Stop Undervaluing Your Photography! Sheryl Bashore on Charging What You’re Worth | Podcast Supershow

Pat Miller: 00:00

I'm Pat Miller, and this is The Professional Photographer Podcast. At Imaging USA, we did a special thing. No. We did a super thing. the Podcast Super Show. We brought in four of my favorite guests, and I had the chance to interview them on stage, kinda felt like a big deal. If you weren't there, you really should be there. Next year, would you please come? It'll make me feel great, and you can throw tomatoes at me, or clap. Tomatoes, clap, whichever you want. But we had four great guests on the show, and this is the fourth installment with pricing expert, Sheryl Bashore. If you wanna make more money when it goes to sell your stuff, Sheryl's your gal. In this episode, we'll talk about pricing, we'll talk about Imaging USA, and you never really know what Sheryl's going to say. That's why I love interviewing her. She's on the show with us next. Sheryl Bashore, welcome to The Professional Photographer Podcast. How are you?

Sheryl Bashore: 01:05

Thank you for having me.

Pat Miller: 01:06

I'm glad you're here.

Sheryl Bashore: 01:07

Me, too.

Pat Miller: 01:07

How's your Imaging been?

Sheryl Bashore 1:09

Unbelievable.

Pat Miller 1:10

Tell me why.

Sheryl Bashore: 01:11

Exactly what the love, the networking, the community, the feelings, the way that you–the jump in the conversations, the talking to each other. How do you grow in this business? It's that. And it's one of the few places that you can get together and just feel energized, alive, heard, seen, and cared about.

Pat Miller: 01:32

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore 1:33

It blows me away.

Pat Miller 1:34

If you have the courage to sit down with Sheryl and have her help you, you will also grow in the business. Tell everyone what you do, Sheryl.

Sheryl Bashore: 01:40

I get mean.

Pat Miller 1:42

No.

Sheryl Bashore: 01:44

I've been doing some tough love.

Pat Miller: 01:45

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore: 01:46

I am all about pricing and what people are charging for their worth. I came from the portrait side of the world and jumped into the volume side and was one of those people. They give away the farm. How many people do we know have done a wedding for a friend for free?

Pat Miller: 02:02

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore: 02:03

It's horrifying. Why are they asking? I don't understand that. Or can you do my family photos free? What other industry has asked for kickbacks? Like, can you shoot all day and give our gym 15% because we allowed you in the door? Well, what about the gorgeous imagery I just gave all your parents? And it's the only industry it happens in. And I found over the years photographers don't value themselves. They don't think that they can charge this, and I hear all day long. But I live in rural Oklahoma.

Pat Miller: 02:33

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore: 02:34

I'm, like, I live in Harrisburg. There's nothing exciting about it. I'm two hours, three hours from any city, so I don't wanna hear that.

Pat Miller: 02:42

You hit on it, I think. It's more about personal confidence that it is the actual money that we should be getting off the price list.

Sheryl Bashore: 02:49

Absolutely. I think everyone up here talked about it. Having the confidence. I've talked to more people this week, one after another after another that do not believe in themselves. I had women cry. I had men bow their heads, and I'm like, what are you doing? Your imagery is stunning.

Pat Miller: 03:06

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore: 03:06

That's not your problem. Your problem is you don't believe in yourself, and you're charging $5 for a 5 x 7, and you're still giving away 4 x 6's because you think we're scrap booking. It blows my mind. Like, let them buy digital and make their own 4 x 6's. So, I started out really sweet in the beginning of imaging.

Pat Miller: 03:27

Right.

Sheryl Bashore: 03:27

Sitting people down, being nice, going, let me look at your bright. Today, I was scratching.

Pat Miller: 03:33

Red pen. Right?

Sheryl Bashore: 03:34

And I was like, I finally–and I've been giving out hearts everywhere I go.

Pat Miller: 03:38

Yeah, I have one.

Sheryl Bashore: 03:39

Where's your heart? Does everyone have one? Oh, my God. There's all my heart. And for me, that was to let people know that I truly do care and that we're a community of love, and we're here to support each other. And here, I give away the kitchen sink. No one's your competition. You're your competition. You're your own demise. And so, when these people sat down with me with their 4 x 6's and 3 x 5's, and buttons and magnets, and bottles, and I'm like, what are you doing? Chill. And they're like, "No. I need that. I need to have that." And I'm like, no, you don't need any of that. And then they would fight with me.

Pat Miller: 04:13

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore: 04:14

And so today, I lost my voice already from the Latin dance team, and I'm like, I'm done. I'm not fighting with you anymore. My way or go.

Pat Miller: 04:22

Yeah. This is how it's going to be, people.

