I have always had a passion for photography. I love a great picture that tells a story. Whether that story is to document the life of a child or family, catching a glimpse of affection between family members, or documenting a special moment in time.
From the moment my oldest child was born, I was very excited to document his life. I not only snapped my own photos but would constantly take him to one studio after another getting “packages” of the growth of his life. As I was blessed with a second child my photo documentation grew even more. All of you parents out there can understand this I’m sure! I started to look for more quality photos instead of just a pure documentation photo. As I looked around for local photographers, I could not believe the pricing. The thought of paying a high sitting fee and then ending up without a CD of the images shocked me. This is when I started to invest in my personal growth as a photographer. I continued along this path of classes, reading, studying, shooting, shooting and shooting.
I feel very strongly that quality should not be compromised for price. Everyone should be able to afford a quality photo session for their family or children without paying a high cost. Please don’t get me wrong….I obviously believe in the work on a photographer. We, as a profession, put a lot of time into our work. We plan for our clients sessions, we work hard to use our skills to capture true moments in time, and we then spend a lot of time editing and organizing photos for our clients. There is truly a lot of skill involved in taking a great photo. However, one comment I read a while back sticks out in my head. One photography class said, “If you set your pricing low than people think they are getting cheap photos. If you price high, than your clients think they are getting high-end photos. Set your price high.” I disagree with that statement. I have four children and would not be able to afford a “high- end” photo session as frequently as I would like. I believe that you can set your pricing reasonable so everyone can afford a quality photo session to document more special memories throughout each year.
I also strongly agree with getting a CD of ALL of your images with each photo session. I have never agreed with paying a large sitting fee to end up without a CD or any images. They are your pictures….you deserve to keep all of them.
I have a post coming soon on the differences in quality through various print labs. Please come back and visit me soon to SEE the differences of various print labs. You will be surprised at how low the quality is at popular print labs and I will show you the top print labs to use. To find me easily, you can type in your e-mail address under “follow me” on my home page. You will get an e-mail letting you know when I have given out new information.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts! I hope to hear from you!
Christina
Bees Knees Photography 