Nobody wants to pay for images, period.
Pros who think the problem lies with amateurs who undercut with low prices or "give" their work away are a little misguided. Sure, that's a small part of the problem, but more it's the fact that people don't put any value on images anymore. The "good enough" camera phone image is king.
My children attend a high parent participation school, which means, I'm on the campus a lot with my camera. Also, field trips and events are a major part of the school. Over the past four years, I have documented the journey of about 100 kids through this school. I recently made available about 10,000 of my images online (private galleries). Because of various factors (legal and moral), I choose to only charge a "service" fee for parents to print or download images from the site. Mainly to pay for the cost of the site. Very MODEST to say the least. 50 cents for a 4x6 and 25 cents for a 1MP download with personal license. Not to mention that I only get half of the profit. Parents can buy other items, larger prints, etc.
After a couple of weeks;
17,000 images views.
80 4x6 prints sold. No digital downloads.
A TON of Thank Yous and hugs from Moms. ...and a couple of inquiries about portrait sessions and events, but no deposits received.
I figure that only 3% of people are willing to pay ANY amount for image of their child. They rest don't get it and probably never will.
I suspect/hoping that as time passes, the value of these images will increase. As the images get older, I will be raising the price of them.
John.