the cost of custom

before i decided to pursue photography, professionally that is, i always wondered why custom photography cost so much.  i guess i just figured these photographers were raking in the $$, snapping  photos with their high end cameras (i mean the camera did most of the work, right?) and then presenting the best to their clients.  surely the cost of photo paper can’t be all that much?  oh how i was wrong.  not just a little wrong, but a lot wrong.  not necessarily about the photo paper, but about the entire process start to finish.

though a nice camera (and lens) is important, there is SO much more that goes into it.

a little secret….the images that have such AMAZING colors, clarity and pop AREN’T just soley a result of a photographers camera.  but rather, there’s this little thing referred to as post-processing.  i liken this to taking a an image and turning it into art.  sometimes a photo can take upwards of 30 minutes editing…depending on what you want to do with it or where you want to take it.  the involves having a vision of what you want to create and then making it happen.  sure, the longer a photographer does it , the quicker they get.  on the flip side, their skills often improve too, and more than likely, their pricing increases.

in addition to the time spent shooting and processing, there is also the photographer’s equiptment cost.  and unfortunately, good stuff doesn’t come cheap with good lenses costing more than $1000.   add in educational workshops, computer costs, props, insurance, and equipment maintenance. then you got admin stuff such as resizing and sending photos to the lab, updating blogs and proofing sites,  and numerous emails/phone calls with clients.

and that’s why the end product costs what it does.

to illustrate i decided to share a before and after example of a processed photo

i hope i was able to clarify the process a bit.

more questions?  just ask.