Portrait Session Pricing

Being in photography for many years, I have come to realize that it entails more than just pushing a button on the camera. There is so much more to it than that!

Learning: I have spent many hours learning posing, learning lighting, what systems work, how the camera works to achieve the look that I want and learning editing techniques (and continuing to do so!). 

My costs: There is the investment into my equipment - cameras, lights, lenses, etc., props, software which has to be updated, cloud or backup storage for the thousands of images that I store and of course the regular business expenses, such as, insurance, marketing and advertising costs, web hosting services, customer management software and others. (Quick Math - as with any business, generally 33% goes to business expenses, 33% goes to taxes and fees, 33% is take home pay. Example - $295 session - 66% = $100.30 as take-home pay.)

My Time:  I may only photograph for an hour, but this does not include the time that I spend looking at every single of the images that I take, make sure that it passes my quality test of eyes being open, no weird hand placements, etc., then edit those that do pass the test which can take anywhere from 10-15 minutes for each image. And then there are those that I will spend even longer on because I want to make those extra special. (Quick math - $295 session = 8 poses. 15 minutes per photo = 2 hours + 1 hour shooting + 1 hour travel or set-up time, + 2 hours uploading, emailing, and probable additional editing, & misc.  Total time = 6 hours minimum. 6 hours x labor cost $25 = $150. $295 - $150 = $145. $145 / 8 = $18 per image.)

Travel/Set-up: Even if I'm photographing you at my home, I have to prepare and arrange the area for photographing, make sure dogs are out of the way, and clean my house.

Future: Taking all of that into consideration, I also need to make sure that I am being a good steward of my time and resources. Being self-employed, I pay out of pocket for health insurance, and I need to make sure that I can put some funds into a retirement fund. 

As a professional, I am here to guide you in choosing the session that works for your family and budget, as a photographer I am here to capture the memories that you will cherish for a lifetime and as a friend, I am here to make you smile!