How many people want a photo session but feel they can’t afford it?

Let’s face the facts. Everyone has a cell phone these days. Some cell phones take decent pictures. Everyone feels like they have the potential to be a photographer now that they can shoot photos on-the-go with their portable devices. Some people don’t need high quality photos to be happy and satisfied.

On the other hand, our children are growing older every day. In reality, having updated photos on a semi annual basis is a luxury. We don’t need it to survive. It’s not the same as a light bill or food. We will be fine without professional photos.

Many photographers are in your area, waiting to be hired for your next event or photo session. This is what they do for a living and most of them love doing it. This is the income they use to feed their families.

As a photographer with my own business, I’ve gotten invited to events where the host only wanted me to take photos. The hosts assumed I would come and take photos without a formal arrangement. What’s worse is they didn’t offer any compensation as if I should do their session/event for free.

Taking photos at events and photo sessions isn’t as easy as it appears. We take high quality photos at optimal angles with our trained eyes, using our expensive equipment. We then take the photos home and upload them to a computer for post-processing using a software that is not free. There is a lot of time and effort put into delivering high quality photos. Some photographers even after all of that time invested into a session, they still stress about their work and even convince themselves that their photos aren’t good enough for their clients.

Here are 4 reasons why you should hire a photographer to have that photo session that you’ve been dreaming of:

We love what we do.
- Photographers love to take photos. Most of them started their profession because of their love for photography. Who wouldn’t want to make a living doing what they love:?
We are the experts
- When you hire a photographer you are guaranteed to have high quality photos that will capture memories that will last forever. We will do our best to make sure you are satisfied with your pictures and that you get what it is you want out of each session. Photographers know how to pose their subjects, what the best angles are, everyone can be in the photo. Before delivering the photos to you photographers edit the photos and this enhances the portraits.
Affordable
- There are many photographers that work with you, have payment plan options, and some that charge fairly while delivering a set amount of photos. For example, $150 for the session and 10 premium edited photos are included. If you only need one or two photos there are photographers that charge a low session fee and who allow you to choose from the photos that were taken and charge by photo.
A Fun and Awesome Experience
- Everyone that I work with tells me that they hate taking pictures usually, but our session was fun for the entire family. It is something that helps a family bond or a couple become more intimate. It is something that helps a model or actor get more gigs. If you haven’t had a professional photographer take your photos, you will definitely have a great time. I have countless clients talk about how fun it was and how they loved everything about the session and the experience.

Don’t wait until your children are all grown up, you’ll miss capturing their cute little freckles and missing teeth. Create the memories of your lives over time with all of your loved ones by using a professional photographer. My clients leave their sessions super happy with their purchase because a photo session with your family and friends is more than just taking pictures it’s an experience where you make memories. With the right photographer it is money well spent and it’s all worth it.

Ultimately a photographer’s goal is to deliver images that their client will love. Building a client base is important and photographers work very hard to establish a strong relationship with their clients. Whenever an established client needs photography services they will most likely go back to the photographer that did a great job the first time, someone they’ve already established a relationship with.

With every session a photographer should learn and grow where they will be able to recognize opportunities for improvement. Learning from mistakes, trying new methods or ideas can all lead to growth.

“Am I hiring a photographer and paying a high price for them to just press a button? ”

— Prospective Clients

Let me explain.

Some people think a photographer’s job ends at the session. However, the session is the least amount of time that goes into your photos. Pressing a button is not the beginning and end to a photographer’s responsibilities. With every client there is a number of items that need to be taken care of.

Transfer Photos to computer.
1. Photographer selects the images that came out best.
Upload to an online album
1. Some photographers have you choose your photos directly after a session and others send you proofs with watermark for you to choose later.
2. Whichever way your photographer chooses it is still a step that needs to be counted since it relies on the customer to provide feedback of the photos to be edited.
Once photographer receives feedback about the photos you would like to purchase, the photographer begins to edit your preview.
1. Photographers can take anywhere from 2 days up to a whole month to deliver all of your images.
2. Typically I set the expectation for all photos to be delivered to client no later than 2 weeks. Most of the time they receive their photos before that time.
3. At times, they usually provide a preview gallery of 3-10 photos.
4. It really depends on the job. For example, Weddings take longer than any other category of photos.
Editing or Re-editing
1. Some clients request special type of edits where they want acne removed, some request to be made thinner, and other various requests. These special requests will take longer.
2. Some photographers spend 3-5 hours just on one photo. This is the reason photographers charge by photo even if it is an electronic photo (not print).
3. At times, clients may see the photo after it’s edited and they will ask for something to be adjusted. This type of re-edit consideration is welcome but may delay finalized album.
4. A photographers job is not finished until they edit the photos. Very rarely will a photographer give you photos that they did not complete. This is unfinished work.
  1. On another note regarding the photographer’s finished work, having clients edit the photo by hiring a separate photographer to do it or by applying filters for social media this is highly offensive to photographers worldwide. It’s similar to taking a canvas painting from a world-renowned artist and adding your own paint to a finished masterpiece.
Delivery of photos.
1. If you order prints with your photographer it depends on when the prints will arrive at their studio for you to have them delivered to you.
2. If you purchased electronic album, depending on the third party provider of the photographer, you will be given a link to your online album and you will be able to download it after payment and order your own prints in the size you desire.
3. Other ways for photographers to deliver your photos depends on the method purchased:
  1. flash drive, photo album, canvas or large sized prints, etc.

Regardless of the photographer you choose, it is important for you to educate yourself on everything that goes into the process. Photographers serve more purposes than to just press a button. They are revered for their artistic ability to see moments in pictures and to grab them the way that their mind sees them in order to capture that rare and timeless moment with their camera. All photographers want to increase their skills by researching best equipment, best poses, best locations, and best editing styles and rising to the challenge to meet the next level in abilities.

Photographers invest their hard-earned money into the expensive equipment that will produce the best quality images from the camera, all the way to the post-processing software and the external lighting options. A photographer can put in as many as 30 hours on your family portraits session that only took 30 minutes on site. That is something that is worth the prices for their services.

Learn to appreciate and respect the process and abilities of your photographer. Trust their prices and pay them what they are worth. Full-time photographers are running a business as their primary source of income.

The goal of a family photographer is to provide a finished product that their clients will be happy with and will in turn, come back every time their family reaches a new milestone.