The cost of talent

I was watching an online class during which a story was told that really resonated with me. The point of the story is talent and how much it costs. Here’s the story:

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a woman approached him. She recognized the famous artist and asked him to sketch her portrait. He agreed. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the woman his work of art.

“This is perfect,” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke in one moment. Thank you. How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” Picasso replied.

“B-b-but what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much for this picture. It only took you a second to draw it.”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took my entire life.”

Why did this story resonate with me? Because it deals with pricing your talent. In my case, pricing my photography work.

Pricing is a difficult part of business. In general, you don’t want to price too high that you scare away customers. But on the other hand, you need to price your talent so that you make a profit. Also, if you price it too low it may be perceived as not being valuable.

My photography pricing has changed a lot during my career. The pricing has gone up and gone down. I have been afraid that I lose potential clients who think my services cost too much. But for all I know, I could have lost some who thought my prices were too low.

The point is this: potential clients who are looking for a photographer need to really think twice before dismissing someone because of price. There is a reason prices are set as they are. Someone may question why it cost $2,000 or more to photograph an 8-hour wedding. They don’t realize what has gone into those 8 hours that allows that photographer to even be qualified to be at that wedding.

This story resonates with me because sometimes I have felt afraid to tell someone my pricing – fearful that they will think it is too high. This story tells me that I need to stop being afraid. My pricing is much more than the number of hours I spend on a job. I understand that, and I hope my clients do too.