In recent weeks, there’s been an on-going battle – and you may not be aware of it – but it pits photographers against clients and vice versa. There have been a flurry of articles, blog postings, more articles, and public rantings about the cost of custom photography. The debate is quite simple. Some clients (clients: defined as those desiring photography services) feel that some photographers (photographers: defined as those offering their photography services) are frankly charging too much for what they do. The clients’ argument? Those in my profession are being highly paid to show up with a camera and “click” for an hour and then within a week or so, produce images to show said client, and in addition to the session fee already paid they must purchase their prints, digital files and/or products. This can be quite costly. And why are they paying so much for it? There is the cost of the camera and possibly other equipment… what else? Especially when there are studios like Sears who charge something like $1.00 per sheet without a sitting fee, so why not just go there? Or buy a nice camera instead and take pictures of the kids themselves… It’s all so clear now.
“Thank you for your time, I appreciate your price list, but it’s just too expensive.”
While none of this has actually fazed me, as I said, lately there is a tension in the air so thick you can cut it with a knife. Naturally the economy comes into play – it’s stressful for all of us, everyone is cutting back. Some clients are deciding to go the TFCD route – basically a photographer who is new to the business experiments a bit by doing the client’s session for free or low cost and in return, the CD of images is free or low cost. Nothing wrong with this, and it’s how most of us got started at some point. Some of my most loyal clients today started out as TFCD clients. But, if the client happens to dislike the results, he or she must go thru the process again – essentially it was a waste of time. And time is money too! Some clients have benefited from another odd phenomenon – some photographers have slashed their prices in order to do a mass amount of sessions. I can’t get onboard with it because I like the personal aspect of my business and taking on too many clients would simply take away from my ability to do my job right. I never take on more than 2 sessions per week and I even prefer just one session per week. I’d rather devote my time to one client at a time.
The one little nagging issue for me? The perception (ok, misconception) that professional photographers – and notice I’m not referring to ALL photographers here – simply arrive with a nice camera and shoot for an hour, then magically produce client images the following week. Back in the day, photographers would use a darkroom to develop their images… has that changed? Not really. It’s now a digital darkroom. We have better technology at hand which means we can spend more time tweaking client images to get them just right. Sometimes I want to create a sense of drama to an image, sometimes I want an image toned down, and sometimes a completely different type of mood… in any event, it always IS a process, each and every image is an individual work of art. The shooting? That’s the easy part.
When I started my business, I actually did feel guilty for charging a $150 session fee (it is now $200, so in 3 1/2 years I have not raised it by very much). When I formulated my price list, I felt bad too. Maybe it’s the Jewish guilt or maybe I’m just less of a business person and more of a people person but I’d love to offer my services for less… or even free. Truth is, I have overhead just like anyone else in business. And the time and creativity involved in editing client images is all done behind the scenes – that is one major reason I think this argument has begun. Clients don’t get to see the post-processing work involved. If they did, there would be more understanding of the price structure.
And for those who still think “the camera does the work” (I get that ALL the time – I am not offended, but it’s very far from reality), here is one example: The first image is SOOC – straight out of camera. This is the exact image my camera records when I shoot. Does it look good enough to charge a $200 session fee? I think not. It has a world of potential only due to technique, creativity and technology. The right side shows the finished image, after working on it in my “digital darkroom”.
What do I hope? For more understanding on both sides of the argument. I do understand that photography is a major investment – I am very realistic with my clients about the cost so there are no surprises. I am also extremely honest; in some cases I have asked clients to hold off on their sessions, in such cases where a parent would like to do an outdoor session in January with a one year old, and I don’t feel it would yield the best results. I don’t want a client’s money, I want their trust. By the same token, I think I speak for all professional photographers when I say that we would like to be differentiated from the “big box” studios, and also that we do not simply “shoot and be done with it”, when in fact each session entails far more behind the scenes work than is known to the client. But, that is the beauty of it! The client should never have to worry about that, they are paying for beautiful images – not having to worry how those images came to be
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Dayna Titus is a Pleasanton, CA based natural light photographer specializing in child and family portraiture. To schedule with Dayna, please email artisticcaptures@comcast.net or call 925.922.4670.
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by Dayna
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