Trresh Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 My brother paid his friend to take pictures of the grandchildren for my mom. He took group pics and individual pics. Everything went smoothly at the shoot. I emailed the following today: What are the prices of the prints? His reply: Cost is not a factor here, pricing will be good. Need to know what sizes you want? Not a factor for who? Me? I'm not exactly rolling in the dough. Did my brother already pay enough to cover prints? I don't know...he said pricing will be good not covered. His reply sounded a little snippy to me, initially. Am I over analyzing this thing? Sorry...Copying directly from the email messed up the fonts. I tried to fix them unsuccessfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I think it was a bit odd that he would not tell you the cost of the final product if you are purchasing from him. I'd email back a little more firmly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 In this day and age I would ask if I can order the CD and have the rights to print my own pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghanL Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 The cost will probably be determined by how many orders of each thing people want. So, they'll have to wait until everyone has placed their orders before letting you know how much...so I would assume you are getting the prints at cost (?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 In this day and age I would ask if I can order the CD and have the rights to print my own pictures. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 The cost will probably be determined by how many orders of each thing people want. So, they'll have to wait until everyone has placed their orders before letting you know how much...so I would assume you are getting the prints at cost (?) Then he should have explained this. His answer explains nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 The cost will probably be determined by how many orders of each thing people want. So, they'll have to wait until everyone has placed their orders before letting you know how much...so I would assume you are getting the prints at cost (?) If this is the case he should be able to tell her the price ranges. I know when we've ordered things in the past (not pictures) we knew if 1-10 ordered the item would cost X. If 11-20 it would be Y. If more than 21 it would be Z. The photographer should be able to tell her the cost of X, Y and Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I think you should ask your brother about it. It sounds like he may have already made payment arrangements with the photographer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I think you should ask your brother about it. It sounds like he may have already made payment arrangements with the photographer. That would be my assumption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 That's really weird. I would just email him back something like, "I'm sorry, I'm confused by your response. Before I order prints I need to know what my actual cost will be." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I'll bet he was emailing from a phone & just in a hurry, not meaning to sound snippy. It also sounds like he's going to print at-cost or something else incredibly cheap, thus "not an issue." If you look at the going rates for different size prints on a couple of online sites, I'm guessing they're w/in a few cents of ea other, & he's probably going to charge something like that or less. AND I bet he didn't have exact prices in front of him when he replied. That said, he should have waited to reply when he could actually tell you #s. I'm guessing he's single & is either doing this as a favor for your bro (iow, it's not his *business*) OR he's new in business. Otherwise, he'd know better. So just email him again. Be lighthearted. Ask for #s. Assume it's no big deal, but don't assume I'm right about the prices, because there's always the *chance* that HIS "not an issue" is not YOUR "not an issue." Oh! Another possibility is that your bro wants to surprise you & has already made arrangements to pay. Hmmm...in that case, you might want to run photographer's cryptic reply by your bro first to see what he says. I would try, if I were you, to just laugh at 2 men trying to communicate. Not in a mean way, just genuinely amused at the differences. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2denj Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 :iagree: I think you should ask your brother about it. It sounds like he may have already made payment arrangements with the photographer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I would be very put off by that answer, personally. I would absolutely not be willing to order anything until I knew exactly how much I'd be paying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I don't think he was being rude at all. I think that he meant that he did this as a favor to your brother therefore the prices aren't an issue to him. He wants to know which pictures you want so he can give you, what sounds like, a more than fair price. Not rude at all, in fact, I think he's being really nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertDweller Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 That's really weird. I would just email him back something like, "I'm sorry, I'm confused by your response. Before I order prints I need to know what my actual cost will be." :iagree: I would let him know that pricing will be a factor in determining how many of each size you order. I would probably also put in a call to your brother and ask if he is aware of pricing or the lack of in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 That's strange. I'd email back something like "I'm sorry, your email confused me. Before I know what size prints I want, I need to know the prices so that I can fit the total cost into our budget. Maybe I wasn't understanding correctly. Thanks for your time!