Can an algorithm price your photos better than you? Zenfolio thinks so: Digital Photography Review

Zenfolio has announced Smart Pricing, a new data-driven feature to the company’s photography platform. The technology, according to Zenfolio, is designed to help photographers set what it considers to be the optimal prices for their prints and products, in hopes they can be more competitive in the marketplace.

Smart Pricing uses data based on historical sales data from hundreds of thousands of transactions, photographic genre, geographic location and other key market factors. ‘Zenfolio is excited to be the only photography business platform to offer an integrated, intelligent pricing resource,’ said John Loughlin, Chief Executive Officer. ‘Our innovative Smart Pricing engine helps take the complexity out of pricing products, eliminating a potentially stressful business task for photographers, while simultaneously helping them maximize their revenue and profit based on actual market transactions in their locale.’

There’s no doubt that many photographers struggle with pricing their products. The business side of the industry is challenging for many. Zenfolio writes, ‘Pricing products and services is often one of the biggest business challenges a photographer faces, whether they are aspiring, part-time, or seasoned professionals. Photographers tend to be focused on the creative aspects of their business and do not have the resources to do the extensive research required to ensure they charge competitively.’

To that end, Smart Pricing uses advanced algorithms to offer pricing recommendations for prints, products and digital downloads based on your business’s geographic location, local print lab fees and photography genre (sports, portraits, wedding, etc.). With that information taken into account, Smart Pricing provides users suggested rates so photographers can adjust their prices accordingly. While you may not want to take Smart Pricing’s advice, it does offer information based on a large dataset that no individual Zenfolio user could otherwise access.

Zenfolio also adds, ‘Photographers have full control with the ability to create multiple price lists for various client types or genres of photography, and adjust prices anytime to fit their needs.’ Smart Pricing is available now for Zenfolio users with PortfolioPlus and ProSuite plans that include e-commerce solutions. For more information, visit Zenfolio.