This article, which is being reproduced with credit to Professional Photographer magazine (December 2009) cuts through the bull and gets to the point about why professional photography is worth the price.
Why Are Professional Photographers So Expensive?
In this digital age where everyone has cameras, scanners, and home “photo printers,” we hear this all the time: How do professional (or personal) photographers charge $50 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drugstore? Simply put, the client is not just paying for the actual photograph, they are paying for time and expertise.
The Average One-Hour Portrait Session
First, let’s look at the actual work involved:
- Travel to the session -or- Studio set-up
- Camera Preparation, scanning the scene for background distractions, talking with the client to see what they hope to capture in the images, ect.
- Shooting the images
- Travel from the session -or- studio clean-up
- Loading images onto a computer
- Backing up the files on an external hard drive
- 4+ hours of Adobe ® Photoshop CS4 ® time, including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, skin softening/blemish removal, backing up edited photographs, and proofing images. Then, adding them to online galleries – website, blog, and in some cases – linking them to Facebook and Twitter.
- 2-3 hours talking to the client, answering questions, receiving orders and payment, ordering prints, receiving and verifying prints, packaging prints, mailing orders or arranging times for pick-up.
You can see how a one hour session can easily turn into an 8 to 10 hour day (or more) from start to finish. So when you see a personal photographer charging $300 session fee for a one-hour photo shoot, the client is NOT paying them $300 per hour.
The Expertise and Cost of Doing Business
Shooting professional photography is a skill acquired through years of experience. Even though a DSLR – Consumer Model camera now costs under $1,000, taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.
Most professional photographers take years to go from buying their first camera to making money with photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera, there is a mountain of other equipment and software programs used to edit, design custom books & collages, and run a website, etc. And don’t forget backdrops, props, continuing education, utilities, and insurance!
In addition to the financial investment, photographers need to have people skills to make subjects comfortable in front of the camera. Posing people to look their best is a skill by itself. You could argue that posing is more important skill than actually knowing how to use the camera. A poorly exposed photo can be saved, but a badly posed photo cannot.
The Chain Store Photo Studio
Chain stores do have their place. For a very cheap price you can run in, shoot some quick photos, and be done with it. But you get what you pay for.
Consider the time and effort that a personal photographer puts in to photographs, compared to a chain store. Store sessions last just a few minutes, while a pro photographer takes the time to get to know their clients, makes them feel comfortable, and schedules ample time for a personalized session. If a baby is crying at a chain store, they often don’t have the time (or the patience) to wait because they have clients scheduled back-to-back.
The truth is that many chain store studios lose money. In fact, Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios in 2007 because of the financial drain. What the chain stores bank on is a client coming in for quick, cheap photos…and while there, spending $200 on other items. They are there to get you in the door.
The Real Deal
Professional photographers are no different than a boutique owner, hair stylist, mechanic, or an oil painter. Think of it this way: A pair of scissors costs $1.50 at the drugstore. Still, most people will gladly pay a lot more to hire a professional hair stylist to cut their hair. They are willing to pay more at a boutique because the items can’t be found just anywhere . They will also spend more for one-of-a-kind pieces of art from an oil painter than they would for a reproduction print.
The added attention and quality that a personal photographer gives is worth every penny. They often become a friend, documenting a family for generations with professional, personal photographs of cherished memories.
Conclusion
We hope you have a better understanding of why professional photographs, created by Professional Photographers are so expensive.