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakerks Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I'd email back and say I needed to know the prices before I could place my order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 My brother paid his friend to take pictures of the grandchildren for my mom. He took group pics and individual pics. Everything went smoothly at the shoot. I emailed the following today: What are the prices of the prints? His reply: Cost is not a factor here, pricing will be good. Need to know what sizes you want? Not a factor for who? Me? I'm not exactly rolling in the dough. Did my brother already pay enough to cover prints? I don't know...he said pricing will be good not covered. His reply sounded a little snippy to me, initially. Am I over analyzing this thing? Sorry...Copying directly from the email messed up the fonts. I tried to fix them unsuccessfully. I think he is saying in a cryptic way that your photos have been paid for already. But who knows? You need to ask more firmly, because while you appreciate his "encouragement", cost is a factor for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I think he is saying the price will be low, but he needs to know what size you want before he can give you an exact number. Different sizes will be different prices. Rather than list out every size and price possible he wants to know which ones exactly you need a quote on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I think he is saying the price will be low, but he needs to know what size you want before he can give you an exact number. Different sizes will be different prices. Rather than list out every size and price possible he wants to know which ones exactly you need a quote on. That's what I was thinking. I don't think he was rude or snippy, sounds like he was saying "Let me know what sizes you want and then I'll give you a price based on size- don't worry, it'll be a great deal" kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Cost is not a factor here, pricing will be good. Need to know what sizes you want? I would write him back and explain that the prices will determine what and how many prints you are able to order within your budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutterBug Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) First off, yes, absolutely, as a professional he should be quoting you prices when you ask. It's odd that he didn't and I would send another email clarifying that you need to know the prices before you decide what size and how many prints you'll be ordering :). Now to this.... In this day and age I would ask if I can order the CD and have the rights to print my own pictures. Many photographers won't sell images on CD (I don't like to) for a few reasons. A) They pour their time, talent and hard work into creating beautiful images for your family. The last thing they want is for you to take that hard work and have a craptastic print made down at the local Walgreens that now has their name and reputation attached to it. I, as well as most other pros, like to control the artistic integrity of my work from beginning to end product :) . B) Let's say I sell you a CD with 20 images from your session. You now take those images and get a crudload of prints made. How much money am I losing out on by you not purchasing those prints directly from me? I do offer digital images that are included within packages, or after a client has ordered a certain amount of print products. I need to consider the money I'm losing out on by handing you over prints and have my individual digital images priced as such. I do have a set price of $1200.00 set for a complete digital session (all images on CD) for those who ask (most do, only once has someone taken me up on it). This price is comparable to what it would cost if you had 20 images and ordered an 8x10 and a 5x7 of each image. Sorry, off my soapbox now, lol. This new trend of "photographers" who get a camera on Monday and are in business as a photographer by Friday is one of my biggest pet peeves. The result has been that everyone expects photographers to do a session for dirt cheap and then hand over a CD full of images. ~Jenn Edited October 19, 2011 by ShutterBug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCrazyMama Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I would write him back and explain that the prices will determine what and how many prints you are able to order within your budget. :iagree: Yep, doesn't matter how good the deal. If I couldn't get a quote before hand I'd be ordering very few small prints and he may have to put up with me possibly changing my mind.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I don't think he was being rude at all. I think that he meant that he did this as a favor to your brother therefore the prices aren't an issue to him. He wants to know which pictures you want so he can give you, what sounds like, a more than fair price. Not rude at all, in fact, I think he's being really nice! :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I would email him and say here is what you are tentatively thinking of getting. If he could please let you know the price because you might want to order more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerPoppy Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I don't think he was being rude at all. I think that he meant that he did this as a favor to your brother therefore the prices aren't an issue to him. He wants to know which pictures you want so he can give you, what sounds like, a more than fair price. Not rude at all, in fact, I think he's being really nice! :iagree: But you can certainly email back and give a ballpark number of prints, and ask again if he'd give a ballpark cost so you can work it into your budget (or some such thing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5kidsforME Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 First off, yes, absolutely, as a professional he should be quoting you prices when you ask. It's odd that he didn't and I would send another