I have had many people question the prices I charge for sessions and such. I and others feel that the price is far cheaper for the quality of work that I do than some other photographers. I work really hard to offer great keepsake images to please the client.
When I charge 150 dollars for a session, the session lasts about 2-3 hours. That is 2-3 hours of me busting butt to get the best possible image. I get on the ground, crawl around and try to find the one that is going to be the best. It's a workout and tiring and sometimes not the cleanest of areas to be wallowing on the ground. Up,down and all around is what happens. I run myself ragged at times to get the best of the best.
In that time frame, we may visit several different locations and have several different wardrobe changes. I also spend time talking to the client to find out what they want out of the shoot and what they would like to see in their images. I am constantly thinking and working it out in my head on what is going to be the best.
When the shoot is over, I drive home. Spend about 30 minutes uploading to my computer the 200-500 images I have taken through out the 2-3 hour shoot. After that, I look at each image to make sure they are in perfect condition. Clear and crisp images, no blurs, no imperfections. I then go into editing process where I edit every image that I think is the absolute best picture. It can range from 30-all pictures being edited. This process can take anywhere from 3-10 hours depending on how well the shoot went and how much cooperation I had from the clients.
After the editing process, I then go back through all the unedited pictures to see if I might have missed a spectacular image. I also go back through the edited images to make sure they are up to my personal standards. I then put all the edited images on a CD, which takes about another 30 minutes. After the CD is burned and operable. I make a CD cover for the jewel case that the clients will receive if they purchase the disc. I print out a copyright release and sign it. All put into an envelope ready for the mail.
When a client purchases a session, they are not paying me by the hour. They are paying me for the amount of work I put into the entire effort. From the travel, to the shoot, to the editing process, to the final product. When the purchase a CD with images they are paying for the copyright release that they receive which gives them the right to print as many images as they want, whenever they want.
So if a client opts for a session and a CD, they might be charged $350 depending on the disc they want. That is $350 dollars for 6-15 hours of my time. So the next time, you question a photographers prices, just remember the amount of work that some of us put into our work and the quality and experience we strive to provide for our clients.
* Above picture is Copyrighted to Christine Pope Photography.
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