A photographer’s frame of mind matters a lot when pricing a photo assignment or negotiating with a potential customer. The photographer could be thinking along the lines of, “If I get this job, I’ll make $4,000,” or they might be thinking, “If I don’t get this job, I’ll make nothing.”
The former train of thought (being “promotion focused”) is about trying to maximize gains. The latter (being “prevention focused”) is about trying to minimize risk and prevent loss.
Neither type of focus is better than the other. We often switch from one to the other depending on the circumstances. But research has shown that when pricing or negotiating, being promotion focused tends to lead to better outcomes.
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