email clarifying that you need to know the prices before you decide what size and how many prints you'll be ordering :). Now to this.... Many photographers won't sell images on CD (I don't like to) for a few reasons. A) They pour their time, talent and hard work into creating beautiful images for your family. The last thing they want is for you to take that hard work and have a craptastic print made down at the local Walgreens that now has their name and reputation attached to it. I, as well as most other pros, like to control the artistic integrity of my work from beginning to end product :) . B) Let's say I sell you a CD with 20 images from your session. You now take those images and get a crudload of prints made. How much money am I losing out on by you not purchasing those prints directly from me? I do offer digital images that are included within packages, or after a client has ordered a certain amount of print products. I need to consider the money I'm losing out on by handing you over prints and have my individual digital images priced as such. I do have a set price of $1200.00 set for a complete digital session (all images on CD) for those who ask (most do, only once has someone taken me up on it). This price is comparable to what it would cost if you had 20 images and ordered an 8x10 and a 5x7 of each image. Sorry, off my soapbox now, lol. This new trend of "photographers" who get a camera on Monday and are in business as a photographer by Friday is one of my biggest pet peeves. The result has been that everyone expects photographers to do a session for dirt cheap and then hand over a CD full of images. ~Jenn Obviously, people pay these prices, I am just astonished. There is no way in heck i could afford what some photographers charge. $1200, that is really expensive. I am not picking on you, I know this seems to be the going rate but I didn't even pay that much for my wedding pictures and photographer for the day. Granted that was 13 years ago but still. I recieved all of my proofs (over 300, a photographer for the whole day, 2 books for my parents and the inlaws, a proffesional album, a really big photo (totally forgetting the size), 2 8x10's, the negatives and a letter stating that I was allowed to copy anything I wanted. I paid $750 for all of it. I am even more astounded with people that call themselves photographers, just because they bought a fancy digital camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I do have a set price of $1200.00 set for a complete digital session (all images on CD) for those who ask (most do, only once has someone taken me up on it). This price is comparable to what it would cost if you had 20 images and ordered an 8x10 and a 5x7 of each image. Holy cow! That's $30 per print! I've never had a professional photo taken of any member of our family so I had no idea what the prices were like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 First off, yes, absolutely, as a professional he should be quoting you prices when you ask. It's odd that he didn't and I would send another email clarifying that you need to know the prices before you decide what size and how many prints you'll be ordering :). Now to this.... Many photographers won't sell images on CD (I don't like to) for a few reasons. A) They pour their time, talent and hard work into creating beautiful images for your family. The last thing they want is for you to take that hard work and have a craptastic print made down at the local Walgreens that now has their name and reputation attached to it. I, as well as most other pros, like to control the artistic integrity of my work from beginning to end product :) . B) Let's say I sell you a CD with 20 images from your session. You now take those images and get a crudload of prints made. How much money am I losing out on by you not purchasing those prints directly from me? I do offer digital images that are included within packages, or after a client has ordered a certain amount of print products. I need to consider the money I'm losing out on by handing you over prints and have my individual digital images priced as such. I do have a set price of $1200.00 set for a complete digital session (all images on CD) for those who ask (most do, only once has someone taken me up on it). This price is comparable to what it would cost if you had 20 images and ordered an 8x10 and a 5x7 of each image. Sorry, off my soapbox now, lol. This new trend of "photographers" who get a camera on Monday and are in business as a photographer by Friday is one of my biggest pet peeves. The result has been that everyone expects photographers to do a session for dirt cheap and then hand over a CD full of images. ~Jenn Amen! My CD is only $295, but I live in an area where that is pretty close to the going rate (higher than some, lower than others). I know other areas of the country are MUCH higher. As for the $30/print....my 5x7s are $9 and my 8x10s are $16. If I was going off the above calculations, I should be charging closer to $500, but I have only sold one CD as it is, LOL. I'm okay with that. I'd rather not offer them at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 My brother paid his friend to take pictures of the grandchildren for my mom. He took group pics and individual pics. Everything went smoothly at the shoot. I emailed the following today: What are the prices of the prints? His reply: Cost is not a factor here, pricing will be good. Need to know what sizes you want? Not a factor for who? Me? I'm not exactly rolling in the dough. Did my brother already pay enough to cover prints? I don't know...he said pricing will be good not covered. His reply sounded a little snippy to me, initially. Am I over analyzing this thing? Sorry...Copying directly from the email messed up the fonts. I tried to fix them unsuccessfully. It sounds to me like he is saying he is not going to charge much--perhaps he's thinking of it as a favor he's doing for your brother. I would email him and say that you're on a tight budget and you don't want to order something you may not be able to pay for, so could he please tell you the cost (or approximate cost--he may not have figured it out yet.