People often wonder what goes into the cost of hiring a photographer to do what I do. They tend to try to compare the cost of custom photography to that of say, Sears, JC Penney, Walmart or “The Picture People”. It’s easy to do, these places are constantly filling your mailbox with ads for cheap prints and free sessions.
“What’s the big deal” you think. “She’s got a camera, all she’s got to do is take an hour, shoot a few photos, and take them to CVS and give them to me”. Should be cheaper than Sears, right?
Well, not exactly. The best way I can explain this is to say that photography is a lot like hamburgers. “Hamburgers?” you say? Yes, hamburgers. Just stick with me…
So lets say you’re jonesing for a hamburger. You could walk down the block to McDonald’s for a straight up, run of the mill, McDonald’s hamburger. To their credit, McDonald’s has this down. They take a thawed, cookie-cutter beef patty, throw it on a special grill that cooks both side for exactly 45 seconds, pop it in a bun, squirt it with ketchup and mustard, slap on 2 pickles and toss it in the warmer. McDonald’s burgers always taste exactly the same. It’s by design. They’ve made billions of them EXACTLY the same way. You know what you are getting and you are fine with it.
Lets say you have another option. There is a local chef who happens to make the MEANEST burger around. He shops all the stores in town to find the finest meat and ingredients available. He’s strives to make your perfect burger. Love chipotle, avocado and bananas? You got it!!! Based on years of practice, he’s developed the perfect seasoning combination to send you to mouthwatering burger heaven. He takes his time to hand form the beef patty and artfully sears each side on the grill for just the right amount of time to lock in all of the juices and tastiness. You take one bite and know that you will remember this burger for as long as you live. Did it cost more? You bet it did.
If you are still with me, bless you.
As you may have guessed by now, the mall photographers are McDonald’s. They can keep costs down because they use the same backdrop and pose for you that they have used for the last 1,314 people that walked into the mall. The lighting is the same, the color is the same. Their computers are set to these variables and you get a very consistent result. No artistry or talent necessary. The 17 year old kid (who’s previous job was flipping burgers at McDonald’s) just presses the shutter button. He hits “print” and your treasured family memories pop out of the printer in the back of the store. Don’t believe me? Just go over to your neighbor or aunt’s house. You’re bound to see the exact same photograph and pose only with different people in it.
Now, because you are smart, you’ve already realized that the custom photographer is the chef. There is a lot that goes into making a great photograph that people don’t consider. I will outline the process I use, from session booking through print delivery, to show you exactly what you are getting for your hard-earned dollar:
Location location location: I spend a lot of time scouting unique spots and out of the way places that will provide beautiful light and backdrop to tell a person’s story. Each client has their own unique style and I work to find just the right location to best capture the personality and spirit of the person/people being photographed.
Session time: My typical photo sessions last between 1 and 2 hours. With this type of timeframe, we are not in a hurry or rushing around. It is especially important with kids to allow them to play and just be themselves. Doing this, people are able to relax and I am able to capture the true nature of someone and not just fake smiles and a posed shot. Throughout the session, I am constantly adjusting the settings on my camera to keep up with changing lighting conditions, as well as making adjustments to the shutter speed (to capture movement) and aperture (to dictate how much, or how little, I would like in focus in a specific shot). There is a lot more to it than just hitting the shutter button.
After the session: My work has just begun! For a typical shoot, my editing time is around 4 hours. First, I run through all the images and weed out the obvious non-keepers (blinks, blurry shots, bad lighting, weird facial expressions, etc). Two more rounds of editing later, I have it down to the final group, the absolute best 25-30 images. Each and every one of the final images is brought into Photoshop and tweaked, poked and prodded into perfection. Typical adjustments include color tweaks, exposure and contrast adjustment, and of course I meticulously apply a sprinkle of my own special ingredients that make a photo “mine”. Each image is then saved in 3 different versions. One is saved as-is, just in case the client requests additional tweaking, one is watermarked and sized for web viewing, and one is sized and sharpened for a beautiful print. At long last, the editing is done. Wheew!
Printing: Once a client places an order, I have the images made at a printing house which gives me consistent, fabulous images that are made to last a lifetime. Print quality makes SUCH a difference.
As you may have gathered, this is not a simple process. Point-click-print this is NOT. If only!
Thanks for sticking with me and learning a little more about creative custom portraiture from Brook Rieman Photography!
Now, I’m off to enjoy an avocado-banana-chipotle burger. Veggie burger for me, of course, I’m a vegetarian!
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