I would like to dedicate postings here and there to educate the public about professional photographers and the work that we do.
For my first post I would like to address the subject of a photographers prices.
I know that sometimes when we are choosing a photographer it's hard to imagine why they would cost so much just to come and take a few snaps and make you prints. I would like to share with you all the things that will go into your photography session and prints...
When I have a client contact me for a session and the decision is made on where the location would be I not only show up for the day of the session, but likely the day or two before the session to scout out great spots, check to see how the sunlight will be for the session (because I am a natural light photographer I need to know this, it's very important) and that usually takes an hour or two.
The evening before your session I clean all my lenses and charge up all my batteries. I go over my equipment to make sure I have enough memory cards that are cleared and formatted for your session. Equipment can add up to several thousand dollars and each use puts wear and tear on them and shortens the life of each piece, at some point they will wear out and have to be replaced.
If you have scheduled me for a wedding I will have likely rented a battery pack or a lens for your wedding and pick them up the night before, which also requires more time, money and driving.
The day of your session I dedicate my time to you. We will likely spend a couple of hours visiting the great spots I checked out, creating your wonderful images that you will be anxious to see as soon as you can!
For each hour of shooting I can expect to spend no less than 3 hours editing. Editing will include going through each image and marking them as keepers or tossers (tossers are deleted at that time). Each image kept will then go through a routine of editing for white balance, color, contrast, and sometimes converting to black and white, sepia or texture. This editing is done on my calibrated computer screen to maximize the best color, color that will match your prints. It is also done with the skills that I have taken hundreds (if not thousands) of hours to learn and to perfect.
I then go through each image and see if there is anything I can do to make the image better. Get rid of pimples, soften the skin, lighten dark circles under the eyes or smudged lipstick, remove a fly away hair. Then each image is saved in it's full size. After that I go through and do creative cropping and save each image in it's cropped size.
After it's all said and done, each image is given a custom name for your gallery, resized and sharpened for web and then uploaded to your gallery for your viewing pleasure!
I often take the time to talk with my clients about their print needs and help in finding the best sizes and arrangements to suit their projects. I have taken quite a bit of time making sure that the lab I use gives you the best quality, color and paper.
So as you can see, there is much more that goes into your session than just showing up and taking shots and posting them up. Time, knowledge, creativity, money, quality, equipment, programs... it all adds up.
Photographers are in the business because they love photography, but also to make a living, and it's important that they get paid for their time, knowledge, skill and the quality of their products.
I hope this helps some to understand a little more why there's a difference between hiring a professional photographer and having a teenager at Target press a shutter button.
I would like to suggest something bold, something daring. I want mothers all over the world to throw out the "Cheese!".
