Guidelines for pricing

The discussion has been great, truly informative, and on track - which I really appreciate! My question RE:PRICING is this: How do you reach the clientele who are ABLE to pay what your portraits are really worth??? Agencies, as a general rule, want you to already have "a following." Most of the hints/venues for marketing art on your own do not apply directly or very well to the portrait genre. I have been "professional" for several years and have a "waiting list" which will take me through this year plus some, but my clients are mostly middle-class people who expect K-Mart prices. If I raise my prices they will feel they can no longer afford the luxury (to them) of a portrait and I will be sans business, without having connected to the people who see portraiture in a different light and have the resources for it.

Does anyone have some guidance, real life success stories, et al, they'd be willing to share?