A Photo by Ashley: June 2008

Monday, June 30, 2008

Sample of Wall Collage w/ Little Ava

Little Ava

Okay - I was super excited to get a few shots of little Miss Ava the other day...
However, if you have children or have tried to take pictures of newborns (babies too) they are very unpredictable! Just like any newborn she was hungry... sleepy... awake... poopn' and all that good stuff! She is such a little cutie!!!!!!!!! So little and precious!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Just checking in....

Hello out there! I had a little down time, so I thought I would mention the new category under Gallery - Inspire Guide. I love it personally, so I hope you enoy it as well.

Please remember any and all feedback, ideas or requests are important - so please always feel free to drop me a line!

Also - if you wish to be added to my Blog List, just shout at me! I always love checking out other's Blogs!!!

Take care & enjoy your summer!!!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Engagement

Had an Engagement Session yesterday evening out at Old Salem with Ashley & Cory - along with a horse and carriage! That was my first horse and carriage session! They are a cute happy couple getting married this Fall. I will also do Ashley's Bridal Portrait and wedding pictures.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

New Photos Posted Finally!

Okay - I have been super busy with sessions, I am finally getting around to posting a few photos on the site.

I have also posted a new catagory under Gallery - the Photo Cards - love doing those!

This session was fun and I was experimenting as well! It was a T-Ball game... lot of fun - hard to capture the upclose detail I wanted to get, but it was still fun!

This session was very special - She is fighting Cancer... there are no words that can exlain the looks on her face as she walked this trail and garden...

This session was HOT - although it was hot... it was a lot of fun! Little Jackson is a very high spirited little boy, a little joy to photograph!

This session is family - these are my neices that were in town that I finally got a chance to get some photos of - Cadi and little Colbie - beautiful girls!

This family is expecting a new joy... another little boy. I ventured out to their home and got a few family shots as well as maternity shots... great family!

This session was a Father's Day gift - which I thought was sweet! They were a wonderful and fun family! Little Wesley was a trooper for having to wait on me while I found my way around the Garden - I am so glad they took me there! Bog Garden Greensboro, NC - I had never been there, I also found other Gardens walking around too! He was a cutie!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

New Gallery

Just thought that I would post that I have added a new page to the Gallery - "Photo Cards" --- I will have available pre-designed cards and will also take custom made orders as well. The sizes are 4x6 and 5x7. Enjoy...

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Happy Birthday Emma!

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

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.

Shawn, Pamela & Gavin RichterCaught on Film Photography

A Photo by Ashley