Custom Photography : The Nitty Gritty

In a day and age where digital photographers are in abundance, how do you choose the photographer that's right for you? 

I know that not everyone will choose me to be their family's photographer. And that's OK! I have two small children and choose to book a limited number of sessions each month. My time is valuable. I can't emphasize that enough. By booking a limited number of sessions, it allows me to spend quality time with my family and quality time editing each of my sessions. 

There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for my clients.  The luxury of great service, better choices and a superb end product results in heirloom quality images. The time invested at the session itself is only a small portion of time involved in this process. 

TIME & COSTS

Many people do not understand the time involved for each session. There is the time to travel to/from the session, time for the session itself (which can sometimes last up to 3-4 hours for newborns), then there's the time it takes to select the best images to edit, editing the images, preparing them for the client to look at and order from, ordering the images and packaging the images for shipping. So, the time involved for each session is at least 8-10 hours. I'm speaking from my viewpoint. There are some photographers out there who edit their images very quickly. And I think the quality of their work shows for it. However, I'm a perfectionist and like to spend quality time editing each one.

There's also the cost involved in photography equipment and running a business. There's constant costs in training, professional association fees, insurance, packaging supplies, marketing materials, advertising, website maintenance, etc. And photography equipment isn't cheap! Quality lenses are anywhere from $1000+. Professional digital cameras are anywhere from $2500+. Having a professional grade camera and quality lenses results in a better quality image.

DIGITAL FILES

The number of photographers offering their digital images on a CD are on the rise. Why don’t all photographers include them in the session fee for free? Don’t the files belong to you anyway? 

Federal copyright law is very clear about image ownership. The images your photographer takes with his/her camera belong to your photographer, who has the sole right to print, display, and sell them.

I do offer digital files from your session for purchase, but they are the most expensive item on my price list. Why? Simply because I value the time that I put into each of my client's sessions. The images I present are custom works of art that I have perfected with my artistic style.

APPLES TO ORANGES

So, now that you can understand where my session fee and print prices come from. My prices are different from other photographers - and they should be! Simply because I'm not the same as other photographers. Everyone has their own artistic style. I want my clients to choose me to be their photographer because they value my work and artistic style, and not because I have the best deal on an 8x10.

If you're hungry, you can go to the drive-thru at a fast food chain or you can enjoy a nice steak dinner at a wonderful restaurant. Both restaurants accomplish the same thing in satisfying your hunger. But the experience of each is entirely different. The same applies to photographers.

As I said earlier, I know not everyone can or will want to choose me to be their photographer. I'm OK with that. But please, please, PLEASE - if you choose someone else, make sure you're going to get quality images and service. If you cannot afford the custom photography that I offer, I would be glad to refer you to another professional in the area.

"The photographs that are produced as a result of the professionalism and dedication that your photographer has, will be cherished for a lifetime (or more) and great thought and consideration should be placed into hiring who is right for your family's most precious investment."  - Professional Child Photographer