When you buy a TV, you keep it for three years. When you purchase custom photography, you have it for at least three generations.
Working with your custom photographer is akin to going out for the evening to one of the top restaurants in town.
Sure, you can eat at McDonalds or KFC, or you can cook at home–but when you want superb food and excellent service, when you crave a luxurious experience, that’s not where you head.
You could buy a cheap pair of scissors and cut your own hair, but most of us hire a stylist.
In this digital age where even our little kids have cameras, where many of us have scanners and photo printers, and where we can pick up a 4”x6” print at the corner drugstore for about a dollar, photography has been devalued. Some people wonder: Why do custom photographers charge so much?
Don’t compare custom photographers to the chain store studios. While the ultimate destination at both places is capturing your family in print, the road towards them is quite different.
The mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because they were losing the company so much money. What the chain stores bet on is that you’ll come in for some quickie, cheap photos, and while you’re there, you’ll spend big bucks on that new washer/dryer you need. The photo studios are what’s known in the biz as loss leaders; they don’t have to make money, their function is just to get you in the door.
Ah, but a custom photographer. No more standing in line with tired kids for flat lighting, icky backdrops, and results that make you wince. Instead, you start with individualized attention, move through the process with someone who actually cares about you and your family, and end up with photographs that make you weep and gasp out loud. Why? Because they capture your family as it really is. In your home, at the beach, in an urban alley. Laughing, running, jumping, tickling each other.
Just as you aren’t paying just for the cost of ingredients when you go out to a fine restaurant, you aren’t paying for just a piece of photo paper when you purchase artwork from your custom photographer.
You are paying for everything that goes into getting you that piece of paper…all our education, our expertise, our experience and our equipment. You are paying for a license that allows you to display our stunning artwork in your home. You are paying for works that will be on your walls for decades to come, and become a treasured part of your family’s memories.
FYI, here’s how the timing breaks down for an average on-location session:
•prepping gear: 2 hours
•travel to and from: 1 hour
•shooting 1-4 hours; average two hours
•downloading images 1 hour
•backing up images 2 hours
•processing your images 3 hours
•blog prep 1 hour
•backing up images 2 hours
•communication with client (all) 3 hours
•planning session 1 hour
•ordering session prep 1 hour
•ordering session 2 hours
•prepping order/retouching 4-8 hours
•ordering/packaging/quality checks 2 hours
•pickup meeting .5 hours
TOTAL : 28.5 hours and up
That means your custom photographer is spending nearly a week, all told, capturing your family. On top of that, she has very high overhead to cover, whether or not she has a home or outside studio. Please be respectful and courteous about your photographer’s prices. You are eating filet mignon!
by Jane Eaton Hamilton
Jane Photo
by admin
no comments