Sheryl Bashore: 04:25

Either trust me or don't. And I tell everyone, give me one small volume team. So anyone out there listening, one small one, I will take your pricing. I'll revamp–I won't put you where my pricing is. I've been doing this a really long time, and I grew and got to where I am with a lot of experience. Conference, conference, conference. I can't stress the workshops, the conferences, that is what I did to learn how to do this. I didn't figure it out on my own. I had lots of help. Some of my very best friends are in this room that I met in my first conference. That's how you grow. Every turn I take at PPA, I see another great friend, and then I meet a new friend. I met a new friend out here today. Like, that's what it's about. So for me, don't tell me you can't charge it. Give it to me, and let's just a little bit, let's clean out all the dust. All the 4 x 6 crap and all that, and then help. And it works, if you just trust me enough. So, I got frustrated today because people listened to me. I talked everywhere this week and then fought with me. So, I got mean.

Pat Miller: 05:32

Please help me, but not like that.

Sheryl Bashore: 05:34

Yeah.

Pat Miller: 05:35

Right? Yeah. So we're simplifying a lot on our price list. We're charging more than we are. And when people say, no, I can't charge that because I'm in Peoria, Illinois–used to live there, by the way. Alright, so Peoria, Illinois. I can't charge that much. You move their prices there anyway, and then what happens?

Sheryl Bashore: 05:52

They make money.

Pat Miller: 05:53

Oh.

Sheryl Bashore: 05:53

Oh, shocking. I know. I'm like, you will double your money. Just give me your price list. Go online. If you're using paper order forms, come see me. I will beat you up. So, I would call people out all week, and I would say, let's just sit. Just sit with me. Why are you on paper? And let me help you overcome it. Technology is tough. I think it's incredible and wonderful, but people are scared to let go of that piece of paper. And you know what my answer is? This piece of paper is a financial decision that mom just made. Does she have gas money? Does she have money for groceries? How many kids does she have in sports? Soccer, school photos. I probably only have 50. There's nothing about that you lost. Take that away. Make gorgeous imagery. Go online. I don't care how you do it. Send that. When mom sees that gallery live of gorgeous imagery of her beautiful children, it's emotional. Ask every mom or dad in the room. I sit there. I showed my grandson to everyone that would let me this week because it's emotional. So, again, if you tap into emotions, it's not about I can't charge that. Mom doesn't care anymore. But people are so busy with handing their price list before they walk in a door, so parents know what it's gonna be. You lost mom. Pre-pay. Sorry, guys out there. You lost mom.

Pat Miller: 07:11

Yep.

Sheryl Bashore: 07:12

It's not. And I don't know why people are so die hard about it, and I fight with them about it. Make it an emotional decision. Photography is not financial. Photography creates emotions.

Pat Miller: 07:25

Yeah. And if you listen to what Tim said and what Shawn said , and what David said, all of this is about emotion.

Sheryl Bashore: 07:30

You've all said the exact same–that's why I was dying. I was listening to all of you going. You just said exactly. Like, my favorite thing is the experience. I talk about it all the time. From the moment mom walks in the door, she's being sold. The moment that child gets near me, the child's being sold. Not in a negative way, but with love. I'm very love first, hug every kid. I've probably hugged every one of you in this room. But you know what? That to me is what it's about. And the minute you make it an emotional experience where mom watched their child come to life at your lens, and I shoot composite on a last delay and headshots, they don't see the gel. They don't see the finished product, but they watch their child be treated like they are the star. And I don't care what sport that is. I don't care if it's schools, portraits, anything. The minute you make the experience about the parents, the child, the come to life moment, the smile, the genuine, no kid walks out of my shoots not feeling loved. And the minute that transpires, mom can't wait to see the pictures because of how you made their child feel.

Pat Miller: 08:34

And let's shine a light on it because you're not doing a half-day senior session. You're doing high-volume sports and dance photography.

Sheryl Bashore: 08:41

I get five minutes.

Pat Miller: 08:42

And still giving them that experience. You're trying to make sure you make a connection with each kid.

Sheryl Bashore: 08:46

Yeah, I get two and a half minutes, sometimes three minutes. But if a kid needs 10, they get 10. If a kid needs 20, they sit down on the floor with me and help me shoot until they're okay.

Pat Miller: 08:55

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore: 08:55

I am all about the kids in the room, and I will rearrange orders. I mean, I'm very confident at this point that none of that shakes me. What shakes me is a kid not feeling beautiful. And, like, you know, we talk about technology. Talk about what you can do for acne. If one photographer in this room is charging for acne anymore, come see me. I will yell at you. I'm sorry. It takes two seconds. You slide the bar. I won't mention. Boom. I'm sorry. Any one of you can do it, and I'll teach you. So there's no excuse. Do not charge for–child has enough. Kids have enough hard going on in life. My photoshoots are for them to feel the most beautiful, special–boys too.

