Larger images! Finally...

I have been more than a little frustrated with how small some of the images come out. Now, I realize that it is perfectly plausible that anyone interested in seeing them LARGER, could simply click on them. But, here's my issue with that...I want the impact of the image to be immediate! I don't want you to have to wait til the page is loaded and then you finally get to see the image, which you have already glanced at initially. Not fun. So, here's some images of the day!




Now if I can just figure out how to CENTER them. Another day.

So, here's your FIRST official ASSIGNMENT! Are you so completely excited? Yeah, me too~!

I want you to take a picture of what describes the word : LEISURE to you. Hey, it's Friday!!! Find a way to express that word - email it to me (brittannphotography@gmail.com) or we can start a Flickr group with all the images we collaborate together. I'll post my image soon!

Shot of the Day

Not too much to report today. My sweetheart has been sick for the last 3 days so, aside from playing nurse to a very sick guy - there's not been too much going on. I am anxious for the snow to melt, but until then - I'm going to let my sweet puppy Mia's eyes melt your heart!

Inspired by my Numero Dos' Birthday Party

My little middle one is turning another year older and this year we are going to have another fun themed party. Let's see if you can guess the theme! The first to post the correct response will WIN one of the party favors! Aren't you so excited! Now...get guessing.

By the way, this is also your SHOT OF THE DAY!

Why Are Professional Photographers Expensive?

This question was posed and answered by Caught on Film photographers and they answered it very well. This is always hard to explain to those who question spending the money in the first place. I have also heard it explained this way: if you were to buy a one of a kind, commissioned piece from an artist, you would not pay what you pay for a reprint. Photography is a work of art - no different from any other. It takes a creative eye and skill to boot. But, rather than go on - please read what Shawn, Pamela & Gavin Richter wrote:

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?
(This article has been very well received by the photography community, and is now referred to by many Photography websites across the country)

In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?

Here's why.

Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time and expertise. First, let's look at the actual time involved. If you don't read this entire page, at least read this first part.

For a two hour portrait session:

- one hour of travel to and from the session
- two hours of shooting
- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive
- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs
- 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.
- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.

You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.

For an eight hour wedding:

- I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.

Now for the expertise.

Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.

And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.

Think of it this way - the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional.

What about the cheap studios at the mall?

Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.

The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.

Conclusion

We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.



Shawn, Pamela & Gavin Richter
Caught on Film Photography

I really appreciated someone being able to put this more succinctly than I am typically able to. So, thanks for reading.

Union Station shoot

This weekend I was going to have 2 separate shoots on Saturday. Unfortunately, due to sickness and other unfortunate circumstances, both shoots ended up being rescheduled for later in the month. On Friday, in preparation for Saturday, I went down to Union Station with my favorite models and took some fun shots. So, here are some of my favorites. And these are going to be my "Shot of the Day" shots for today and this weekend! Enjoy!