What Makes Photography So Expensive?!
A commonly asked question that we hear a lot is what makes photography so expensive?
The kid down the street is doing it for a lot less. Why should we choose you?
Sure it seems like a scam because all we do is “point and shoot”, right? Anyone can be a photographer…right? The truth is, this assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, it takes a lot of skill to make it look like you’re just “pointing and shooting”. Have you ever seen a ballet dancer performing and thought “I could do that, it looks so easy!” and then you go home and try it, and it’s actually not easy at all. This is the same thing photographers do. We make it look like nothing, however, there is a lot of skill and training that goes into it.
Our staff here has been trained thoroughly to bring you these high-quality photos. Our photographer has been trained to use manual settings, perfect the lighting, adjust the exposure among other various factors that occur while working outdoors. If that’s not complicated enough, our staff is also trained in posing people, setting up props in a way that feels natural, and getting expressions on our subject’s faces.
You also have to take into consideration that for a professional photographer, this is a career. It is not something we do on the side. We put ALL of our energy and effort into giving you the best photos possible. When you pay $435 for a Collection, we do not make $435. After the cost of the products included in your session, marketing costs, editing programming and computer equipment that can handle large files such as your photos a large chunk of that $435 is already taken out. Then, we have to pay our assistant and the photographer for their time. That’s not even to mention how expensive photography equipment is!
The time that you pay for does not only include the session itself, but also preparing for the session, getting things ready for your family, and post-session editing. Each one-hour session is about an 8 hour day for our staff.
Yes, you could hire a “Professional” photographer who will gladly take your photos for half or even a third of the cost, but what are you getting?
We had a client recently tell us that when they were on vacation last year they hired a different photographer in an attempt to save money and in the end it only cost them more money. They spent $198 for their session which they thought was a great deal. Turns out it wasn’t. Their photographer cut off their heads in some of the photos, posed some family members behind others so you couldn’t see everyone’s faces, and edited very poorly. Also, when they got their prints back, the quality was so bad they couldn’t hang them on their wall. The image was stretched out and everyone in the photo looked like they had gained 10 pounds. Not to mention the color was horrible.
After “saving money” on the session, they had to reorder prints multiple times until we got one that looked somewhat normal, all of which they had to paid for. They also couldn’t use the majority of the images because they couldn’t see everyone’s faces. Their total cost after getting the one print that they could actually use and then getting their portraits retaken by a real professional was over $600. Looking back, it just makes more sense to do it right the first time and trust the real professionals. It may seem more expensive at first, but in the end, you get good photos, good quality products, and much less hassle.
We love the families that we work with and we want everyone to have the best experience possible. Family Portraits don’t have to be a negative thing that everyone dreads except for mom. Sessions can be fun for everyone and getting your photos on your wall doesn’t have to be agonizing. We are here to make the process more enjoyable for everyone and to help people relax and be at ease with what they get for their money. We want you to love the photos and make you and your family feel good about yourselves! We make sure every dollar is well spent!