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutterBug Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) Obviously, people pay these prices, I am just astonished. There is no way in heck i could afford what some photographers charge. $1200, that is really expensive. I am not picking on you, I know this seems to be the going rate but I didn't even pay that much for my wedding pictures and photographer for the day. Granted that was 13 years ago but still. I recieved all of my proofs (over 300, a photographer for the whole day, 2 books for my parents and the inlaws, a proffesional album, a really big photo (totally forgetting the size), 2 8x10's, the negatives and a letter stating that I was allowed to copy anything I wanted. I paid $750 for all of it. So, $750 for how ever many hours of the photographers time/talent shooting the actual wedding, 300 physical proofs, miscellaneous sized prints and an album?! I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the photographer didn't actually make much of a profit (if any at all) for their time after taking away costs and expenses. I'm not saying it's your fault, lol, it's not, that's a great price....I'm just always amazed at what other photographers feel their time is (or isn't) worth. Holy cow! That's $30 per print! I've never had a professional photo taken of any member of our family so I had no idea what the prices were like. Keep in mind, most sessions don't end up at $1200.00. That's just the price I have set for when clients ask whether they can just have everything on CD. Mostly it's to keep them from asking again ;). Like I said, I put a lot of time and work into what I do and the prints are the final product. Nothing makes me cringe more than seeing a lovely image that I've poured so much into ruined by a terrible print. When I set my prices, I had to take a look at my costs, as well as how much time I was putting into session and then set prices based on what I needed to be making to make it worth my time and cost. I have to take into consideration the 10 hours+ of actual session time (shooting the session, individual image editing, uploading images, creating albums and layouts, emails, phone calls) and then factor in my cost for prints/products, taxes, advertising, equipment costs and upkeep...all the things that go into running a business. I also use only the highest quality products from a professional lab that is color calibrated to my computer so I know that prints are going to look exactly like they do on my computer. Custom photography is completely different than a chain studio type place where they pump out 75+ customers a day with no personal attention. They can afford to charge less....they're dealing in bulk. I can do one, maybe two sessions a week, and if I'm going to take that time away from my family, it needs to be monetarily worth it...I hope that makes sense :). I've found that with photography it really does ring true that you get what you pay for. Photographers offering dirt cheap prices or CD's of all your images for $50 will soon enough burn out or raise their prices when they realize they're putting more time and money into their businesses than they're actually making. Edited October 20, 2011 by ShutterBug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 First off, yes, absolutely, as a professional he should be quoting you prices when you ask. It's odd that he didn't and I would send another email clarifying that you need to know the prices before you decide what size and how many prints you'll be ordering :). Now to this.... Many photographers won't sell images on CD (I don't like to) for a few reasons. A) They pour their time, talent and hard work into creating beautiful images for your family. The last thing they want is for you to take that hard work and have a craptastic print made down at the local Walgreens that now has their name and reputation attached to it. I, as well as most other pros, like to control the artistic integrity of my work from beginning to end product :) . B) Let's say I sell you a CD with 20 images from your session. You now take those images and get a crudload of prints made. How much money am I losing out on by you not purchasing those prints directly from me? I do offer digital images that are included within packages, or after a client has ordered a certain amount of print products. I need to consider the money I'm losing out on by handing you over prints and have my individual digital images priced as such. I do have a set price of $1200.00 set for a complete digital session (all images on CD) for those who ask (most do, only once has someone taken me up on it). This price is comparable to what it would cost if you had 20 images and ordered an 8x10 and a 5x7 of each image. Sorry, off my soapbox now, lol. This new trend of "photographers" who get a camera on Monday and are in business as a photographer by Friday is one of my biggest pet peeves. The result has been that everyone expects photographers to do a session for dirt cheap and then hand over a CD full of images. ~Jenn :iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: Preach on, sister! ;) I spent over 20 years in the business as a 'real' professional. Studied with and worked for some of the best. You hit the nail on the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 So, $750 for how ever many hours of the photographers time/talent shooting the actual wedding, 300 physical proofs, miscellaneous sized prints and an album?! I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the photographer didn't actually make much of a profit (if any at all) for their time after taking away costs and expenses. I'm not saying it's your fault, lol, it's not, that's a great price....I'm just always amazed at what other photographers feel their time is (or isn't) worth. Keep in mind, most sessions don't end up at $1200.00. That's just the price I have set for when clients ask whether they can just