Understanding (MY) Photography
I had a discussion with someone recently about photography and the cost. From the comments they received from others, it’s clear that people have an interesting perspective about photography–for one, they feel they are being scammed. I’ll keep my thoughts on some of this to myself, but I personally feel like there is a divide between consumers and photographers especially when it comes to unedited images.
As far as unedited images, the vast majority of photographers are not giving them to you, especially not the photographers who have a defined style. And when I say unedited in this case, I mean the RAW file. Typically, the “unedited” images you receive in a viewing gallery are not the RAW files.
Let’s take these two images for example. The ones on the left are the “unedited” images. Well, the starting point. The left image on the bottom is semi-edited. It’s not the raw photo (because I can’t find it, leave me alone).
The one on the right is the final edited product. And there’s someone out there going “I like the unedited better,” Good for you, unless you’re me or the client, nobody cares if you like it or not honestly. But anyway, the images on the right and images like it, are the images that made someone go “Oh, I want to work with you.” That’s what they expect to receive back, not the image on the left. And that’s not to say it’s a bad image, the fact just is, that’s not the image that I’ve promoted myself on.
The raw images are not what you are paying for. Most times, this is clearly stated. Also, when you see “blah blah package, $$$ 8 edited images” That’s the gist of it. You’re literally paying for 8 edited images, nothing more unless you pay for extra edited images. “Why can’t I just have all the images?” Pay for them. That’s the short version. And it’ll be quite the pretty penny, but the package you paid for only comes with 8 edited ones.
I can’t speak for all photographers, but for me, long gone are the days of shooting thousands of images in one shoot. Let’s be honest, NOBODY is using all of them. They’re going in the trash after. Even if you, as a client, received all, you would not use them. You are 99.9% of the time, going to use only the edited images. It’s almost conditioned at this point. You do not want to share a “bad” image. I’m not talking about skin or weight issues. I’m talking about that weird wonky eye because you blinked mid-way through, hair out of place landing in your mouth, arm bent strangely. Those photos? You’re not using them and you know you’re not. So why would you want them? For me, you’ll never see them to begin with. So you have a small gallery to go through. I don’t overshoot anymore to avoid all of this headache. Less photos for me to go through, less images for you to hound me about trying to photoshop and less images for you to cry about wanting back because you genuinely don’t want them.
But for those who show you all 9999 photos, it’s a conversation you can probably have with the photographer before a shoot. But seriously, If you just wanted basic images, why did you hire a professional photographer? Surely, that’s not what brought you to the photographer’s page. Usually, you’ll the see the unedited images when you’re selecting the ones you want edited. I think that it would benefit most of us to be honest with ourselves about why you would think you’re going to get 100 magazine quality photos for $150 in this economy.
“We all feel like we should be paid what we're worth until the time comes for us to be the ones paying someone else.”
Of course, this is the general rule, and not everyone adheres to it. There are photographers that will happily give you everything back for $150 including the edits. Whatever their reason is for doing that, I could hypothesize, but it's not my business. That's what they've chosen to do. And, when it comes down to it, their existence is what leads me to the overreaching point I'm going to make--Go to them if that's what you're looking for.
See, I'm not personally offended when folks talk about the expense of photography. Professional Photography is a luxury, you don't need it. Most people own a cell phone, you can take your own photos. Cheap cameras are still a thing, you can purchase one and take your own photos. You don't need a professional photographer. But with that said, if you do decide you want one, it's rude to fight them on their price. Their price is just that, their price. The world of photography has expanded so much that you can sneeze and find another photographer. If their price does not match what you feel you're getting, find someone else. It's really not that difficult. This is a rule I follow. If it's not for me, I can simply go somewhere else instead of foaming at the mouth about it.
I think some people see the price of photography and assume that these people are out here making a killing, and I won't lie that some even promote it like they do. However, that is not the reality of many. Some photographers may get a booking every single day, others may see a booking once every month or every other month. At some point, both of these may go through a period where they aren't booked at all for months on end, maybe not even in a year.
Not every shoot you see from a photographer is a paid shoot. A lot are personal projects or collaborations. They'll come out of pocket for these and probably never see a return on it. You may see photographers shooting with companies and government agencies, and all they get is the promise of exposure, but no money because "we didn't have a budget for photography, but hoped you'd like to give back to the community." Some people say yes, others say no, and the ones who say no often find themselves never on the radar of these people again because they won't work for free.
“As a photographer, you'll soon find a lot of people like your work...until they have to pay for it.”
I think I've rambled enough.
If you've made it this far, I've re-opened my print shop! Share with a friend or a business or anyone/thing looking to add a little pizazz to their space.
Tata for now! Also, don't forget to read "A Feral Affair!" Leave a review if you do <3
