This is one of my favorite questions to answer. I wish you could join me each and everyday that I’m working, but since that can’t happen I’ll share a bit behind the scenes.
Before we even get to your session we’re spending hours emailing, sometimes FaceTiming, texting, finalizing times and locations, offering input on outfit coordination, scouting locations, and dozens of other things that go into preparing for your session. Then your special day arrives, and I’ll travel to your home or other location, spend time with you and your family documenting every second of our time together, then travel all the way back to my home to spend a few more hours backing up all of your images. After your day, I’m spending hours and hours and hours culling, editing, sharing sneak peeks, finishing your full gallery and creating a slideshow all before I’m finally ready to send the competed gallery to you. You might think my work is completed, but NOPE! – there’s still more to do! I’m helping with printing, designing an album, usually making sure your parents and grandparents know how to download the images too, plus so much more. So really, there is no end. I’m always available and working hard for you and each one of my families AND their extended families too. Not to mention the usual things that go along with running your own business like insurance for my gear, all the software, the fact that I have two kiddos, the usual costs of living, and a million other things (because I’m a real human too). So there you have it – why I’m priced like I am.
On a final note, I genuinely do give a crap about you. I didn’t choose this career because I wanted to be a millionaire. Far from it actually. I wanted to be someone that families could come to and count on for great photos of themselves. I’m the person who spent hours learning about child development just to have an even better understanding of what to expect from children of all ages (read as: actually not expecting things from them because children aren’t robots), and working to create a joyful experience for all. I wanted to talk with your mom on the phone afterwards and walk her through how to download the photos or order some prints. I know I can give you some incredible photos, that’s what my photography degree was for. I choose everyday to invest in you, your story, and your legacy because I care about you.
