The Other 80%
“Why does photography cost so much?” This can be a question that clients often have but, out of respect, don't ask. In my attempt to best answer this question, I need to break it down into 4 sections: time, education, expenses, and profit.
Time. While time spent shooting, editing, emailing, or learning is time dedicated to you and your work, it is also time taken away from your family. Like any other job out there, I'd like to be paid a fair wage if I'm spending time working and not enjoying my family. Please keep in mind that shooting is just a small portion of the job I do and only takes up about 20% of my work load. The other 80% is spent editing, responding to emails, and education on the newest techniques, which can also come at a cost. If we were to look at a wedding session booking from start to finish, on average I spend about 2-4 hours conversing/ emailing/ meeting with a client. Let's say your session is a 6 hour wedding, which comes with a 30 minute engagement shoot. We are now at 8.5-12.5 hours total. Next, the galleries need editing, which take about 2-4 weeks for the engagement shots and 4-8 weeks for the wedding shots. Finally, the gallery needs uploading to your web link, which can take 2-24 hours depending on the final gallery size. In total, we are looking at anywhere from 61-112 hours from beginning inquiry to final gallery delivery.
Education. Education is also another key factor that is considering the total cost of photography. Not only does education require time but also requires some expense as well. In-person education, webinars, shadowing, and retreats all take time and can cost money anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. While this may seem to be an unnecessary expense to some, walking away with new inspiration, new tricks, growth in my field, and a new found love and respect for what I do keeps me at the top of my game and your pictures looking better than ever. When you book a session, you get me plus the hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars I've spent on education!
Expenses. A word everyone tends to hate. If you have bills you have expenses! Phone bills, internet bills, student loan bills, website bills, insurance, electric bills, office supplies, travel... you get the point! Thankfully, out of courtesy for my clients I've been able to keep costs down a little by not having a studio space and working outdoors, in clients homes, or rented spaces. However, like every other person, I still have bills. I still have to feed my family and I still have to put gas in the vehicle to get to your location, and I still have to pay for the website you're reading this blog on. The biggest expense photographers face is equipment expenses. Have you ever walked into a Best Buy or browsed Amazon and looked at the cost of a top grade camera (Nikon, Sony, or Canon), a MacBook Pro, lenses (not just zoom but primes)??? No??? Well let me tell you they are EXPENSIVE! My Nikon z5 I picked up last year cost me about $1,500. My 2021 MacBook Pro I brought home at the beginning of the year, to ensure timely editing and uploads.... drumroll please.... $3000! That's only the tip of the iceberg too. I need several lenses for different situations, I have 3 cameras, flashes, stands, back up equipment, and memory cards by the thousands. These will need upgrades every couple of years too, to keep up with the advances of technology and software. It's a never ending story and somehow I have to try and make that back, piece-by-piece though every session I book. It can be exhausting keeping up with all the expenses of a small photography business, but in the end it's 100% worth it if I can bring you the quality you deserve!
Profit. Lastly, the part we all love! No good business man or woman works for a loss. With a small photography business, profit can vary depending on the session. Sometimes after all my time, effort, and expenses I've put into a session, I will barely break even for all the expenses and work I've done. Transparently, it can at times make me question why I continue my efforts for little to no profit, but then I'll get those clients that will cry when they see their engagements, wedding, or their newborn gallery. For me profit is more than just the gain of money it's about gaining self worth in the career I've chosen. When a client is moved by their gallery that's the best kind of emotional profit one can receive. However it's always a plus when I can walk away from a gallery with the money profit to be able to pay for my kids soccer season, school supplies, time away with my husband, or even give back to the community. And my customers walk away knowing their money not only got them the gallery they loved, but they supported a small business, a family, and their community.
In summary, time, expenses, education, and profit are all factors to consider when searching for a photographer. Remember, cheaper isn’t always better. "You get what you pay for” and it holds true time and time again in this field. Working several years in this business, I completely understand that we all have to start somewhere, which requires us to start off with low prices to attract and build a customer base. However, if the photographer you are hiring year after year is continuing to charge low prices and you are not seeing a change in their work or quality, take that as a red flag. A good photographer will invest in themselves and their equipment, and in turn, will start raising their prices as their value increases. The next time you are out searching for a photographer for your family session or your wedding, remember you're not just paying for their work, you're paying for that person's time, money, and effort to bring you the quality of art that you deserve.
Emma
