I've had so many discussion with people who are either planning their wedding or wanting to organise family photos and I've heard them say "it's so expensive". I can understand why they might say that, however the price reflects so much more than just the final product you receive - your photos.
Every photographer will charge something different. Why? Because they each see themselves at a certain value, perhaps due to their experience.
When I first started doing Wedding Photography I charged a bride and groom £250 because that was how much it cost me - or so I thought. In reality, I found out as I was going along, how wrong I was and I actually ended up paying for things myself. So I thought it might be valuable to share this lesson I learnt, as well as how I price up things like Wedding Photography and Family Photoshoots.
It takes time to plan/prepare
For example, most Wedding Photographers especially, will arrange to meet with you before the big day. This takes time, planning and costs fuel. They will also go to visit your venue or scout out a venue if it's for an outdoor family shoot for example. They will also have paid to have or prepared documentation for you sign. For every one of my photoshoots I prepare a signed contract to ensure we both know exactly where we stand on things like payment, consent to share images and cancellations.
The shoot itself
So, you've prepared, planned and booked in your shoot. The next step is to take the photos. This could take 1-2 hours for a family shoot perhaps, 3 hours maybe for a newborn shoot or 5-13 hours for a wedding day. As you can see, it varies, so a photographer will charge what he/she decides according to the time it will take him/her. Very often you will find as well these shoots are on weekends or evenings as most people work in the week. So what they charge you reflects not only the time it takes, but also the value of weekend work, away from their own families.
Equipment & Education
To capture those high quality shots of your family or your wedding day, a photographer will need to have professional equipment and know how to use it. Like most things, technology evolves over time and you need to educate yourself with it. So behind the scenes, your photographer is preparing their equipment, investing in insurances and memory cards to minimise the chance of anything going wrong. So when you book a shoot, you are paying for your photographers years of experience, their knowledge, as well as the guarantee they will provide you with high end photographs.
Editing & Workflow
Most modern togs shoot with a digital camera and digital files. When I get home from a shoot, I immediately import those images from my memory card to my laptop, my hard drive and my phone. So I've got them in 3 places. Then, because we can take as many photos as we like nowadays, very often it takes me a good few hours to cull out the best photographs from the shoot. This varies depending on the type of shoot of course, which would be reflected in price. Then, it can take a few weeks to go through each one, ensuring they are reflective of your own style and consistent for your client. It sounds simple but it takes a lot of effort that not many people know about. Editing software isn't cheap either!
Final Presentation
I use online galleries or USB devices to transport my final images to you. An online gallery is a monthly subscription and a USB/presentation box + PP obviously cost money too.
Prints
The last stage of our "photoshoot" is organising your prints for you. You'll let me know which ones you would like and I will then colour correct them ready to be printed. Going forward, now I've got my new branding sorted this will include bespoke packaging from Calton Photography.
Of course, all of this is 100% worth it for me to do for you all and I love every part of it. I thought it might just give you a bit of insight into why photographer's charge what they do and what you're paying for to receive those gorgeous, priceless images, that last a lifetime.
CP
Comentarios