The photography industry has changed completely over the last 20 years
Tonight, we showed beautiful portraits to a self proclaimed millennial, (who had won a charity session we donated), who had to wrap it around her head that she has to pay for quality portraits created by a professional photographer.
Tonight, I also saw a post in a wedding industry Facebook group where a photographer was warning others about her client who walked out of her house with a disc of images she was selling him at a price of $2 a digital file. She was upset that he not only didn’t pay her for the product when he left with the disc, but he never paid her for the overtime... 🙄...That tells me she doesn’t know how to run her business professionally and she is one of the reasons why we run into clients who don’t understand that there is a difference between our work and the “$2 an image - walk all over me photographer”.
Let me tell you, this industry can be fucked up.
Remember, there are incredible artists who create portraits of you which will become priceless over time.
Printed pieces which won’t get corrupted on a cd or deleted with a push of a button.
Printed pieces that will be enjoyed everyday and into the future even if the electricity is out, or Facebook is down.
You are not paying these artists for a “15 minute mini-session with 16 images included” which you just pull off of their site to do whatever you want...(and you forget the name of the photographer because you never had a connection with them.)
You are paying for the years of experience, education and the passion for how they capture you in a single image. You are paying for all of the behind-the-scenes labor and materials, insurances, and equipment to create the artwork that is signed and framed for you and the future to cherish.
This image below also popped up on my feed tonight, and it was exactly what I have in my head. I am blessed that the majority of our clients get the art of Professional Photography. I hope I can educate those others who think that photographers don’t have to make money and pay bills and make a living like others in other professions. I am blessed to do what I love and luckily I’m hanging in there when it comes to making a living.
Thank you to all you who hire a professional photographer and invest in their art. 💚🙏📸
