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gynaffit · 9 years ago

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Well let’s just say don’t push my buttons by even thinking that photography should be something cheap. I am thinking that you simply don’t know what goes on during a photo shoot because all you see is a camera in front of you. Should be easy enough right? Just take the picture, let me go my way and tah dah. Well hopefully I can shed some light on you for only some of the reasons why photographers charge so much and maybe you will see things a little differently, just maybe!

1. My Prices are Not Negotiable

Not sure why I hear so many photographers say that people want to negotiate prices.

When you go shopping at a clothing or food stores do you expect the prices to be different from what the shelves say? If you wanted organic apples, do you go to the manager and say, “I see these apples are $6.99 a bag but I feel that is too expensive so can you please adjust your price to fit my budget”…NO, that is not happening and you either do four things.

You either purchase the organic apples, because you really want the best kind of apples in the store

You don’t purchase the organic apples and you opt out for other apples that are not organic, sprayed with pesticides, and of less quality, yet a little cheaper

You don’t purchase any apples from that particular store and you go to another store entirely where you may or may not find the same quality apples for that price

Or you just don’t buy apples, which is totally fine but keep in mind “You Get What You Pay For”

2. The Learning Process

Do you have any idea how many hours are spent on learning about lighting, composition, Photoshop, balancing the correct ISO, Aperture, Speed, and camera techniques to name a few photography topics. Personally, I am a part of various groups within the Atlanta area where we meet a couple of times out of the month to discuss studio equipment, show off photos for contests, and learn about different techniques in relation to photography. I also have memberships to quite a few websites where professional photographers who have been in the field for years show off what they know. The learning curve for photography is never ending and is something that is a world in itself. Please remember this the next time you believe someone is simply clicking a button, because if it were that easy then you would do it yourself.

3. Value of Photos

Next, let’s break down the actual value of a photo. Take a look at the photo on the left, that is me when I was little baby. The point of posting this photo is not for cute factors but here are a couple of reasons why I posted it:

This photo is almost 40 years old and

I get the chance to compare my face as a baby to both my daughters…and I believe that is amazing!

That is why I urge parents to get photos of their children taken, especially for newborns and infants during their first year because you CANNOT get that time back. Is it going to cost you…yes…is it worth it down the line…absolutely!

I mean when you really think about it, what other items in your home have such an extended life where it can be passed on to generations to show your future grandchildren, great grandchildren, family members and friends who you actually were and what you actually looked like? If you ever were involved in a fire and you knew everyone in your house escaped safely, yet you saw that you had a few more moments to grab something, what items do you think you would go back for?

Money…maybe if you had a safe

Cell phone…probably not

Photos…absolutely! These treasures cannot be replaced

Furthermore, in this line of business, I often hear people say how they do not have any photos of themselves while they were a child, therefore they have no idea how they used to look. The sad part is when those grown-ups begin to have children they don’t have the proof to say ” My child looks just like me when I was a baby, see look!” The result of not having photographs can happen as a result of:

Not taking enough photos while growing up

Moving around from place-to-place resulting in misplacing or leaving photos behind

Growing-up in foster care or being adopted

Or some kind of natural disaster that caused those photos to be destroyed

Also, don’t think that because we are now in a digital age that your photos are completely safe too because I have had it where my photos of my daughters were lost in one of my old phones because it got wet, so backing-up photos as well as printing them is also of extreme importance to preserve your photos.

So what is the cost and value of photographs? They are priceless in my opinion.

3. My Time

When preparing for a photo shoot, there are so many things that happen prior to shooting that all relate to a photographers time, and time relates to money in business so here are a couple of things you probably didn’t realize:

I need to know the location of where you are shooting so I can preview the location beforehand to see what type of lighting I am going to need, what type of lenses to bring, or measure the places I need to stand based on having proper room and space

I need to know if you have an itinerary or schedule of events in advance so that you won’t say “why didn’t you capture my son when he first walked in”…we’ll that is because I didn’t know your son was coming in during that time”…and people don’t want to hear that; so I make it my business to find these things out in advance which is…yes, you guessed it, based on using my time.

