Snappr concedes low prices ‘a big pain’

Cheap on-demand photography service, Snappr, will no longer offer its ‘painful’ 30-minute value shoot, after mounting complaints from photographers.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Australian Snappr fee schedule:

…and the US Snappr fee schedule:

Snappr notified its photographers via e-mail regarding the fate of its $79 (or US$59) ‘value shoot’.

‘One of the most consistent pieces of feedback we have received from photographers is that 30-minute value shoots are a big pain. We have heard you, and as part of our commitment to making sure that all shoots make economic sense for you, the US$59 value shoot will be discontinued. ‘

In Australia these shoots are priced at $75.

Snappr is the controversial ‘Uber of photography’, which matches vetted photographers across Australian and US cities with clients. It aggressively-marketed the 30-minute photo shoots from $75, but offers a range of more expensive packages that are still below the industry average. Snappr handles booking, billing, and marketing of photography, and takes a 20 to 35 percent commission fee, depending on the shoot.

Inside Imaging has had numerous conversations with Snappr photographers in Australia and the US, who all complained about the half-hour shoot. It was by far the most popular type of booking, but for the photographer it’s hard to make a buck when factoring in travel times, parking or transport costs, setting up and packing down, delivering the images, and so on.

With the derisory pricing for its 30-minute shoot a major part of Snappr’s pitch to potential clients – ‘professional photography from $75’ – it will be interesting how Snappr will adjust its marketing.

Inside Imaging recently published a statement from a US-based photographer, who found the 30-minute value shoot extremely disheartening.

Here’s a couple excerpts:
‘…Out of several dozen assignments, over a period of about a year, 65 percent were one hour or half hour shoots. I got so many bookings for half hour assignments, where someone wanted me to bring my gear to the location, set up, so the shoot, pack down my gear, and travel back to my place. All for the whopping fee of US$47.20.

…’If I were Snappr, I would do away with the half hour shoot and make everything a one-hour minimum. I can’t imagine a client complaining of a one hour minimum, considering how cheap it is compared to market rates.’

Snappr will remove the 30-minute shoot from December 15.