There are many venues to have portraits taken of your family.  You can take them at a mall studio, a dedicated mass portrait studio, a discount chain superstore, or even have a friend take some snapshots and print them off yourself.  Your other two options are to pay an amateur or hire a professional photographer. Most of these options don’t require a session fee, therefore, many people are confused about what a session fee actually is.  People often ask, “Why am I paying twice for my images?” or “Why am I paying for something before I actually get anything?”.  Consequently, they decide that hiring a professional isn’t in their best interest and settle for mediocre images.

Allow me to provide some insight into the marketing of photography, which will help you understand why a session fee is needed.  There are two methods to running a photography business.  One method is to book sessions back to back all day long and spend as little time with each client as possible.  This is the genre that the large mall chains, cookie cutter studios, and discount store studios fall into. The other method of running a photography business is to take on fewer clients and spend more time with them.  Most amateur and professional photographers accept a relatively small amount of clients per month, which allows for more tailoring to the client’s needs. The biggest difference between a professional and amateur is the final product.  Most professionals spend years educating themselves and polishing their business and the result shows in their images.

So why do professional photographers charge session fees? In a word, time. We put a lot of  “behind-the-scenes” time into our sessions and believe our images show the difference. When you pay a session or creative fee, you aren’t throwing money away.  You are purchasing a professional’s time to produce amazing works of art that fit your family.   A typical 2 hour session with clients equals approximately 13 hours of a photographer’s time.  The session fee is a payment for the investment of time that we put into your session.

Here is a breakdown of what your session fee actually covers:

You are not just paying for two hours of session time, you are paying for the additional 13+ hours needed to complete your session.  “But that means you are working for less than minimum wage!”  Yes, it is true.  Photographers don’t make much money from session fees.  We charge the fee because we love our jobs and want to stay in business.  If I won the lottery I would still own this photography business because I truly love my work.

Some people are happy with the images they get from cookie cutter mass studios and wouldn’t dream of paying more for a better product.  It is true, professional custom photography isn’t for everyone.  It is a luxury item that our clients budget for.  It carries a higher price tag for both the custom photographer and the client.  We think the price is worth it.  Custom photography gives you the benefit of one on one attention for 1-3 hours where your child is allowed to explore, play and be comfortable in their own environment.  The large chains simply give you a bare bones, “SAY CHEESE” experience, not to mention the lack of photo editing afterwards.  I have taken my own family to a chain before out of lack of knowledge and still cringe when I look back at those photos. My face looks blotchy, my husband is slightly out of focus, and my daughter looks orange.  Seriously orange!  Oh how I wish we had some better pictures to remember those first precious days.

To sum it all up, a session fee pays for a professional photographer’s time to create beautiful images for your home.  Below are several examples of how your images are tastefully and professionally edited:

 

 

Out of consideration for my adult clients, I won’t show you their before and after pictures.  Just know that I do my best to ensure you look your best!  I also encourage you to look your best before your session, which makes for shorter turn-around times to view your images.

Something that separates our studio from others is the time we take to help you decorate your own home.  Here are some walls that we’ve helped go from blank to beautifully decorated:

 

As you can see, professional photography is much more than pushing a button and burning a cd.  We take pride in our images and want them to be boldly displayed on your walls!  It makes me smile knowing this stage in a child’s life is forever documented in a beautiful way.  What would you give to have a professional portrait of yourself growing up?  One that lets your true personality shine?  I can’t wait to work with you to create images of your own family.

~kara