Pat Miller: 09:40

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore 9:41

It's no different.

Pat Miller 9:41

Absolutely.

Sheryl Bashore: 09:42

It makes me crazy. Yeah. So I think I yelled out a lot this week.

Pat Miller: 09:45

Yeah. We just had a lot of yelling with love. That's okay.

Sheryl Bashore: 09:47

It was tough love, but I handed him a heart when I was done yelling.

Pat Miller: 09:51

Yes. I love you, but I had to yell at you because I love you.

Sheryl Bashore: 09:54

Right. I told a woman today, like, she looked at me, and I thought she was gonna cry again. She already cried once. And I said, I'm really sorry, but I've heard you tell me everything about what you're doing. Now listen to me. Just trust me. And she was charging $5 at 5 x 7. It's not okay.

Pat Miller: 10:11

Alright. I wanna talk about Imaging in one second, but there's one thing. So we've been doing this podcast for about a half year now, and there was one ten-second moment in the podcast when she was on that just was my favorite; it's the greatest hit of the podcast. Hey, Sheryl. How often do you raise your prices?

Sheryl Bashore: 10:29

Yeah. It's written in the PPA magazine. Thank you. I'm like, are you kidding me? I wanted to blast that on my social media. I couldn't wait to show my article that came out here. I can't ever let a customer see it ever.

Pat Miller: 10:43

You didn't answer the question. How often do you raise your prices share?

Sheryl Bashore: 10:46

Every single time they see me.

Pat Miller: 10:49

Yes. Every single time, you raise your prices.

Sheryl Bashore: 10:51

Just a little bit, a little bit. There's nothing wrong. A dollar, $2, $3, $5. It is never the same. I've never had one complaint. They get gorgeous imagery, a great experience. I'm worth every dime. And if someone said something, I go, do you pay for gas what you did ten years ago? No. Is eggs–I look at eggs right now. Come on.

Pat Miller: 11:09

Yeah. Hello.

Sheryl Bashore: 11:11

I'm sorry. It is I am worth the money, and I value what I do. I pay my people well. We walk in–I did say this. We walk in looking like a million dollars. We look like we are the king and queen of what we do. That makes a difference.

Pat Miller: 11:29

Beautiful. Beautiful. Right? Beautiful on that. Okay. So we have the chance to get up close and personal about our pricing, which is beautiful. I love that. Now let's look forward a little bit. Outside of looking at our pricing as a professional, hanging out with other professionals, what are some other things we should have in our mind right now as we go through the rest of 2025, things that you're thinking as an industry leader and a photographer?

Sheryl Bashore: 11:51

I'm such a geek nerd, photography nerd. I used to have a dark room. Like, so for me, the trade show, I walk around, I can't even tell you how excited I get. I literally, I'm like, oh my god. There's a new light that does this. I just learned that Westcott could do this creative masking, and I teach these silhouettes. And no one can figure out how to turn it on and off, and now they don't have to figure it out. Like, things like that. Technology keeps following us everywhere we go. And I think that the trade show is that valuable moment where anyone can dip into, and then I don't care what you use, but go find out all the newest, greatest. I went and listened to speakers that were excited and couldn't wait for the next year and the next turn and, you know, what was gonna be next for us. Along came composites, came mirrorless, came better lights. I'm like, what's gonna be the next thing? Always. I have to say, I can't stress enough the community. I gave my cell number out to everyone because I'm not afraid of it. Call me. I'll help you. I'll talk to you. But I think that everyone in this room feels the same way. I think it's magic.

Pat Miller: 12:56

Yeah.

Sheryl Bashore: 12:57

So when I watch everyone come together at a conference, I see magic. I watch the magic. I watch the joy, and that's my heart. So I look at–now I get to go home, and what am I gonna do next? What am I gonna be fired up about? But mostly, you're excited again.

Pat Miller: 13:13

Yeah. One of my favorite interviews, Sheryl Bashore. Thank you for coming on The Professional Photographer Podcast. I appreciate you. Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of The Professional Photographer Podcast. I'm already looking forward to our next conversation. Now before you go, can you do me a favor? Drop us a like, hit subscribe, leave us a comment, let us know how we're doing. That will let us know what we should do more of in future episodes. It's really that simple. So leave us some feedback, and you will help the show get better. The other thing is if you're not a member of Professional Photographers of America, you're missing it. PPA offers incredible resources like equipment insurance, top-notch education, and a supportive community of photographers ready to help you succeed. It's perfect for photographers who are serious about growing their business in a sustainable and profitable way. At PPA, you belong here. Discover more about membership at ppa.com. That's ppa.com. I'm Pat Miller, Founder of the Small Business Owners Community. Thanks for joining us on this journey. I'll see you right here real soon. Take care.