Why is Professional Photography SO DAMN Expensive?!

“Professional photographers are SO expensive, why would I pay someone hundreds of dollars just for some pictures when I can get my friend Susan to take them with her new iPhone X?” Fair question, cellphone cameras have gotten exponentially better in the last few years so really why should you bother to pay someone like me to take your photos? Alright not going to lie, you guys all really (pleasantly) surprised me when I asked everyone why they thought professional photography was so expensive. I am so happy to have this amazing group of women who seem to really understand and appreciate all the work I put into this photography thing. I almost didn’t even need to write this blog article because you guys almost covered everything I was going to talk about! But there are a couple things that were missed, a few things I’m going to repeat and lots that I’m going to explain more in-depth. Plus you guys seem interested in the “whole behind the scenes” stuff and my reasons for doing things so here’s some more of that!

First we have the basics; all the expenses that everyone knows photographers have: camera, lenses, camera bag, tripod, lighting, and other things you see around the studio that are commonly associated with photography. Obviously these things aren’t cheap, but these are (usually) only one time expenses. Other gear that might not be considered when it comes to photography expenses can include my laptop, extra batteries, chargers, SD cards, flash drives, external hard drives, soft boxes, reflectors, backdrops, and off camera flash. Starting and maintain any small business also comes at a cost. You have to pay to register your business and its name. You also have to buy insurance in case of any potential law suits or to cover any damage or theft that may occur to all the expensive equipment I use on a daily basis. There are also some boudoir specific costs like a bed for the studio; sheets, pillows, lingerie, robes, props, shoes, furniture, extra hair supplies, wall tapestries and other décor. AND there are plenty of other reoccurring costs that photographers incur.Some of my monthly business related expenses include gas and vehicle maintenance so I can continue to go meet with clients for their consultations, business cards, website/domain, Photoshop subscription, workshop subscriptions (so I can continue to learn and become a better photographer for you ladies), and not to mention the cost of advertising and boosting posts, which is a must these days on Facebook. Something you all might not know is Facebook frequently changes their algorithms that directly affect the content that you all see on your news feeds. In the last few months they have made it nearly impossible for small business owners with Facebook pages to be seen by the public. The only way to make my page and posts pop up on your news feed is to pay Facebook. For big companies like McDonald's and Walmart, this is easy; they have HUGE marketing budgets. For small, local businesses like mine, who can’t afford to pay the big price tag when it comes to Facebook advertising, this makes advertising and acquiring new clientele very difficult, which is why I REALLY appreciate referrals and word of mouth advertising from you ladies. PS I’m currently working on a referral program specifically for my VIPs so stay tuned for that! Besides all the monthly and one-time expenses, one of the biggest costs of running my business is my time.Yes, it takes up quite a bit of my time for the pre-session consultations, the actual shoot and the editing. On average I spend about six hours of my time directly focused on a single client’s one hour photo shoot. This includes my time planning, their consultation, the actual photo shoot plus the editing and retouching of their shoot afterwards. However, there is a lot more behind the scenes things that take up my time in running this photography business. What takes up most of my time isn’t even the actual photography side of running this business, it’s everything else. I’m not just a photographer: I’m an advertiser, I’m an accountant, I’m a graphic designer, I’m an editor, I’m a saleswoman, I’m a writer, I’m a social media rep, I’m a student, I’m a comedian (come on, my posts are hilarious), I’m a small business owner!

In order to ensure my business is successful my daily life consists of doing things like Prepping for shoots (researching, Pinterest, practice posing), consultations, answering messages promptly, keeping the VIP group active (2-3 posts a day), keeping my photography page up to date, posting on Instagram, actual time shooting, LOTS more time editing, updating contracts, questionnaires and client lists, keeping track of expenses vs income (SO MANY SPREADSHEETS) , organizing and storing client contracts, backing up client photos, driving places, keeping my studio clean, keeping lingerie and bed sheets hygienic, designing ads for specials, designing logos/branding, and of course, blogging! (But I love rambling about things so this isn’t much of a hardship for me, but I’m also a chronic procrastinator when it comes to writing these things too) So now that I’ve bored you to death with my endless list of expenses and made my job sound like the worst thing in the world, let’s get to WHY I continue pushing through, why I do what I do each and every day and why the investment in a boudoir session is 1000000% worth it! Clearly I have a lot of expenses and I put a lot of time into growing my small business. Some of it isn’t fun, spreadsheets aren’t all that exciting. Keeping, tracking and recording expenses and receipts will be the death of my sometimes unorganized self but it never takes long for me to remember why I do the not-so-fun stuff: I LOVE what I do! The change I’ve been able to see in the clients I’ve had so far is absolutely inspiring. So many women start out so unsure of themselves; they message me and tell me they’d like to book a shoot but they’re so nervous, I do my best to answer their questions and calm their fears. I can already begin to see their comfort level and confidence rise. Flash forward to the pre-session consultation, I can tell they’re nervous, totally understandable; this could be a super awkward experience if you’re not hiring the right photographer! We start with the fun stuff; the questionnaire so I can better understand what kind of expectations each of my clients has for their session. They start to relax a little bit, and then I bore them to death with contracts, reading and writing for a bit. Next, we talk a little more about their session, if they have any ideas for their session, what to wear, how to prepare, all that fun stuff. Once the consultation is over I can usually tell they’re truly looking forward to their upcoming shoot. Their nervousness and self-doubt is slowly starting to turn into excitement and confidence! On the day of their actual photo shoot, most clients are a little nervous to start out. After some time they start to loosen up, have fun and then the inner sexy just comes pouring out! That EXACT moment is what I live for!! Seeing the confidence rise to the surface of a once very self-conscious woman is an indescribable feeling. Seeing their face light up when I show them what they look like from the back of the camera is the greatest thing ever. Sometimes I can’t even tell who’s more excited about how well the shoot is going, me or the client! When their session is over and they head home, still buzzing off their post-shoot confidence high, the first thing I always do is look back over their session in camera and try to contain my excitement until I’m able to start editing them later that night; half the time I have to start editing immediately because I’m just that excited about the session. Their reaction when I post that first sneak-peak and all the positive feedback they receive is always amazing!

I can’t help but feel as though my passion and excitement for what I do is what sets me apart as a photographer. I LOVE what I do! If I could afford to do this for free I absolutely would! However we live in the real world, where I have expenses and bills to pay. If I want to continue doing this, I need to be able to make enough for my business to survive so I can keep making a difference in women’s lives. I do my best to have affordable options for every budget. I (sometimes too) frequently do giveaways to give those who may not be able to afford it otherwise, a chance to potentially alleviate some of that cost. I put a lot of effort into making this kind of life-changing photography accessible to everyone as I truly believe this is an experience EVERY woman NEEDS to have at least once in her life. I know it can seem like a lot of money to spend on “just a few pictures” but it’s SO much more than that! Doing a boudoir shoot with me is an investment in yourself; it’s an experience unlike anything else. It’s liberating, it’s gratifying, it’s WORTH IT! These images are something you are going to look back on for years. Every time you’ll catch yourself smiling as you remember how you felt in that moment and how beautiful you really are. That feeling of self-love and confidence is something you can’t put a price tag on. I know it’s difficult for a lot of women to justify spending this kind of money on themselves but I promise I will make every penny of your investment worth it because you are beautiful and you ARE worth it!