Inferiority complex - confirm/deny

[john4100]

I am just breaking into the event videography business and have already done a few gigs with very positive results.

Even though I've made enormous investments to pump life into this chicken over the past couple years (more than I care to consider), I can't help but feel that my equipment is substandard. Due to this lack of confidence in my equipment and expertise, I'm reluctant to charge top dollar for my services - I consider myself a bargain.

This inferiority complex mostly revolves around my cameras. My primary floor camera is the Panasonic HMC40 which, according to my research, is a perfectly serviceable entry level professional camera.

It's my backup cameras, though, where I feel my equipment takes a pretty nasty nosedive. For my second floor camera - which under ideal circumstances I have manned by a family member who's taken pity on me - is the Panasonic HDC-SD90. While it shoots a beautiful picture even in moderate lighting (few people can even tell the difference between it and the HMC40), it doesn't "look" professional (i.e., it looks like a consumer camcorder that Dad would use to tape a soccer match). I always make sure to trip it out with a shotgun mic and LED to bulk it up a little, but I still feel hesitant to consider myself a professional with this as my second camera.

My third camera is the mid-level consumer Panasonic HDC-HS80K. For weddings, I usually place it in the choir loft, unmanned, to capture a wide shot of the ceremony. I've also dubbed it my backup in case of disaster with my other two cameras.

I fully intend to upgrade my equipment once I start making money at this, but for the time being this is absolutely all I can afford. The rest of my budget goes to everything else like lighting, batteries, memory cards, etc. It can all really add up.

So what do you all think? Am I being too hard on myself? Should I start pricing more aggressively and let my results do the talking instead of my equipment? Do so-called "professionals" use similar equipment?

Thanks in advance.

[TreeTops]

And then there is the sound stuff. The external mikes, the pin-on mikes, mixers, etc. The editing software. Lots to think about.

[john4100]

Yep. Fortunately that was the first thing I knocked out (the Adobe Creative suite came at an 80% student discount back when I bought it!).

[edDV]

What are the rest of your services for editing, distribution copies, internet, etc?

Or are you just being paid to shoot?

Describe your competition.

[john4100]

I do everything at one flat rate. I edit, author to blu-ray (for weddings, I provide 5 copies) and offer the ability to view/download from vimeo. My competition is highly variable. There are some that offer wedding packages in excess of $5000.

I guess I should also ask if I need to disclose what equipment I use. Is it appropriate to advertise as a professional?

Again, I'm confident I can produce something that 99.9% of laymen would be extremely satisfied with (I've done it before), but from a moral perspective, am I a professional?

[edDV]

I do everything at one flat rate. I edit, author to blu-ray (for weddings, I provide 5 copies) and offer the ability to view/download from vimeo. My competition is highly variable. There are some that offer wedding packages in excess of $5000.

I guess I should also ask if I need to disclose what equipment I use. Is it appropriate to advertise as a professional?

Again, I'm confident I can produce something that 99.9% of laymen would be extremely satisfied with (I've done it before), but from a moral perspective, am I a professional?

A lot depends on the sophistication of the customer. For wedding videography, this can be quite low. They have no clue what it takes.

You should itemize your quotes to include mics and other accessories, post production and distribution options. Market the extra services.

As for "moral perspective", part of your agreement with Adobe is you don't use the student edition for commercial gain. Also, you'd better be filing a Form C to keep the IRS off your butt. If you aren't making money, you can offset losses against other income plus take equipment depreciation in the first year. It is common for outbid competitors to turn you in to software vendors and/or the IRS.


PS: Also when quoting you can include a list of additional rental equipment (extra cameras, audio equipment) and let the buyer pay the rental company charges directly. That way it doesn't appear you are taking a markup. Never pay for rental equipment yourself without a full deposit from the customer.

Also, when they see the rental charge for your included Panasonic AY-HMC-40, your base rate looks better to them.

[john4100]

Awesome advice... Although it is actually permissible in North America to use the Adobe student license for commercial gain.

I guess part of what's made me successful here in the early going is that the layman really doesn't understand what it takes to make a nice looking finished product.

I think what I need to realize is that I'm just starting out and self doubt is just a piece of the pie. I guess there are other routes I could choose. I could take out a huge business loan and buy top of the line equipment right off the bat. I could rent good equipment for each event, maybe charge more for my services and grow from there. Or I could stay the course and start small, buy small, and charge small and hopefully see things materialize slowly and steadily.

The bottom line is, the decision ultimately lies with the client - if they like my work and don't seem to care about technicalities, then who cares about everything else. If there's a savvy, prospective customer who wants the best of the best for his/her wedding, then I can politely tell them to keep their money, pay more for someone else, and show them the door.

[Nelson37]

If you are being paid for your work, you ARE a professional. That's how it is defined.

You must make a decision on what your work is worth. The average consumer has absolutely no clue, whatsoever, of any kind, about what your equipment is or what is required. The final output is ALL they are concerned with.

If your competition is charging $5,000, and you charge $500, you are making a clear statement, and that statement is "I produce cheap crap". How close is the output? Have you compared the two? Maybe go 20% lower because you're just starting out. Too much lower, and people will just wonder "what's wrong with his product?"

Charging a lower rate can help bring in business, but only up to a point. You need to be in line with the local market.

[john4100]

Good point... And I've even had a prospective client ask me point blank why my prices were so much lower than the competition. I'm wondering if I should just be forthright from now on and say that I'm starting out and trying to build a client base, but I'm very confident in my work. And the bottom line is, when it comes to actually delivering a satisfactory product, I feel very competent. It's just some of my tools for achieving it that I feel are a little lacking...

But the truth is, I put A LOT into my products - I take each project very seriously and donate lots of time and special attention to each one. There's still a lot to learn and I definitely wouldn't say I'm in the class of the elite videographers in my area, but I can and have produced high quality results that I know stack up to many of the sample videos I've seen before.

I really should research the market more diligently and come up with an average figure of what videographers around here charge for the same single package that I offer and charge a small percentage lower like you suggested. I guess I see my small rate as a way to make money while learning on the fly. But like you said, it's likely telegraphing "cheap crap" or "lack of confidence" to prospective clients.

I'm fortunate in that I have lots of time to grow this business slowly. So I probably should just be a little more patient and confident and wait for more attractive offers to come around.

I really appreciate the feedback.