Snappr solves the problems photographers face so they can earn more money doing what they love. But, unfortunately, not every photographer we speak to trusts that we're looking out for the best interests of professional photographers. Some put it more bluntly.
We understand the skepticism, now is the probably the most difficult time in living memory for professional photographers, and it's tempting to think that any change must be a change for the worse. But it's important to recognize that the way photographers and their customers connect today is broken in several fundamental ways, and the only way to fix these problems is by rethinking some of our sacred cows.
In simple terms, Snappr relieves photographers from the business administration tasks that take up the vast majority of their time so they can spend more time on photoshoots and charge a smaller hourly rate to make the same amount of money. That smaller hourly rate, and easy booking experience provided by Snappr, makes professional photography accessible to more people, which means more business and more happy customers.
Let's break down the way this works.
The photography industry does not work well for most photographers (he said, surprising no one). In Australia, where Snappr was founded, Photographers are under-employed and underpaid.
In the United States, meanwhile, the number of professional photographers dropped by 18% between 2008 and 2016. Over the same stretch of time, median wages fell by 6%.
In short, demand for photography, or at least demand for photographers, is falling. You can blame consumers, you can blame digital cameras, or smartphones, but the change is undeniable and irreversible.
What remains is a world in which photography businesses only survive as premium services. Cameras are expensive. Lenses are expensive. Lights are expensive. Learning the trade takes a lot of time, and money if you decide to go to an elite photography school.
But there's a much bigger factor at play: professional photographers don't actually spend that much time shooting photography. They spend far more running a business. Consider what concept photographer Benjamin Von Wong said in this Phoblographer article:
“Unsurprisingly, I spend a lot more time organizing and connecting with individuals and getting my content out there once created than creating the content itself. The process of shooting takes up surprisingly little time… it’s all the steps it takes to get there that takes forever!”
40%- Emails
20%- Social Media
15%- Networking
14%- Blogging
1%- Shooting
5%- Editing
5%- Phone Calls
2%- Billing
3%- Finance Management"
When you book Ben, roughly 94% of the hourly wage you're paying is not for shooting or editing. It's for marketing and a little bit of management.
And because photography is one of the most fragmented industries in the world (the number of employees per business is very low because many, if not most, photographers run sole proprieterships) almost every photographer faces these huge expenses. So it's not surprising, for example, that the average booking fee for a wedding photographer is nearly $4,000 AUD in Australia and $2,600 USD in the United States.
But many people don't have that kind of money - so demand remains low, and will continue to shrink for everyone but the most elite tier of photographers. It's not that photographers are overcharging people, just that the high cost of running their business necessitates fees that many can't afford.
In addition to the aforementioned huge prices for professional photography, finding a photographer is hard.
Yes, there are directories like Yelp and Thumbtack out there, but most use some kind of pay to play scheme (ruling out young guns) and require users to sort through dozens, if not hundreds of profiles to find the photographer they want.
So it makes sense that word of mouth is a far more important channel to finding businesses for photographers than in many other industries. But this too advantages a few established players and rewards photographers for being slick networkers just as much as great image makers.
But even once a connection is made, there's a ton of friction to hiring a photographer. Normally there's an exchange of emails about rates, times, locations. There might be an in-person meeting (or two). If the client doesn't like the first photographer, they need to go do the whole thing again - and maybe by that point they've run through all the recommendations of friends and family members so they start scanning Yelp until their eyeballs fall out.
So, if you're a typical consumer who knows next to nothing about photography, does it really surprise anyone that a person might be tempted to toss a cheap DSLR into the hands of a relative or the intern and say "That'll do!"
The Snappr solution works by doing two things:
While hourly rates at Snappr are less than many photographers are used to, they won't need to cover hours and hours of behind-the-scenes work. And because these flat fees make professional photography more affordable for millions of customers, which means much more business. Plus, belonging to a national network of photographers opens Snappr photographers up to opportunities at big brands they wouldn't normally wouldn't be able to connect with.
It's a new strategy to building a life as a photographer, and it's one that's much better suited to the 21st century.
On top of an outline of the ways that Snappr helps photographers, this seemed like a great place to go over some of the most frequently raised concerns about Snappr's impact on photographers.
Snappr's most affordable option is $59 for a 30 minute photoshoot with 3 digital photos included. We'll admit, the $59 price tag looks great on advertisements, but these are often misinterpreted to mean that Snappr photographers work all day for less than the price of nifty fifty. That's just not true.
Snappr photoshoots increase in price as they get longer, and the vast majority of shoots are more than 30 minutes. In fact, our most popular photoshoots are 2 hours. And, customers pay more if they want to keep all the photos taken rather than a small handful. You can see our full pricing range here.
Depending on the type of shoot, Snappr photographers keep 80-65% of the booking fee and never need to pay Snappr membership fees. To put that in context, a fully booked Snappr photographers (someone who's given up all outside business and fills every time slot with Snappr) can earn more than $100,000 a year, and Snappr photographers typically earn about $80 per hour of work.
Snappr photographers are some of the best of the best. We receive thousands of applications to join the platform and rigorously vet each application. Only about 5% of photographers who apply to join will be accepted. We know that's a high standard, but we also know it's important to making Snappr and Snappr photographers synonymous with quality.
Not every photographer should join Snappr, and not every photography customer is looking for our service. For all those out there with a trusting stable of clients and a thriving photography business, we salute you and wish you much success. But for photographers who are building their business and want to spend more time taking photos than networking, or for customers who long for a one-stop one-click solution to their photography needs, Snappr is the perfect solution.
We love photographers. We love great photography. But we also believe that ,with the help of technology, the photo industry can better serve customers and professionals. That's what we're proud to be doing.
To the believers - we invite you to join the evolution. Snappr is already in service across Australia and is spreading across the US right at this moment. Fill out an application here to be a Snappr photographer, or maybe try booking a photographer to see what it's like.
To the skeptics - if you still think we're out to slash photographer wages and steal your jobs, we understand why you feel that way. It's been a tough two decades for photographers and we don't blame you for worrying that this is just another change for the worse. But, we hope you'll celebrate with us when Snappr makes life as a professional photographer possible and thrilling for a new crop of image-makers.
