If you are on social media these days you are typically bombarded with memes. Those little pictures with captions or ones like this one that are catchy lists... I am no exception to seeing them and must say at times they are entertaining. I am part of many photo groups and wanted to pull back the curtain a bit and show you one that really made me ponder upon its message.
What I plan on doing in this post is giving you a lighthearted look at a photography meme that circulated recently again. This one is a list of things never to say to a photographer. It cracks me up that someone wanted to rant about these items even though some of them are way more true than others. Feel free to read over the meme before the explanations.
So I know this was long, but I feel that clients should know where photographers are coming from with our answers and why we do things the way we do. I want you to know that I care about every photo I take and every customer I have. I know quite a few photographers that wouldn’t like my breakdown of this meme because it reveals the other side, but I am not in this for them I am in it for the people who want good quality images of important moments of their lives.
Sincerely,
Chris
Welcome to 2019!
With hopefully our coldest month about to end, I'd like to take a moment and both introduce and explain my 2019 pricing for my standard sessions. 2018 was a year of growth and continued learning. I continued to hone my skills behind the camera and at the "office". My many thanks to all of the people I encountered and was allowed to produce great work with. Also, for those that accepted an extended time schedule due to my own wedding, THANK YOU!
So, what do you get when you book a session with me? Well, to put it very bluntly, a great deal of time and effort. Once a location is given I start researching ideas to have a general game plan of what I'd like to accomplish. I will often ask at least a handful of questions in regards to personal preferences to get an idea of what outfits, ideas, and style you are bringing to the shoot. From there we set a date, around the weather if possible and conduct the shoot.
During the shoot I take TONS of photos. My goal is to capture as much as I can so I can give plenty of options. So, if you have purchased just an hour, I offer 15 final photos as part of the package. I spend anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes or more on each finalized photo. My subject edits include the removal of skin blemishes, whitening of teeth, removing frizzy hair, and removing redeye. My overall editing can include removing background objects (think of people walking behind you in the distance, cars, etc) to altering the background completely) I do this because of a multitude of reasons. Mostly, those reasons center around making the background support the subject creatively. Take for instance if the skies are overcast and it is the only time the shoot can be scheduled....I will either change up the existing sky to bring some vibrance to the photo, or I will plug in a different sky photo taken from the same location.
As a special note I will add that for the foreseeable future I only offer a realistic style of photography. Certain types of composites (taking a photo of someone and placing them in a fantasy type of setting) are just not feasible without specific space, equipment, and software. Now, with that being said, I can do some amazing things behind the camera and create some spectacular photos. A fine example would be the Christmas maternity photo in this post. With the use of my equipment and some cardboard to focus the light I was able to create what I feel to be a very special photo.
I hope that this brief explanation helps you understand what you are getting when you book a session. Most of the work you are paying for happens before and after the actual photo shoot. I look forward to creating those images for YOU if you give me the opportunity.
Today I am going to (hopefully) pull back the curtain and explain what goes into pricing for not just for wedding/engagement sessions, but also to generally shed some light on how misleading the perception that "taking pictures is easy". So, I am going to try and not ramble, rant, or complain about the current culture surrounding photography, but bear with me a little because what I am tackling is something that this industry deals with on a regular basis.
So, let's begin. When I first considered this as a career and not just an incredibly pricey passion I didn't know the first thing about what people charge, why they charge that, and how they overcome objections to price. I knew some basics as far as how to come up with pricing, and overcoming objections because I spent many years in commissioned sales, but part of the reason I wanted to get out of that field is because the folks running the company (think blue, globe, cellphones) kept moving towards more and more dishonest ways of closing the sale. Simply put; I HAVE A CONSCIOUS. I don't want to feel like someone is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to their interactions with me. I feel that way today (even more so now) with my photo services. I want you to get the best I can give every single time! Everyone says that, I know, but I truly take it to heart when it comes to something I produce for someone who entrusts me to capture a non-repeatable moment.
