lynn Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 My friend had beautiful mother daughter portraits taken and I looked into the photographer she used to see her other work and pricing. $40 sitting fee (which is expected) location fee if any (I'm okay with this) Required purchase: ( :confused1: ) $50 CD or $75 in photos Required purchase, really? Something about the wording annoys me I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I've seen lots of variation with photographers, so doesn't seem too strange to me especially considering the low sitting fee. I would imagine if you really hate all the photos, you wouldn't have to buy any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I would imagine that is someone that has been burned before. I can see people wanting to do a full shoot and then hoping to get proofs or not buying enough to cover the photographer's time and expenses. I would not be annoyed by the wording from a professional photographer. I would plan to spend at least that much if I chose an individual. If I wanted a smaller package or just some cheap photos, I'd use a retail outlet like Sears or JCP. But I would also expect lesser quality from those places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Most photographers have a package deal- sitting fee and so many photographs. I don't know of any that just do a sitting fee w/out photos included. FWIW- those prices are cheap! And if you get the CD, you can get as moany photos as you want, in the sizes you want. One of my good friends is a photographer, and I think her CD alone is $200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnIslandGirl Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 You are lucky to be getting out so cheap! Our favorite studio ( http://www.heidihope.com/blog/ ) updated their website recently with this gem... "Please note that due to our current high demand, there is a minimum $500 investment after all portrait sessions." If you have the time to check out some of her galleries, especially her newborn and baby sections... they are adorable! Pictures are one thing that you can never capture that moment in time again. If you find a wonderful photographer that you click with, it is definitely worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I'd take that deal in a heartbeat! Pricing varies widely. I like how they broke down the pricing by sitting fee, location fee, and CD OR prints. Probably easier than offering packages- not everyone wants or needs an 8x10, 2 5x7s and 9 wallets... all of the same pose. We really like buying the CD- even Target here charges $150 for the CD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I would hope there is room for a second sitting (free of charge) if the photos aren't good in the eyes of the client. I'd think, I'd rather pay a higher sitting fee, than know I had to purchase stinker pictures. My friend had beautiful mother daughter portraits taken and I looked into the photographer she used to see her other work and pricing. $40 sitting fee (which is expected) location fee if any (I'm okay with this) Required purchase: ( :confused1: ) $50 CD or $75 in photos Required purchase, really? Something about the wording annoys me I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-bex Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 If she's any good, that's a steal. :) Photography is a LOT of work. A lot more than you would think. And expensive for equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 If she's any good, that's a steal. :) Photography is a LOT of work. A lot more than you would think. And expensive for equipment. :iagree: We paid a bunch more for sitting/location ($185) and got to pick out 15 digital proofs from our last sitting. Our photographer is amazing and I would use her again in a minute. She was actually running a special when we got this deal. I will say a couple years ago we paid less. And the quality was MUCH lower. I hardly bought any prints that time. Make sure you see lots of her previous work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 that is amazingly cheap if they are any good. $50 for a CD is a great price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 That looks very reasonable to me. Why do a sitting if you don't want to purchase some photographs???? That sitting fee is very cheap. That used to be what people charged around here, but they are now in the $75 - $125 range now. I just paid $200 for our CD from our Christmas photos, plus $75 sitting fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morningxmorning Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 If her work is good, go for it. I'm embarrassed to share how much I paid for the last set of professional photos I had taken of my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 That is really cheap. I'm about to shell out $700 for newborn photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehp Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 That is a very cheap sitting fee! I would be sure this is a good photographer and not just someone with mad Photoshop skillz. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 That price is horrifically low, and that photographer is damaging the professional photography profession by undercutting the market. I had a required purchase but set it up so it didn't say that. This girl sounds like a novice. That being said, if she's any good, take the deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I think it's poor wording. I'd suggest she have a higher sitting fee and list what photos she is willing to include as part of the package and then give a sheet with the additional photo prices. The sitting fee for the local "really good" photographer is $500 and includes no photos. Photos start at $100 each and range up to $5000 for a large canvas. More typically it's a $250 fee with 5-10 photos included and additional per photo charges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 That price is horrifically low, and that photographer is damaging the professional photography profession by undercutting the market. I had a required purchase but set it up so it didn't say that. This girl sounds like a novice. That being said, if she's any good, take the deal. Doesn't that depend on the local market? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 It's common, and her prices are very low! Maybe she could word it better: "minimum purchase" instead of "required purchase"? Or set the sitting fee at $100, which includes a $50 credit toward photo purchases? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 My dd recently had her senior pictures done by a 17 year old budding (but good) photographer. She charged $100 for the entire kit and caboodle, including a CD with about 65 pictures on it. We print as we desire, as we "own" the printing rights with the CD. I like the CD option because it allows you to print the photos as you have need or want to and also allows you to keep it for printing in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 My dh does his sessions for free, but if you want the disc, you have to spend a minimum of $500, then the disc is $500. His most popular bundle is $1,100 for the disc, a 20x30 canvas, 2 8x10's, and it seems like there might be something else. You can come and not buy anything, but those are his terms. ETA: I remember, it's a 10X10 album also included. I talked to him, $800 for the images (flash drive), no minimum purchase to get the flash drive, good to see that I know the inner workings of his business so well. He also said it's just her wording is bad (and her disc price is far too low). When he quotes for rehearsal dinners he always tells them 2 or 4 hours plus images are $x altogether.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I'm a photography enthusiast and not professional. Those fees sound like someone who is somewhat new to photography--or at least new to charging for it. Doesn't mean the pictures will be bad, but it sounds like she's still gaining experience. Most people have no clue how much photography equipment costs or the hours upon hours it takes to process the pictures. Last year I took a picture every day and then wrote a blog about it. So, everywhere I went I always had my camera with me. The camera body and kit lens were $760, the zoom lens was $350, the flash was $250. So in my purse at all times was over $1300 worth of equipment. A non-photographer would have no clue that I was carting around that much money in the form of camera gear, because it doesn't look like much. When you add reflectors and tripods and umbrellas and more flashes and editing software, it's thousands upon thousands of dollars. So, to take the time to take pictures (at least an hour), and then the time to edit the pictures to show the client (a few more hours), plus basic equipment is oodles of money. A person can't put out all that time without some sort of reimbursement. The wording may have been off putting, but I know a few photographers who won't take a job without a guarantee of some sort of payment, hence the required purchase. They get all huffy when people want cheaper prices or don't want to pay a sitting fee. But I think that people honestly doesn't know how expensive the equipment is or how long it takes to make the pictures look great. Sort of like how people don't understand how homeschooling really works until they research it. If you want to be a nice person, you could let her know the wording is off putting. Minimum purchase sounds better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Doesn't that depend on the local market? No, a photographer should never charge that little, for the amount of work and time that goes into professional photography. I'm in Ohio, I never charged below $300 for a cd. Time and money spent setting up a business, paying taxes, buy equipment, and then actually taking the photos, editing them, packaging them, etc. Now if she's not a legitimate business, and shoots with a canon rebel on auto, and burns me straight to the disc, she may make a couple of dollars, but it's not sustainable even under those terms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwin Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 It would make me wonder what inspired her to phrase it that way, but it would certainly not keep me from hiring a good photographer who I could actually afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 I agree those prices are dirt cheap and if they weren't new and portfolio building I would want to know why they were so cheap. They seriously aren't making any money. That cd of images is way too cheap. If she really is good then it would be more normal for all those prices to 5 to 10 times higher.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 I would hope there is room for a second sitting (free of charge) if the photos aren't good in the eyes of the client. I'd think, I'd rather pay a higher sitting fee, than know I had to purchase stinker pictures. If they're not good because the photographer stinks, why would a client want her to do another shoot? If they're not good because the family is funny looking or chose to wear ugly outfits, that's not the photographer's fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 That sounds pretty reasonable. When we got married, 25 years ago, We had a standard fee and then had to buy $450 worth of pictures. (I don't remember the standard fee). He was/is a professional photographer and the pictures were FABULOUS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 It's an excellent price if the work is good! There is no "good price" for crummy work that isn't worth purchasing. So, read the contract carefully. If the photographer keeps your credit card information and will automatically charge you the minimum without something in the contract that says you have to see the work first and be fully satisfied or be given another sitting fee, then I would walk away. I have a friend who contracted with a photographer for senior pictures for her son. He charged her credit card for the sitting fee, cd, and a package without her ever seeing the photos and when she got them, they were atrocious. She hadn't read the fine print. No recourse. It's a wonderful deal so long as it's work you would actually want to keep. It may help if you can get references and see a bunch of this person's work before becoming a client. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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