You want how much? For what?

Something to think about...


How much was your wedding dress?  The rental fee for the reception if you had one?  The food?  The invites?  The cake?  The flowers?  The DJ/band?  The shoes?  The tuxes?  The list goes on and on...now take all of these things and think about which one of them you are still using today...hmmmm.


When I started taking pictures...and that's what it was when I started, just taking pictures, I didn't know much about cameras.  I didn't know much about how light affected anything or anyone I was taking pictures of!  I shot for me and only me.  As time went on, I started to learn more.  I bought books and magazines, I read articles online, shot with other photographers, bought software to edit those "pictures", took some classes, bought more things to make better "pictures" etc.


Slowly, my "pictures" started to become actual images.  I went from a film camera to a digital camera.  A Fuji S5200. My first digital.  I bought that specific one for a few reasons.  A long optical zoom and it took regular batteries.  If it ran low on power I could get batteries anywhere and not have to worry.  As time went on, I figured out the things I wish I had on that camera.  The things I liked and disliked.

On to the next digital camera I went, then the next and the next...each time learning about the camera and what it was that I wanted in it.  New cameras, bigger and better lenses with better glass that let more light in with less distortion.  One set of lights like you'd find hanging in a workshop, then some constant running lights with umbrellas to soften the light and create a bigger light source, then a flash and another and another.  Now there are too many cords!  On to a wireless system, etc.  Like the first paragraph, the list goes on and on, but I can take these things out and use them anytime, without fail!  Sure the camera and flashes I have now can create an amazing portrait rather quickly, but can my first point and shoot do the same?  You bet!  It just takes longer and is more of a hassle, but that's part of the learning process.  The digging, the research, the late nights trying to figure out why you get those red eyes whenever you take a picture of someone!!!  (laughing)  I remember being at a party with a friend and she asked me to take a picture of her and her friend.  I took her old point and shoot and shot one picture.  You know what we got...dark black back ground, bright flash in their faces...hideous to say the least.  I asked her to hold on for one second.  I took a small piece of paper from my wallet, put it in front of her camera's flash, tilted it so the flash light would bounce off the card and up to the ceiling.  This created a bigger light source and a much more pleasing photo.  Did it work?  Yup.  Did it look great?  Not really, but it was better than the original.  Next thing you know everyone is pulling out cards and trying it, most covering up the flash completely...it was quite comical.  But that's what you learn over time...


The real point of this post is to direct you to a post that my wife shared with me.  The client just isn't aware of what it is a photographer can do for them, what they have to offer as far as value and how much work it is to get where you are today.  So please take a moment to read this Why Wedding Photographers' Prices are WACK! and let me know your thoughts.  Good, bad, or indifferent.

Something to think about...

Dave