have everything on CD. Mostly it's to keep them from asking again ;). Like I said, I put a lot of time and work into what I do and the prints are the final product. Nothing makes me cringe more than seeing a lovely image that I've poured so much into ruined by a terrible print. When I set my prices, I had to take a look at my costs, as well as how much time I was putting into session and then set prices based on what I needed to be making to make it worth my time and cost. I have to take into consideration the 10 hours+ of actual session time (shooting the session, individual image editing, uploading images, creating albums and layouts, emails, phone calls) and then factor in my cost for prints/products, taxes, advertising, equipment costs and upkeep...all the things that go into running a business. I also use only the highest quality products from a professional lab that is color calibrated to my computer so I know that prints are going to look exactly like they do on my computer. Custom photography is completely different than a chain studio type place where they pump out 75+ customers a day with no personal attention. They can afford to charge less....they're dealing in bulk. I can do one, maybe two sessions a week, and if I'm going to take that time away from my family, it needs to be monetarily worth it...I hope that makes sense :). I've found that with photography it really does ring true that you get what you pay for. Photographers offering dirt cheap prices or CD's of all your images for $50 will soon enough burn out or raise their prices when they realize they're putting more time and money into their businesses than they're actually making. :iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: AMEN again!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 So, $750 for how ever many hours of the photographers time/talent shooting the actual wedding, 300 physical proofs, miscellaneous sized prints and an album?! I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the photographer didn't actually make much of a profit (if any at all) for their time after taking away costs and expenses. I'm not saying it's your fault, lol, it's not, that's a great price....I'm just always amazed at what other photographers feel their time is (or isn't) worth. I've found that with photography it really does ring true that you get what you pay for. Photographers offering dirt cheap prices or CD's of all your images for $50 will soon enough burn out or raise their prices when they realize they're putting more time and money into their businesses than they're actually making. Keep in mind that $750 was 13 years ago. I paid less that $1,000 for all that with the best photographer in Charlottesville 15 years ago. I must admit to having a few friends who consider themselves "professionals" now that they have acquired a fancy DSLR. One's pictures are rather embarrassing. I do have one friend who took up photography recently and she still calls herself an amateur (she works very hard to educate herself on the craft), even though she takes some of the best photos I have seen. Go figure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5kidsforME Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 So, $750 for how ever many hours of the photographers time/talent shooting the actual wedding, 300 physical proofs, miscellaneous sized prints and an album?! I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the photographer didn't actually make much of a profit (if any at all) for their time after taking away costs and expenses. I'm not saying it's your fault, lol, it's not, that's a great price....I'm just always amazed at what other photographers feel their time is (or isn't) worth. . This was a reputable business. They had a lot of photographers, and all of the photos were matted and the album was professionaly done. They had been in business for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5kidsforME Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Keep in mind that $750 was 13 years ago. I paid less that $1,000 for all that with the best photographer in Charlottesville 15 years ago. I must admit to having a few friends who consider themselves "professionals" now that they have acquired a fancy DSLR. One's pictures are rather embarrassing. I do have one friend who took up photography recently and she still calls herself an amateur (she works very hard to educate herself on the craft), even though she takes some of the best photos I have seen. Go figure! I know so many people know who have gotten themselves a fancy DSLR too and now charge outrageous rates. I know they use presets and photoshop and all of that takes time but....I don't know. I think it's misleading to call themselves professional photographers. ETA: I will say that as a consumer it is easy to check the photographers work, so at least you can see the quality of the work too. I just can't imagine paying $250/hour for a photographer to take pictures than on top of that have to pay for prints etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutterBug Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 This was a reputable business. They had a lot of photographers, and all of the photos were matted and the album was professionaly done. They had been in business for years. I wasn't saying it wasnt ;). I inititally missed that this was 13 years ago, which does make a difference. Most photographers were still using film so there wasn't really any editing and they most likely had the capability to print right from their business, which keeps costs down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutterBug Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) I know so many people know who have gotten themselves a fancy DSLR too and now charge outrageous rates. I know they use presets and photoshop and all of that takes time but....I don't know. I think it's misleading to call themselves professional photographers. ETA: I will say that as a consumer it is easy to check the photographers work, so at least you can see the