A conversation with my friend jolted me to write this post about the cost of photography and why people don’t understand the cost of professional photography service. My friend told me flat out — she’s cheap and she’d rather go to Walmart for portraits & get prints at CVS… Which is totally fine if that’s your thing… but if you want someone to capture lasting memories for you… someone that will capture every special moment in your wedding… someone that will capture your child as they are (and not the fake CHEESE!! smile) — then leave the blurry shots for uncle Bob to take & find a professional…I read a previous post and loved this analogy:

Consider how much you pay to get your hair done — professionally cut, colored, and styled.  Ladies, you know how much this can cost.. In the days when I was highlighting my hair — it would cost me nearly $200 per visit.  And I had to come every three months! But guess what? I paid that much — and I came back every three months. Because I valued their professional service — something I couldn’t do myself… Sure I could have gone to Borics or Supercuts and only pay $13 for a haircut — but to be honest, I didn’t trust them to do it…

Just because you can buy a pair of scissors for $5 — doesn’t mean you can deliver professional hair cuts or style…. This is where my analogy comes in with photography  — sure there are many people out there who own really nice digital cameras — but that doesn’t make them a professional or mean they’ll be able to produce professional looking images… Sure, you have a friend or an uncle who owns a camera and they’d be willing to capture your wedding for absolutely nothing… but in the end — you’ll get what you pay for… which is a lesson we’ve all learned at some point in our lives…

Professional photographers not only invest in good, quality equipment… But they are educated in their craft… and invest in continual education to make sure they stay abreast with what’s new with photography and the latest trends…

Here’s a breakdown of some of my company’s expenses:

Favorite Lens:
Canon 50mm 1.2: $1,565
Canon 35mm 1.4: $1,499

Lighting Equipment:
3 White Lightening x1600 Flash Unit: $1,319.85
Vagabond Mini: $239.95
4 Pocket wizards: $676
Soft Box: $414.95
3 Tripods: $382

Photography Workshop:
[All of the items below times 2: I attended 1 in Michigan & 1 in Nashville]
Workshop Registration: $599
Round trip Flight to Nashville: $315
Car rental: $105
Hotel: $300
Food: $100
Valuable education: priceless

Roughly a Total of $7,615.75 — and that’s just this year…

I chose these three examples because they are my company’s latest expenses… no, I didn’t need any of these things… I didn’t need to go Nashville for a photography workshop… but as a professional — it was a priceless investment for my education… the new lens & lighting equipment? These are investments to help me give my clients cool & dynamic shots of the best quality — from their wedding or their portrait session… and for my clients? My clients invest in me because they want the best images of their families… they want fun shots, emotional shots  along with all the candid moments of their wedding day… and for them? These are priceless memories…

So when you see prices for a portrait session, for wedding photography, for professional prints… You’re not just paying for the final product… You are paying for the photographer’s time & talent… All the years of experience and education (prior to your session or wedding or final print — ) that was invested to make your final product not only memorable, but something that will last you a lifetime…

I hope you enjoyed this post today! Please share with your friends & family if you liked it =)

And because a photography post is better with an actual photo… here’s one of my favorite images from a wedding I shot in April…