Investing In Photography

This is a tough one. Families have a difficult time with the investment of custom portrait photography. Once in a while photographers offer a great deal… known to you as the “mini-session deal”, but I like to refer to it as a “mini-session” steal! It’s rare to get a decent booking with a talented photographer at a mini-session rate, but when your stars are aligned and you’re able to capitalize on one, take it! This blog is for the rest of us! Those who tried to book and missed out, or booked a mini-session that was less than satisfactory due to time constraints and lack of experience of the photographer.

As a photographer, part of my job is educating my clients in what they are paying for. Today, with stellar phone photos and easy, affordable printing companies, many parents take the “I could do this myself for way cheaper” approach. If that is you, more power to you! Professional photographers have invested mega bucks in equipment, education, software, mentors, and hours of time shooting to perfect their craft, instructional skills, and workflow from inquiry to delivery. There is much time spent behind the scenes and our performance at your session is high stakes, we want epic shots for you and for our portfolio and work hard to maximize our often limited session times to score a gallery we can proudly show you.

I try to breakdown my work hourly and then offer session fees and package options that reflect a fair wage for the time I spend on each client. For sessions outside of my niche, I tend to charge a bit more or a bit less, depending on whether or not I want to add those images to my gallery or the level of difficulty of the project.

I feel for my families who simply cannot afford a session. It’s the reason I offer mini-sessions and demi-sessions. I also always offer discounts to families in financial need and I often give bonus images to families to maximize their investment.

Genuine Moments

One of the greatest challenges photographers have is to capture intimate moments between family members after meeting them for the first time at the photo-shoot! It’s possibly the most difficult component of quality family photography.

I never want a family to be tense or uncomfortable at a session, I also never want my families to feel pressure to perform. At the same time, I know, as do all photographers working with children and families, that parents want glowing smiles in their frame-able portraits. So how do we do both? Get genuine moments and frame-able smiles?

The trick is this: Time, Talent, and Timing….

I book very long session blocks for clients.

Often, even longer than the clients have purchased. I do this for 2 reasons, 1. It allows for the family to settle into the session and relax when they do not feel rushed… 2. Most of the best shots I’ve taken, were taken in the last 20 minutes of a session. The longer I can extend the session, the more likely it is that I’ll capture epic photos.

The second factor… talent…

I am a bit of a herder at my sessions… walking families to areas of parks or the beach to “play” or “hang out” in order to get the composition that I know will create a magical image.

The final factor in getting these epic shots is undeniably timing.

It’s all about the click. Finally… timing… specifically when I push that shutter will determine the feeling of the images. As photographers it is perhaps, the single most important factor in getting great images.

Trusting Your Photographer

As much as authenticity is vital in creating epic portraiture, so is the element of something other worldly. This is why photographers shoot sessions during “the golden hour”. We try to capture light like hunters and will practically do back bends to get just the right angle, sunspot, and composition. This is where trust becomes a vital part of every session.

Give us all of the instruction, direction, and preferences you like, but then let us work our magic and get those epic, magically, other worldly images that you’ll keep forever.

The more families let go and let me have freedom, the better the images I produce (and there are usually way more of them). Don’t get me wrong, it’s super helpful and quite frankly, vital to communicate your style, family vibe, and hope for the session you have booked. However, it is equally important to trust your own judgement in selecting me as your photographer and to trust the process.

Having portraits taken can be very stressful and for some the camera is overwhelming. But, a good photographer has endless tricks to get your true smile, communicate the heart of your family, and create beautiful heirlooms that will be treasured forever.

All we need is your trust.