Why Does Pro Photography Cost So Much?

I've posted before here, here and here about why we charge what we do, but I thought it was worth adding a section specifically about bespoke studio work. This is inspired by another blog I read. Have a read yourself here if you fancy it!

Everyone has a digital camera these days and it's getting easier and easier for anyone to produce reasonable quality photos with little or no experience. You can pop down to Max Spielman or even Tesco and get them printed for less than a quid. Or get the right website at the right time and all you pay is the postage! Which is why people are often forcing me to justify charging upwards of £15 for a single print...

It comes down to a few factors which can basically be split into 5 categories: time, equipment, premises, advertising and expertise.

Time
There is a lot of time and effort that goes into a shoot that most people don't realise...

• Booking the shoot: 15 - 30 minutes - chatting with the customer, answering questions, filling in the calendar
• Shoot preparation: 15 - 30 minutes - tidying, putting the heating on in advance, checking equipment, switching on, etc...
• The shoot itself: 1 - 2 hours
• Clearing up afterwards: 15 minutes
• Uploading photos from cards: 15 minutes
• Editing the photos and creating a slideshow for the client to view: 2 - 3 hours
• Sitting with the client to view their images: 30 minutes - 2 hours
• Finalising and ordering prints: 30 minutes - 1 hour
• Ordering handmade frames: 1 hour
• Delivering photos when required: 1 hour

OK, these are approximate times, but a single shoot can take anywhere between 6 and 11 hours to complete! And that doesn't take into account difficult customers...

Equipment
A professional photographer won't be using an iPhone. Not for taking photos anyway. They also won't be using a £250 point and click camera from Jessops.  They'll be using a dSLR which is likely to cost upwards of £1,000. They'll also have a selection of lenses costing at least £500 each. A good set of studio lights will set you back upwards of £2,500. There'll be a computer that won't be cheap and a genuine copy of Photoshop costs in excess of £700! Then there's the smaller things like background papers, props and reflectors. All of this needs servicing and/or repairing every now and again. Not to mention insurance costs...

Professionals will also not get their photos printed at Tesco! They will use pro labs which are infinitely better quality. They are also a lot more expensive...

Unfortunately, as a business owner I have to pass these costs onto you, the customer.

Premises
I may have mentioned it before but I have a studio. I think it adds an extra special something to the whole process and lets me take photos that amateurs or pros without studio space can't take. It's the style and method of photography I've chosen and it's why my clients come to me rather than anyone else. That all costs (a lot of) money though. I have rent, electricity, phone, broadband, water, business rates, and insurance to pay. And again, this has to be passed onto the customer...

Advertising
I do a lot of advertising, online and in the real world. The online stuff is mostly free but can be very time consuming. The offline advertising can be very expensive. Wedding fairs can be upwards of £100, leaflets are £50 a batch, newspaper or magazine adverts can be anywhere between £200 and £600 and networking can cost £1,000 a year! And all of this has to be done on an ongoing basis...

Expertise
This one is a little harder to quantify. I have studied, been on courses and gained years of experience. Over my time I have developed a particular style which is unique to me. I think that's something worth paying for!

And let's not forget I'm doing this for a living! Yes I enjoy it, but I still need to make a profit from what I do...

So next time you're paying for some photos and wondering why a small piece of paper costs £15, please try and bear some of this in mind.

What's in a Wedding?

I wrote a post a while ago (here) about why photographers charge so much for weddings. It was a bit general and a bit whiney so I thought I'd take you through the whole process.  So... what's involed?

Advertising
I have to let you know I'm there! There's lots of ways to do it. I have a website, a Facebook page and a Twitter feed. All of which take time to update. I also have hundreds of leaflets and flyers in shops and hotels spread around the area. I've talked about it before but I do a lot of networking. That can be quite expensive, both in terms of time and money. And then of course there's the wedding fairs. They can cost up to £120 for a stand and always happen on Sundays!

Consultation
Once you've found me you'll naturally want to meet me, have a chat and see some sample albums. I'll come to your house or you can come to my studio and we'll sit for about an hour and go through any questions you might have. You can look at 3 or 4 sample albums, thank you cards and other photos in my portfolio. We'll go through exactly what you want from me and if you like what you see you'll book me and pay a deposit.

Before the Wedding
A week or so before the wedding I'll get back in touch with you again to finalise the details. What are the timings? What group photos do you want? Is there anyone special I absolutely must get a shot of? Again, I can come to you or you can pop into my studio for a coffee.

On the Morning
I'll be at the bride's house or hotel in time to photograph the girls getting ready. Hair, make-up, getting into the dress, all the important behind-the-scenes stuff! I normally get there about 3 hours before the ceremony itself to make sure I don't miss anything.



The Boys
About 45 minutes before the ceremony I arrive with the boys. I'll get a few shots of them all together, the groom on his own and with the best man. I'll also get shots of the venue itself and the guests arriving.




The Ceremony
If the vicar/registrar allows it I'll be there, out of the way, to capture all the important moments throughout the ceremony itself - the bride's arrival, the exchanging of vows, readings, exchanging the rings, the first kiss and the new Mr and Mrs walking out together.







That's probably enough for now.  Keep an eye out for Part 2 next week!

Competition

I've been to another Wedding Fair today.  This one was at Oasis health club.  It's not the first I've done and certainly won't be the last.  They are really the best way for a wedding photographer to get his/her name out there and get noticed by the right people (i.e. brides and grooms to be).

One thing you notice though is that there are a lot of wedding photographers in Grimsby and Cleethorpes!  I did a fair in September and there were 10 of us!  It seems like a lot at first glance.  And second glance.  And third...  There is a lot of competition.

So it's important to stand out.  Yes you have to have good pictures (although not all do - just my opinion!), but you also need something else.  I like to give a really personal service to all of my clients.  I have the packages like most others, but I also offer a completely tailored service so you can have exactly what you want!

I also offer a few little extras that no-one else does.  For example, every package comes, at no extra charge, with 50 personalised thank-you cards featuring the photo of your choice.  I will soon be adding a framed "guest book" picture as part of the Gold package as well.  Something a bit special...

I don't know if it's enough, but people seem to like me and book me to be their official photographer for their big day!  There's always room for more bookings though...