lindsaytaylorphotography.com

Each week I will be answering a FAQ on the blog.  If you have a question you’d like the answer to please email me through this blog!  Lets get started!

Lets start with a question that everyone wants the answer to:  Why does custom portraiture cost so much?

Whether you are buying a car or a jar of applesauce, everyone wants to know:  what am I paying for?  If you asked me 4 years ago “why do you think photographers cost so much?” I would have said “I have no idea…”  Here is a (not so quick) breakdown of what you are paying for when you hire a custom portrait photographer:

: time.  While (most) photographers love our jobs and feel incredibly lucky to have such a fun job, it is still a job.  It takes time away from our families, and away from our personal lives.  Even though I truly feel like I become friends with each of my clients, I still need to pay my bills and help support my family!  Brevity has never been a strong suit of mine, but I’ll try to be short winded in breaking down what goes into each session:

1) initial emails and phone calls

2) choosing a location and talking wardrobe

3) cleaning and prepping equipment, shopping for props, prepping props, packing the car.

4) driving to the session

5) session

6) driving home from session

7) uploading photos

choosing just the most perfect images that capture you and your loved ones

9) processing your images- it is a misconception that digital files do not need to be “processed”.  It isn’t done in a dark room anymore, but it is still around! 

10) retouching and enhancing images by hand.

11) blog preview written and posted

12) files prepped and ready for web viewing

13) gallery uploaded and sent to client

14) ordering session

15) order processed and files readied for printing

16) order placed

17) order received and packaged

18) order dropped off or shipped

All in all this can easily equal 30-40 hours of work, most of it behind the scenes.  That is a full week! 

: quality.  I pride myself on staying current with the best equipment, the best software, using the best labs and vendors and offering you the latest products available.  You can always rest assured that if it comes from Lindsay Taylor Photography, you are getting the best product that I can find.

:  experience.  When you hire a custom photographer you are not shopping for the same service you get at a chain studio.  Imagine the difference between shopping at a department store and a boutique:  your questions will be answered, your concerns regarded and you know that your session is unique and is capturing your children and who they are; not just what they look like.  To me, this is one of the most important parts of this whole equation.  When you purchase a piece from Lindsay Taylor Photography, you are purchasing a representation of your family and its dynamic.  You are preserving a piece of your history for generations to enjoy.  Do you ever look at your grandparents photo albums and imagine what it was like to live their life?  You are doing this for *your* children and grandchildren when you hire a photographer! 

I know that in this economy each of your family’s dollars is more precious than the next.  My own family has not been exempt from feeling its effects!  When you commission me to make portraits of your loved ones I take the task very seriously and you can be assured that the investment will be one you cherish for years to come.