I also take time to make sure clients know what to wear based on color schemes, themes, and textures for photo shoots beforehand

For shoots that require make-up artists I have to schedule the artist according to their time, mines and yours

During the photo shoots I may have to drive to locations which is using gas, then shoot people for a number of hours depending on if we move to a different location or wait for outfit changes

During in-studio shoots, lights have to be set-up which include stands and using a lot of equipment

5. Photography Equipment

(The equipment shown below is barely touching the surface to some of the equipment used for photography and the cost involved)

Camera Bodies

Have you ever looked at the prices for a Digtial Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera lately and wonder how much they actually cost? Do you know anything about DSLR’s? Could you operate one if one were handed to you and use it quickly and efficiently to take quality photos? Do you feel that using your camera phone is going to yield the same quality photos as DSLR’s or other high-tech digital cameras?

There’s a reason why DSLR’s and other professional cameras cost so much and why people hire professionals with these types of cameras and skills to take photos for them.

Here are some price ranges for DSLR Cameras. I typically use Canon products, yet know many photographers who use Nikon, either way you can’t go wrong. Check out the prices below the photos.

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Canon T5i $649.00 (Starter Camera)

Canon 5D Mark III $3,099

Canon 1D $4,599

So yes, the camera that is being used to take your photos is not cheap, so you should expect various levels of photos that are going to produce higher quality photos than what your normally used to which is only ONE of the reasons why photographers charge so much.

Lenses

Many cameras come with “Kit” lens which is a basic lens for the camera to start out with but a Kit lens is not a lens you want to continue using for the duration. The kit lens may seem like a great lens if you are starting off with your first DSLR camera but trust me you will soon realize this lens was not as good as you thought once you start to invest in other lenses. Here are some examples of other lenses, some more affordable than others.

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Canon EF 85 mm f/1.8 $369

Canon 24-70 mm f/2.8 $1.799

Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8 $1,999

Memory Cards:

When you purchase a new camera many times if the camera wasn’t purchased as a bundle deal, you are going to have to obtain the accessories separately. A major accessory is a memory card. A memory card is used to save photos from your camera and without a memory cards no digital photos would ever be produced. Personally, I own 3 memory cards that I re-use over and over again for the sake that I ever run out of space while in a photo shoot or if one of the memory cards were damaged or even lost. Preparation is of extreme importance and the cost of a memory card can start at $20.00 or more depending on brand and memory size.

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$44.99

$22.50

Speed Lights:

Speed Lights are very handy and useful to have to help with poor lighting conditions. The great thing about speed lights is that they are small and easy to tote around when compared to other lights sources, yet these little bad boys can run up to a couple of hundred dollars or more, not to mention that you typically need to purchase pocket wizards along with speed lights for them to work, which can start at around $80.00 and up to a few hundred dollars.

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Currently $249 Brand New

Currently $600 Brand New

$79.99 Each

Professional Photo Printers

These printers are not something you are going to see in stores so no need to attempt to look for them. Professional printers usually come from the same people who make the cameras and print magnificent photos. The printers also require certain paper that is specialty formatted to match their printer based on weight and certain types of technology that makes the quality of the print come out superb, rather than just average when printing. Here is a Canon Pro-1 which runs at about $999.00 and is marked up at this price for good reasons.

Canon Pro 1 Currently $999

6. Editing Process

Once your photos are taken they have to be viewed which can sometimes include looking at 400 or more photos for one photo shoot. This editing process includes going through each and every photo to find the best photos for editing. The editing process can take hours due to switching to various software tools, knowing exactly which tool to use in addition to sometimes removing objects from photos and changing photo sizes.

Here is an example of a raw uncut photo on the left, when compared to the edited photo on the right. This photo was straightened slightly, with a border added, then the pine cones were removed, in addition to changing the filter to a black and white which took some time to figure out which one looked best.

Before being Edited

After Edit

In Conclusion:

I hope that this shed a little light on the cost of photography, in addition to learning to treat the art of photography like a real business that it is. I know some photographers who charge about up to $10,000 or more for a wedding to capture your moments and give you memories to last a lifetime. You get what you pay for and photos are priceless, so the next time you inquire about getting quality photos made, be prepared to spend money because they are expensive.

Why Do Photographers Charge so Much, Your Only Pushing a Button…(Right)??? Well let's just say don't push my buttons by even thinking that photography should be something cheap.

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