quality of the work too. I just can't imagine paying $250/hour for a photographer to take pictures than on top of that have to pay for prints etc. Absolutely! Check out their website and portfolio before you book ;). WOW, none of the photographers around my area charge $250 per hour! I have heard of higher prices in other cities with different demographics than here, but that's really high! My session fee is $100 for the session and the editing and then prints are ordered a la carte (although I have started offering some packages). An average session ends up bringing in around $300 - $500 dollars, which after taking away for my costs to order product and run my business works out to be maybe $25 - $35 per hour. Edited October 20, 2011 by ShutterBug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trresh Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 I talked to my brother's girlfriend and she didn't out and out say it but I think my brother has already worked something out with the photographer. She said something like 'I don't know exactly what J gave him but I think it covered everything.' I'm not going to press any further. It sounds like he's trying to do something nice for me and I don't want to ruin it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I talked to my brother's girlfriend and she didn't out and out say it but I think my brother has already worked something out with the photographer. . Why not ask your brother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trresh Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 Why not ask your brother? I don't want to ruin the surprise if that's what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeetime Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 First off, yes, absolutely, as a professional he should be quoting you prices when you ask. It's odd that he didn't and I would send another email clarifying that you need to know the prices before you decide what size and how many prints you'll be ordering :). Now to this.... Many photographers won't sell images on CD (I don't like to) for a few reasons. A) They pour their time, talent and hard work into creating beautiful images for your family. The last thing they want is for you to take that hard work and have a craptastic print made down at the local Walgreens that now has their name and reputation attached to it. I, as well as most other pros, like to control the artistic integrity of my work from beginning to end product :) . B) Let's say I sell you a CD with 20 images from your session. You now take those images and get a crudload of prints made. How much money am I losing out on by you not purchasing those prints directly from me? I do offer digital images that are included within packages, or after a client has ordered a certain amount of print products. I need to consider the money I'm losing out on by handing you over prints and have my individual digital images priced as such. I do have a set price of $1200.00 set for a complete digital session (all images on CD) for those who ask (most do, only once has someone taken me up on it). This price is comparable to what it would cost if you had 20 images and ordered an 8x10 and a 5x7 of each image. Sorry, off my soapbox now, lol. This new trend of "photographers" who get a camera on Monday and are in business as a photographer by Friday is one of my biggest pet peeves. The result has been that everyone expects photographers to do a session for dirt cheap and then hand over a CD full of images. ~Jenn As the wife of a professional photographer- I couldn't agree more. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murmer Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) Regarding CD's of pictures - because of the wonderfulness of the digital world...that lets photographers take amazing pictures and edit them ect...it also means that those of us getting the pictures want to put them on Facebook, blogs, email them to family. For me at least it is less about printing (I don't print pictures, if I want a printed picture I buy it right then) but my family on the other side of the coast wants to see the picture but not buy the picture. I would love it if I could get a cd of the pictures that I paid for that were sized and quality only for the internet...and copyright that states it only for that...but that's just me. This is coming from someone who has had 3 professional photography sessions that had cd options after purchase of x number of pictures and I have never actually printed from those CD's just used them to blog and facebook. Edited October 20, 2011 by Murmer spelling fixes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyR Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 His reply: Cost is not a factor here, pricing will be good. Need to know what sizes you want?Could it be that he wants you to tell him the sizes you might be interested in so he can get back to you with those specific prices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Regarding CD's of pictures - because of the wonderfulness of the digital world...that lets photographers take amazing pictures and edit them ect...it also means that those of us getting the pictures want to put them on Facebook, blogs, email them to family. For me at least it is less about printing (I don't print pictures, if I want a printed picture I buy it right then) but my family on the other side of the coast wants to see the picture but not buy the picture. I would love it if I could get a cd of the pictures that I paid for that were sized and quality only for the internet...and copyright that states it only for that...but that's just me. This is coming from someone who has had 3 professional photography sessions that had cd options after purchase of x number of pictures and I have never actually printed from those CD's just used them to blog and facebook. I think more and more photographers are starting to offer this. I know I have at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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