"Is custom photography worth the money??"

Yesterday I came across a post on a blog I enjoy stalking (one of my favorite photographers) and it really got me thinking. It discussed how people may have a bit of a misconception about what it is we photographers do...and I thought it was worth doing my own post about.

People (ME included before I really got into photography) often wonder how photographers can charge SO much money to take photos of their family.  Especially when they can walk into any Sears/Target/JCPenney/Olan Mills/Picture People/etc. and spend a fraction of the amount of money. Not to mention the photographer can then charge anywhere from $10-$50 for a simple 8x10 print that they can go down to their local Walmart and get for $1.99. My hope here is to help shed a little bit of light on all of this and help you feel better about your investment...

...which is exactly what custom photography is. An investment in capturing memories that are one of a kind and that will most likely be passed down to your children, and on to their children, and so forth. 

First of all, maybe we should talk about what "custom photography" actually IS. Yes, you can walk into any chain portrait studio and pay just $14.99 for a session fee. You make your appointment, you go to the appointment, you are shuffled into a small room (adjacent to the other small rooms in which children are crying or screaming or being loud and disruptive), and you are given your 30 minute appointment to try to capture some memories on a few backgrounds of your choosing. During the busy months, like now, when everyone is looking to get Christmas card photos, they will actually schedule sessions 15 minutes apart. Yep, 15 minutes! I know this because I used to work at one of those chain portrait studios years ago when I was fresh out of high school. If you could have seen our appointment books, you would be amazed at how they try to CRAM as many sessions as they could into an hour. It was hard on the families, but also on the employees. Once your photos are taken, they send them off, as is, to a lab (or some print them in store) and you wait for them to come back....

So, you could choose that experience and get some great photographs taken. Really...they do a great job for the money. Especially when that's all your budget allows. I have used them in the past and have almost always been happy with the portraits they produced. I'm not here to "diss" their work. I'm just trying to paint a picture of what you are getting when you go to a chain studio like that. Now imagine the other end of the spectrum...investing in a custom photographer...

First of all...you get to CHOOSE who your photographer is! Through a little research, you can find some who's style of photography is what you are looking for and usually even get to know a little bit about their personality through their work and website. You can really get a feel for whether you are a good match and you get to choose who will be capturing your memories. That's pretty huge when you think about it. Walk into a chain store and you get who they assign you. You have no idea what their experience is, what their "style" is, who they are in general. They could have just started that week and really only have that job because it's the only one they could find. Not necessarily because they truly enjoy photography or working with families.

Once you've chosen the right photographer for your family, you give them a call. Generally, you then spend 30 minutes to an hour corresponding with them and setting up an appointment. Working out session details--what you'll wear, where the best place to shoot would be, figure out a date and time, etc. I love corresponding with my clients before the session and feel like I get a chance to get to know them a little better, even if I've yet to meet them in person.

Next, you add in the travel time for the photographer (anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes on average). There is a little cost to that. Then we get into the fun part! Your session!

No shuffling into a small room or rushing to get done before the room is needed in 15 minutes. We work on YOUR time, and more importantly, your children's time.You get the benefit of true one on one attention during your session and get to be in an environment where your children get to explore, play, and feel comfortable. All the while, your photographer is able to capture them being themselves. None of that "say cheese" stuff (ok, that's not entirely true...I still use that trick sometimes. Lol) I absolutely love getting to capture a family interacting with each other in the ways that they do on an everyday basis. Those are the things that you will want to remember for a lifetime. It's more than just getting a picture to send out that shows family members how much everyone has changed since Christmas photos last year. It's also about capturing those fleeting moments in your family's life that will too soon be forgotten. Those little expressions that are part of your child's developing personality. There is definitely some posing in there, too, but I try to make the sessions flow and always allow time for breaks or for the kids to get up and run around in between. Again, there's no rush. You don't have to be done in 15 minutes! (though I do have mini-sessions available, too. :)

As part of paying for your session, you are also paying for your photographer's experience and love for what they do. I have spent and continue to spend countless hours researching and learning, and practicing to master the techniques that will continuously make my photography better. I will NEVER settle and think that my work is "good enough" because photography is something that is continuously evolving and I enjoy pushing myself to try things that I have never tried or that may or may not work in the end. I promise you that there isn't a session I do where I don't learn something new, even if it's something NOT to do. :)

Once your session is over, the photographer's work doesn't end there! Now it's time to go home and spend time transferring all of those pictures to my computer. Then transferring them again to a back-up drive just to be safe. Then I start sifting through all of those photos. I look through each and every one to find the very best of each "pose" (for lack of a better word) and then the magic begins. :) Lol. At least that's how I think of it. A lot of people can take a great photo and master composition, lighting, and even have a nice camera, but a lot of what makes a photo a portrait is in the editing. Also, just because you own Photoshop does not mean you necessarily know how to use it. That, too, takes hours of research and learning and acquiring best practices and least destructive methods.

As far as the actual editing, I generally spend anywhere between 4-8 total hours to edit a complete sitting. Now, for me, that is never done all in one chunk. I have three little ones running around the house where I try to work and am usually interrupted about a thousand times during the course of my work. Lol. However, all together I spend up to 8 hours editing your sitting and getting each image "just right."

I also spend time shortly after your session uploading a few of your edited online to my facebook page/blog so that you may see a sneak peek and not have to wait up to two weeks in suspense of seeing your photos. Once your session is completely finished and all images are edited, I spend time preparing the disc (for those who purchase) or going through the ordering process for those who purchase prints.

Speaking of prints, now the question becomes "How can you charge me x amount for an 8x10, when Walmart will do it for $1.99?" There are a few factors involved in the answer to that question. Again, a lot of this involves the time. I make sure the crop on each image is just right, which is sometimes not possible when ordering from a chain store or when printing yourself. It is also the time spent actually putting in the order through the lab receiving the order and getting it to you. Beyond the time, it is the QUALITY you are getting. I offer papers and quality that no local place can compare to. Your images will look as good as they were meant to once hanging on your wall. As I've said before, I cringe when I think of people spending so much money to invest in a custom photography session and then take their disc and get the photos printed at the cheapest place they can find. You WILL get what you pay for. Your images won't look as crisp, colorful, and vibrant as your photographer captured them. You also have SOOOOO many more options available when ordering through the photographer than what any chain store can offer you.

With me, I feel that I have kept my print prices very reasonable for the quality you are getting. My prices are much less than what you will find with many other photographers. I do this because I know how it feels to have your portraits taken and see the print prices and feel like you can only afford to purchase three or four prints. I would rather you be able to order in quantity also and feel like you can purchase the sheets you want/need and not have to compromise. The main reason I can currently keep my print prices so low is due to my low overhead. I do not have a studio, so there is no expense in keeping that running. I also have no employees. These a few things that many other photographers have to hike up their print prices for. Keep in mind that my prices ARE subject to change, but I strive to offer them at a price that is affordable. The average family who decides to invest in custom photography plans to invest $300-$850 in their captured memories from start to finish.

Basically through all of that super duper long post, what I'm trying to get across is that when you decide to go with custom photography and spend anywhere from $100-$300 for a session fee (or much more in some cases) you are not just paying for your two hour session. You are paying for so much more. I hope that this helps you feel better about choosing to go with custom photography and that your money is being so well spent. I hope that you will consider {Ali Smith Photography} for your future session and I would be honored to be able to capture all of those precious memories for you. :)