Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

This is a question that I know a lot of you think about and honestly it's one that I do too, but probably for different reasons.

This is a subject that I addressed a while ago and have been wanting to revisit for a while. And now is as great a time as any as we head into the Holiday season when everyone is thinking about their Christmas photos. ;) 

I often get asked this question and think to myself "really, it's not that expensive." Sure the initial cost may look like a shock to some, but do you really get out of the chain stores paying the low price that they got you in the door with in the first place? NO! Most of the time you don't and you end up buying lots of the same posed image that you always have left overs of. Don't get me wrong, these studios have their place, but these days there are so many other options available. Explore them!!!

 Over the next few weeks I hope to put a little more info out there to educate you on the world of Custom Photography and give you a small glimpse into my world.

 I hope that you stick with this article and read all the way through...it's a great one!

"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 $X for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drugstore? Simply put, the customer is not just paying for the actual photograph; they're paying for time and expertise.

The average one-hour portrait session

First, let's look at the actual work involved:

• Travel to the session
• Setup, preparation, talking to the client, etc.
• Shoot the photos
• Travel from the session
• Load images onto a computer
• Back up the files on an external drive
• 2 - 4 hours of Adobe® Photoshop® time, including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, and backing up edited photographs. Proof photos are also ordered.
• 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment, and ship.
• Possibly meet clients at the studio to review photos and place order. Meeting and travel time average 2 hours.

You can see how a one-hour session easily turns into an eight-hour day or more from start to finish. So when you see a personal photographer charging a $200 session fee for a one-hour photo shoot, the client is NOT paying them $200 per hour.

The eight-hour wedding

A wedding photographer typically meets with the bride and groom several times before and after the wedding. And it’s not uncommon to end up with 1,000 - 2,000 photos, much more than a portrait session. Many photographers spend 40-60 hours working on one eight-hour wedding if you look at the time that is truly involved. Again, when a wedding photographer charges $4,000 for eight hours of coverage, clients are NOT paying them $500 an hour!
(Don’t forget that the photographer runs the wedding day to some extent. A comfortable, confident wedding photographer can make a wedding day go more smoothly.)

The expertise and cost of doing business

Shooting professional photography is a skill acquired through years of experience. Even though a DSLR now costs under $1,000, taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.
Most personal 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 and print photographs, run a website, etc. And don’t forget backdrops, props, rent, utilities, insurance, etc!
In addition to the financial investment, photographers actually have 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 a 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 into photographs, compared to a chain store. Store sessions last just a few minutes, while a personal photographer takes the time to get to know the people, makes them comfortable, makes them laugh. If a baby is crying at a chain store, they often don’t have the time (or the patience) to wait because everyone is in a hurry.
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, personal photographers are just that—professionals. No different than a mechanic, dentist, doctor, or electrician. But a personal photographer often becomes a friend, someone who documents a family for generations with professional, personal photographs of cherished memories.
Maybe we need to help clients look at 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 dresser to cut their hair.

The added attention and quality that a personal photographer gives is worth every penny."

 A big thank you to Caught on Film Photography for allowing me to share it.

My Work in a Nutshell

I've noticed that since I deleted my last photography blog, I do not have many photographs on this one really showing my work. So through the next couple of weeks I'm going to start featuring some of my work on here, so my current clients and possibly future clients will be able to get to know me a little better through my work, and see how I can make photography fun, and memorable. I hope you enjoy looking at my photos, I know I do. I keep coming back to new favorites even years after the event. I'm so grateful to have this skill in my life. It has been such a fun career choice, and continue to look forward in growing within it. I am so lucky to have so many photographer friends that help me to learn more about this beautiful art. They help me get better, and I too try to give a little bit of my skill to those that I see learning how to use their cameras. It is a circle of life.....ha ha, well more like a circle of learning. We all learn our skills through trial and error, and lots of practice. I hope that as I continue to push forward in my love for this great art, and I will be come better little by little.

Engagement Sessions:

Kandace & Jesse Alfrey
I really loved their session. It was a rainy day, and our surroundings were so beautiful. We had so much fun by using the umbrella as a fun prop. Here are a few of my favorites from their engagement session:

Janice & Richard Squire
This was a fun and kick back engagement shoot with Janice and Richard. We photographed early morning at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. We had so much fun with the architecture, and just playing around. The photos turned out playful, and gorgeous. Now one of my new favorite locations to shoot at. I find something new and exciting about this location each time I visit it.

Daniel & Dayna Stoddard
I had the privilege to do a photo session when my friend Daniel proposed to his girlfriend Dayna at Disneyland. It was a fun sneak attack, and we had a blast. We took lots of fun photographs around the park, and I was able to capture a lot of fun expressions.

 Andrew & Priscilla Medina
What a fun couple I was able to photograph over at the Claremont Colleges. There were so many different places to photograph there, it was a gold mine. Their photos were so sweet, and romantic, I really enjoyed photographing them. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Bouland Family

I had the privilege to take The Bouland Families photographs this past Thanksgiving. It was the first time I really got to play with my new camera. I am still so amazed at how the photos turned out. Their family was so beautiful, and the pictures are so fun. I enjoyed my time with them, and am glad they loved their photographs as well. Thank you again for this great opportunity :)

A DAY AT THE PARK WITH MY SWEETHEART

Last Saturday my Husband Josh and I scouted out some fun photo spots. We stopped at a beautiful park here in San Bernardino, walked around, took some fun photos, had a picnic, and fed some ducks. I got to teach my husband a thing or two about photography. He shot with my first camera (The Canon Rebel XT), and I shot with our new addition ( The Canon 7D). Oh what a fun family picnic it was. It was such a beautiful day, and we both enjoyed the day together. Here are some of the fun shots that we took :)

The Above Photos were taken on the Canon Rebel XT :) Was such a great starter camera.

And the pictures below were taken on my new Canon 7D :) It's been so much fun to play with!

A New Name

Most of you know that I recently got married this year. I decided to change my company name from mcbethphotography to KariParish Photography. I think I like it a little bit more. The name is different, there are new ideas in play for the new year, but my creativity and hard work are still the same. I do hope that someday I'll be able to branch out from the blogging world and onto a more ellegant website. Until then, I'll be showing my beautiful work here. Hope everyone enjoys what they see, and I look forward to sharing with you my art.