Pricing
Print Prices:
4x6: $3.00
5x7: $5.00
8x10: $10.00
11x14: $20.00
16x24: $40.00
wallets: $7.00
Please contact me for special sizing requests or other products (announcements, collages, canvas, frames, ect.)
Studio Session Fee - $100
A studio session (in my home) includes the availability to many different backgrounds and access to my large selection of props. I’ll get everything ready beforehand and on display so all you have to do is sit back and smile. :)
Location Session Fee - $150
This includes a photo session on location (either outside or at your home) within the Salt Lake and surrounding areas. I love suggestions if you know the perfect spot. If not, I have a few choice locations for stellar pictures. Let’s talk and figure out exactly what style you are wanting.
Included in your session fee:
* My time (and possibly my lovely assistant, Brittany) and talent for 1-2 hours (newborns up to 4 hours).
* Between 20 - 40 enhanced and retouched digital images in both color and you choice of color conversion (black & white, sepia). I use various post process techniques and put everything into making your pictures truly a work of art. This fee is valid for up to two children. Please add $10.00 for each additional sibling.
* A $25 print credit or a CD with high-resolution digital images and copyright release. Local print labs are ok and I can give you suggestions on which ones I think are best. The lab I prefer to order from is a professional photographer only lab out of state. Their products are remarkable and turnaround time is super fast. If you want a print larger than 8x10 I highly recommend ordering it from me. I guarantee the quality to be that much better!
Please allow 2 – 3 weeks after your session for your proofs. I will contact you as soon as they are ready. I will also post a ‘sneak peak’ of your pictures on this blog and I might use your pictures for advertising purposes. Please let me if you are not ok with this.
The session fee is due at the time of the photo shoot. I accept cash, check or you can pay with credit card by PayPal at the link below. Prices are subject to change. Booking a session or purchasing a gift certificate will guarantee current pricing. Please contact me if you have any questions.
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Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?
In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?
Here's why.
Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time and expertise. First, let's look at the actual time involved. If you don't read this entire page, at least read this first part.
For a two hour portrait session:
- one hour of travel to and from the session
- two hours of shooting
- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 GB of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive
- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs
- 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.
- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.
You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.
Now for the expertise.
Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.
Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.
And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.
Think of it this way - the next time you pay $x to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a professional.
What about the cheap studios at the mall?
Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.
The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.
Conclusion
We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
This article was written by:
Shawn, Pamela & Gavin Richter
Caught on Film Photography
