The Case for Offering Only Three Photography Packages (Copywriting for Photographers)

Hello fellow photographers,

You've maybe agonized over your pricing page. Too many options. Not enough options. Wondering if clients are confused, overwhelmed, or just clicking away. Heck, you may even be confused about your own offers!

As a fellow multipassionate, highly sensitive photographer, I get it. I’ve offered too much, too many add-ons. I’ve overwhelmed my clients and confused myself in the process. Woof.

I've learned a few things from those mistakes, and it turns out the research backs them up. So if you're tangled up in how to write about your photography packages in a way that actually makes sense to the people landing on your page, pull up a chair.

Here's what the research says: three packages is the magic number.

And yes, this is very much a copywriting conversation. Because how you present your offers on your website is copy. And clarity in your copy can affect whether someone books with you or moves on.

I come to this post with many pricing and copy mistakes behind me as a photographer, too. I speak from all kinds of messy copywriting journeys…and all kinds of research and reading about how copy affects our clients’ choices to purchase or not.

The Psychology Behind Photography Pricing

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, author of [Predictably Irrational], spent his career studying how humans actually make decisions. One of his most consistent findings: when people are given three options, a clear pattern emerges. Roughly 66% choose the middle option, 23% choose the lowest, and only 11% choose the highest. This isn't random. It's how our brains are wired to process choice.

When faced with more than three options, decision-making slows, and people may delay or avoid a decision altogether. Psychologists call this decision fatigue. For a photographer, that means a potential client landing on your pricing page and leaving without booking, not because your prices were wrong, but because choosing felt too hard.

I mean, I get it, I do the same thing, if I’m confused, I leave the website!

Robert Cialdini, whose book [Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion] has shaped how we understand human decision-making, points to something equally important. When people feel they've made a genuine choice, they commit to it more fully. When a client chooses your middle package, they feel they have weighed their options and made an informed choice. That sense of agency matters, especially for the sensitive, thoughtful clients who are most likely booking with you.

A screenshot of my old website in 2015…this is what NOT to do. Too many choices, too many add-ons. Oops. This makes my potential clients work too hard to make decisions. I may have lost people because of this.

How Three Photography Packages Can Increase Bookings

Your lowest package sets the baseline. Your highest package sets the anchor, making everything else feel reasonable. Your middle package is where most people land, so it makes sense to be the one you want to sell the most.

It’s not sneaky (I mean, some clients chose my top package and I was grateful!). It's clarity. You're making it easier for the right people to say yes.

Photography Package Copywriting in Practice

Instead of a long menu of add-ons, collections, and à la carte options, imagine three clean packages. Something like:

Essential: Your simplest package. (Just the photos)

Signature: the most popular choice, the one that makes YOUR heart swell too! (The photos + a birth film)

Full Experience: everything, for the family who wants it all. (The photos + a birth film + an heirloom album)

Each one is clear. Each one is complete. No math required from your client, and no second-guessing required from you. (And yes, I personally think putting your prices on your website is a good service.)

(Now this is best practice, but do I do it now? No, because my photography business model has changed. If I were still offering birth photography, I’d probably offer 3 packages again. Once I simplified my birth photography packages, there was less back-and-forth for my clients and me, and things ran much more smoothly! I now offer only one option for family, child, and outdoor business portraits - but that is a conversation for another time.)

If you are a photographer confused about how best to communicate your work through your copywriting, I can help. We can sit outside or on Zoom and get really clear about your offers so the right people can find you online and book! (this is my confused face I guess)

Why Copywriting for Photographers Starts With Clarity

More options don't convert better. They create doubt. Three packages give your clients just enough choice to feel informed, and enough simplicity to make a good decision.

How you present your offers is copy. And good copy, like good photography, makes people feel something and know exactly what to do next.

If you're a photographer who also identifies as highly sensitive or neurodivergent and you're finding it hard to put your work into words, this is exactly what I help with. We can hang out at the lake and sort it all out! (or online too!)