See, I was beginning to ramble a bit and I saw a soap box coming.... So how to come up with pricing?!?! Well it is not an arbitrary number picked out of the sky. I look at the cost of running a business with items like gear, training/education, monthly expenses like web hosting, insurance for the business/gear/myself (not health insurance), supplies, etc. and on top of all that I still have to factor in the value of what I bring to the table creatively with my style of shooting on top of the style of editing I do. After coming up with that figure I look at what others in the area are charging. This is where it gets tricky because there are tons of people saying they are photographers and charging hourly rates that are on par with minimum wage. This is the part where I have to really try not to rant, ramble, complain because yes they take some great "pics" but those are not the same as photos. Photos take skill beyond the automatic setting on your camera; when was the last time you saw a properly exposed (think light and dark of the photo), properly saturated (either colors being completely blown out or so dull that it looks like a picture from the 60's) and most of all properly focused (no explanation should be necessary for this one lol) come from this kind of approach. Yes they get some good shots you'd put on your fridge for a while, but I produce a keepsake you would have on your walls for years. That pretty well addresses the why I charge what I do, and the how I come up with the prices. It isn't all that complicated or mystical, but it seems that with the proliferation of cameras (phones, point and shoots, and cheap interchangeable lens) that the general consensus has overlooked the art and skill of taking a good photo versus a good "pic"
As an added bonus (and potential kick in my teeth) here are just three sites that give you averages of the cost of wedding photography. I am still amazed that I have had people say that I am way to expensive when looking at these figures....
** as a disclaimer I am not associated with these websites and merely found them on my own research. The views I express and the views they express are each our own **
I do hope I haven't bored you to tears or sounded like I'm complaining. I have always felt that informing someone of exactly what they are getting is paramount when it comes to providing a product or service.
Please feel free to comment or message me!
Well talk about falling flat on my face! I love to talk one-on-one, take photos (obviously), edit photos (it's becoming a passion quickly), but blogging.... Well that is a different beast all by itself. I often sit at this desk late at night before bed thinking of topics to put on here and throw my two cents in on, but when it comes to typing them out I just draw a blank. I could list a slew of excuses, but, in reality, none of them are the reason. So, here goes entry number 2.
My inspiration! This is a photo of my fiancee Lori and I. I composed the photo she stood in the water (the background is a gorgeous waterfall that I will show you) while I focused the camera and made the adjustments for light, and I handed it off to her sister's boyfriend who snapped the shutter button for me. She has seen my passion for photography and encouraged it all along the way. She keeps me from being to critical of my work because often times I will go through and edit, look at it, walk away, and then come re-edit the same photo in the pursuit of perfection. While I admit I am not the best at what I do; I do give it my best. She sees the hair pulling moments of when I can't get something done the way I want it and how instead of letting frustration take me away from it I will often turn to resources and teach myself something new so I can do what I want with a particular photo.
I know this site should only showcase my very best work I don't always care to do so. I feel that showing someone how I progressed can be more impactful in showing off a skill. Case in point would be the following photos. The first was edited when it was taken.... (around 12 years ago) sorry to hurt your eyes with it..... The second one is the same original photo that I recently went back and wanted to see if I could touch it up and make something usable.... Amazing if you ask me.... the second one while still nowhere near what I'd like shows that improvement I was mentioning. Now Imagine this....taking it with a good camera, and applying the editing skills I have picked up....
As promised here is that gorgeous waterfall she and I posed in front of.
So, where to start? How about I tell you about the first photo I was proud of... The photo above was taken with my, then, newly purchased Canon DSLR camera. I was in my mid-twenties planning a vacation (that never ended up happening), and wanted to get a "good" camera that I could change lenses on. Dropped a ton of money on it and instantly thought I was going to take tons of great photos, but in reality I had no clue what I was doing. To say I had no clue I mean this one picture was the only one I am still proud of out of more than 3000 photos I took when I first got the camera.
In the following years I toyed with it and took countless photos, paying little attention to technique, and not really wanting to spend the time learning how to compose a great photo. My gear stayed about the same during that time and truth be told I didn't invest the time to get really comfortable with using it. Then something changed and it changed in a major way. I discovered how good I felt taking pictures. It relaxed me immensely and forced me to look at everyday scenes in completely new ways. That was when I started learning and learning and learning. Slowly, like at a snail's pace, I practiced one new concept at a time until I started composing more and more shots that I was satisfied with.
Now I don't want to continue to throw out details about this whole progression, at least not all at once. So, to go back to this photo. I look back at it fondly knowing that of all the few hundred that I shot that day this single shot still touches me today. It makes me remember the fun I had blindly snapping away playing with every single setting to see what it did. I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I did taking it.
Chris