Family Pictures Cost so much. Why?

It’s true that professional photography is expensive. And for a lot of people, having family pictures taken every year is a luxury (I don’t agree with that, but that argument is for another post). So why do family pictures cost so much? In this post I break it down to answer that question.

Continual EDuCATION ISN'T cheap

A good photographer never stops working to improve their art, and I’m no exception.

Going to conferences (usually out of state), workshops (also out of state), online classes (luckily I get to stay home for those), and more just improves my skill set, broadens my abilities, and makes me a better family photographer.

Every year I invest in educational experience from the absolute very best photographers in the business. That time spent learning from photography mentors elevates my art, and that result spills over to YOU getting more dreamy, more lovely, more beautifully artist photos of your family and self.

It’s smart to have Insurance

I carry insurance cuz, ya know, just in case. I have coverage for myself and my equipment. But more importantly my clients. Working with me isn’t dangerous, but heaven forbid, something did happen, everyone is taken care of.

Being Legal Costs some dough

Get ready to be suprised, but I don’t take home every dollar you pay me.

Taxes are inevitable for everyone. Even me. I am a legally run business with the government. I am registered with the state and therefore pay state and federal taxes.

But that’s not the only thing needing to be paid.

My website, lawyer fees setting up an LLC, email marketing, client management software, editing software, gallery hosting subscriptions, computer, film (oh boy that’s a biggie), external hard drives, client gifts, cameras and other equipment all cost moola.

All of these things are there to provide YOU with the absolute beast photos and experience possible!

Running a real business factor in to how I price a family session.

Experience comes at a price

There isn’t a need to earn a degree in photography to become a photographer.

Cameras can be bought by anyone, and YouTube is accessible when you want to learn something.

But do YOU want to go to the effort of scheduling, getting your family ready, and spending the time taking pictures without a guarantee that the images will turn out?

Experience matters! It takes time to gain any skill, including photography. I have spent years perfecting my art and feel confident that I will deliver images that you’ll love.

Customer Service is worth it

Let me ask you this;

Do you want someone you barley know to just show up, take your pictures, and then never speak to or see again?

Or do you want someone who has helped answer all your questions, helped with outfit choices for your kids, given you ways to prep yourself and your family before your family photo session, and through the process have come to know this person well enough that you feel like friends when they show up to take your pictures?

Yeah, I’d want the second choice too.

One of my main goals with each client family is to take the stress out of having family pictures. I even aim for the process from first inquiry to delivery of your prints be a really FUN and POSITIVE one.

Hours Per Session Are more than you think

Each client doesn’t just take up 90 minutes of my time. That is only the photographing part.

Hours are spent emailing, texting back and forth about outfits, prepping contracts, following through with invoices, editing, uploading, helping with products, and more.

I am happy to spend all that time with each client, but for every hour I spend with you, it means saying “no” to something else. Weekends are precious family time to me. I may be missing my son’s baseball game or another son’s theater performance. A much needed date night with my husband, and even time at church.

All of these things are important to me (I’m sure you feel the same way about your time). Whatever i say “yes” to comes with a price.

Even though I adore my job it doesn’t mean that the time and effort I put into each client, and what I sacrifice to do that, shouldn’t be accounted for.

Coordinating with my husband the kids schedules, and even finding daycare sometimes, to get to a session done is a long planned out process each and every time.

I’m sure your salary needs to outweigh the cost and trouble of doing it. The same is true for me.

How much you Pay makes you pay Attention

Do you realize the connection of how much something costs and how much you adore it?

Also, there is a direct correlation between how much you pay for something and how much of yourself (think non-monetary) you put into it.

As a photographer, if I price myself at a place where I’m not profitable or barely making ends meet, I unintentionally attract clients who don’t actually care that much about photography.

The opposite of that is when I price myself to be profitable, I attract clients who really care a lot! And the results of that show.

When a client who wants to collaborate on outfit choices, wants my advice on location, wants to know what time of day is best for me to get the best images, and want to show up to a session with trust and willingness to follow my artistic vision, those are the clients who are over the moon for there galleries.

Being able to collaborate on family sessions with clients who really care about having pictures taken, as an artist, means the world to me.

Value matters, a lot

Have you heard this before? Stop me if you have. What is the one thing you own will guarantee to increase in value each and every year. It’s pictures of your family. Nothing else that you invest in has that kind of return.

Unlike the new I-Phone you dropped $1200 for, or the new pair of shoes you swiped that credit card for without a second thought, these photos I provide you with will be something you’ll treasure for years and year.

At first sight you’ll love your family photos. But when you look back in 10 years when your then chunky baby is now a pre-teen, or in 20 years when that preteen is getting married, and in 35 years when that bride now has a chunky baby of her own, you will revel in how they looks so much alike. How she has her mother’s eyes, and your long fingers. Your joy will be evident when you thumb through that album of images taken so long ago.

Looking at old family photos is an instant trip into the past. For just a few moments you’ll be back in that day. When your baby girl was full of giggles and cheeks you couldn’t stop kissing. The smell of her baby shampoo will come right back to you.

What more could be worth the cost? You’ll more than thank yourself, again and again for spending the money on something so valuable and lasting. What other investment can do that for you?

Did you know all the reasons why family photography is so expensive? Did you learn something new, or was surprised by some of these things? Leave a comment. Leave a question. I’d love to hear your thoughts.