a highlight that tells you!) and you don’t want to have to click on every single website link in their bios, a good way to tell at a glance if they’re going to be affordable or not is to look at their follower account. Similar to what I said about people who show up on Google not needing to fight for customers so they can charge more, people with a lot of Instagram or Facebook followers won’t necessarily need to keep their prices low in order to get people to hire them. This can be a good way to find an affordable photographer. Often, those with a lower follower count will charge less so that they get more business. I can’t stress enough that this does NOT always reflect on the quality of their work! Use this blog post as a guide to see if someone who doesn’t have a lot of followers will give you the quality you’re looking for. Often these people are very good, but photography is a side hobby and they don’t spend the time and money on social media promotion that bigger, full-time photographers do.
Tip #3: Don’t Compromise Quality
That being said, do be careful with who you go to for photos! Take seriously the task of finding someone who will provide you with quality photos. There are times when you don’t just choose the cheapest option. There are plenty of affordable photographers who will still do a fantastic job!
Here are a few local photographers (besides myself) who are affordable AND quality:
https://www.instagram.com/telisabethphoto/
https://www.instagram.com/lschen.photo/
https://www.instagram.com/isabellelanephotography/
https://www.instagram.com/chelstillmanphotography/
Tip #4: Mini Sessions can make a photographer affordable
Often photographers will offer 20-30 minute sessions for a little over half the cost of a normal session! So if you see someone and love their photos but can’t afford the cost of an hour, you can see if they’ll give you a mini session! They’ll usually give you about 20 photos for that amount of time, so you will still have plenty of results for the price! This can turn a pricey photographer into helping you find an affordable photographer.
Anyone Can Find an Affordable Photographer
There are options out there. Don’t settle for someone super expensive, and don’t settle for someone who still uses a 2010 DSLR with 12MP picture quality (that’s just a fancy way of saying, someone whose photos aren’t very good quality)! Look for someone who knows what they’re doing, but won’t charge you more than you can handle.
Here at Design & Photography by Rachel, I try to always keep my photos affordable. I’m a professional photographer with years of experience and months of training, and my mentors have encouraged me to charge more than I do. But for me, it’s about more than getting the maximum amount of money possible. Growing up, my family couldn’t afford family photos very often because it’s just so expensive! When I got engaged, and then married, finding photographers within our budget – who lived up to my expectations for good photos – was a challenge. I am very aware that a lot of wonderful, beautiful people out there have the same struggles!
When I became a photographer, I made a decision to always keep my prices to what most people would be able to afford. My prices have gone up slightly as I’ve received more training and have more skill, but I still charge less than average. For a basic session, I charge $99 for an hour (except I have a sale going on right now that brings it down to $79!) and I only charge $499 for weddings for 3+ hours. And I’ll let you in on a secret: If you come to me and explain that you are looking for a certain price range, I’ll definitely work with you! I want everyone to have the photo experience they deserve.
