Saturday, May 31, 2008
9 Months Is Here!
As most of you know I have been taking pictures of Jan since the beginning of her pregnancy - We shot the last session in the nursery... I cannot wait to meet little Ava very soon! Thank you Marcus for putting up with the picture taking! LOL
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Mitchells
Today I got to spend the morning with the Mitchell Family... Rickey, Brandy, Elijah and little Samuel. Great family! It was very nice weather as well... took all sorts of shots. Also took some individual shots 1 Year Old shots of Samuel in his cute adorable outfit! A susccessful day of another beautiful family!!!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Little Gracie
Also this evening, I took some photos of a very adorable little girl... Gracie. She was very adventurous. We took these shots out at Old Salem. She was on the go the entire time - reminded me of my son, if any of you know how he is!!!
She was a lot of fun!!!
She was a lot of fun!!!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A day a Horne Creek...
This morning I ventured out with 3 beautiful girls... Tasha (mom), Treylin and little Astoria... I just had to post these pictures because I just loved them... great kids - I had a lot of fun!!! It was great to see and shoot at a different location!!!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
It's SET UP!!!
It is finally set up - I am accepting credit cards online (w/out having to go through pay pal)
Visa
Mastercard
Discover
American Express
Hope that makes things easier on everyone (and me-LOL)!!!
ALSO check back soon for NEW SPECIALS and my first PACKAGE available!!!
Visa
Mastercard
Discover
American Express
Hope that makes things easier on everyone (and me-LOL)!!!
ALSO check back soon for NEW SPECIALS and my first PACKAGE available!!!
Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?
FYI:
Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?
(This article has been very well received by the photography community, and is now referred to by countless Photography websites, blogs and forums (such as LDPT, ILP and DWF)around the world).
In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?
Here's why...
Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time and expertise. First, let's look at the actual time involved. If you don't read this entire page, at least read this first part.
For a two hour portrait session:
- one hour of travel to and from the session- two hours of shooting
- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive
- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs
- 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order.
Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.
You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.
For an eight hour wedding:
- I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.
Now for the expertise.
Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.
Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.
And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.
Think of it this way - the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional.
What about the cheap studios at the mall?
Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.
The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.
Conclusion
We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
(copied & pasted from http://www.caughtonfilmphoto.com/costofphotography.html)
Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?
(This article has been very well received by the photography community, and is now referred to by countless Photography websites, blogs and forums (such as LDPT, ILP and DWF)around the world).
In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?
Here's why...
Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time and expertise. First, let's look at the actual time involved. If you don't read this entire page, at least read this first part.
For a two hour portrait session:
- one hour of travel to and from the session- two hours of shooting
- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive
- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs
- 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order.
Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.
You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.
For an eight hour wedding:
- I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.
Now for the expertise.
Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.
Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.
And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.
Think of it this way - the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional.
What about the cheap studios at the mall?
Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.
The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.
Conclusion
We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
(copied & pasted from http://www.caughtonfilmphoto.com/costofphotography.html)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Update...
Well - I've been a little slack on posting my most recent sessions... I have been super busy trying to complete editing and proofing online galleries and trying to get in last minute orders before Mother's Day!!! I also am taking a family vacation this week - so it's a little on the crazy side!!!
This past Sunday I had 2 sessions out at Central Park in King. The first one were of Brothers!!! One who is graduating from NC State and we got a few shots of him in his cap and gown... however... trying to get those boys smile I thought was going to be a challenge since of course they did not want their picture taken just like any other guy!!! But it was a success!!! They were great! The sun was very harsh and bright, we probably shot too early in the day...
The 2nd session was with the Pratt Family! They were a lot of fun! I got a lot of them playing around in the field and a lot of little Miss Sophie! They were great as well!!!
I'll post a few of my favorites for that day asap...
This past Sunday I had 2 sessions out at Central Park in King. The first one were of Brothers!!! One who is graduating from NC State and we got a few shots of him in his cap and gown... however... trying to get those boys smile I thought was going to be a challenge since of course they did not want their picture taken just like any other guy!!! But it was a success!!! They were great! The sun was very harsh and bright, we probably shot too early in the day...
The 2nd session was with the Pratt Family! They were a lot of fun! I got a lot of them playing around in the field and a lot of little Miss Sophie! They were great as well!!!
I'll post a few of my favorites for that day asap...
Friday, May 2, 2008
Engagement!
I spent the evening with a couple and their dogs... Katie, Jay... Molly and Owen!!! Super nice people - we were doing their engagement pictures. It is always a weird feeling for others until they get use to having a camera toward them or get use to how I like to take pictures... especially for those who do not like to have their pictures taken! Jay finally opened up and gave me some good shots. The dogs were a cute add - I've never taken animals in photos except for pictures of my own pets --- so that was pretty neat... Thanks Katie & Jay!!!
NEW PRODUCTS!!!
Just thought I would share the new Photo Cards I'll be able to offer!!!
Also - new & improved Photo Books!!!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
It Was a Girls Day!!!
Today I had 2 sessions, with girls! I get excited when I get to take little girl pictures because for so long Railways taken pictures of little boys! It was very exciting! First session was with Miss Emma - beautiful little girl almost about to turn 1!!! We took her shots at her grandma's house which was absolutely beautiful too and perfect for her session!
The 2nd session was with TWINS! Sister of the other Emma (blonde Emma below) Payton & Addison - cutie-pa-tooties!!! It was fun trying to make things work for them, thank goodness for help!!! They were a lot easier than I imagined though! LOL They were a lot of fun to work with!!!
I get so excited and can't wait to get home to get the pictures onto my computer!!! I like to pick a few of my favorites to share right away ---- then I spend the next couple of days going through all of the couple hundred I took!!!
The 2nd session was with TWINS! Sister of the other Emma (blonde Emma below) Payton & Addison - cutie-pa-tooties!!! It was fun trying to make things work for them, thank goodness for help!!! They were a lot easier than I imagined though! LOL They were a lot of fun to work with!!!
I get so excited and can't wait to get home to get the pictures onto my computer!!! I like to pick a few of my favorites to share right away ---- then I spend the next couple of days going through all of the couple hundred I took!!!
I enjoyed these 2 sessions - hope you enjoy their gorgeous faces!!!
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