Understanding Photographer Pricing: Why Their Work Goes Beyond Just the Shoot
When booking a photographer, it’s common to wonder why their rates might seem higher than other tradespeople who attend an event or provide a service for a few hours. After all, plumbers, electricians, and even event coordinators are usually paid by the hour or the day, and once they leave the job, their work is done. For photographers, however, the time spent at the shoot is only the tip of the iceberg—the real work starts afterward in post-production. Here’s why understanding a photographer’s pricing involves appreciating what goes on behind the scenes.
1. The Shoot is Just the Beginning
Photographers invest not only in capturing each frame but also in planning, preparation, and equipment to get those perfect shots. They spend time on pre-production details like coordinating with clients, scouting locations, and understanding the event’s schedule or particular vision. Once they’re on-site, they’re capturing hundreds or even thousands of images, each needing a unique perspective, lighting, and framing. However, once the event or session wraps up, they aren’t closing the book on their workday. Rather, they’re diving into the editing stage, which is the hidden and extensive process behind those polished final images.
2. The Editing Process: Where the Magic Happens
The reality is, the editing process takes far more time than the actual shoot itself. Professional photographers often spend between three and five times the hours spent on the shoot in post-production, carefully selecting and enhancing images to make sure they reflect their clients’ vision. This stage requires advanced software, artistic skill, and a keen eye for detail. From correcting colours, adjusting light balance, removing imperfections, to adding creative effects, photographers transform raw images into art.
Imagine a wedding photographer who spends 8 hours capturing a wedding; they might spend 24 hours editing and curating the best images to ensure each one tells the story of the day. This editing time is often invisible to clients but essential to the quality and professionalism they expect.
The Chase, Dark Destroyer Shaun Wallace, at launch event, jan 2024 3. Investing in Top-Tier Equipment and Software
Unlike other professions that can be done with basic tools, photography requires substantial investment in high-quality equipment, and this cost goes beyond cameras. Lenses, lighting equipment, memory storage, and editing software are crucial and costly parts of their toolkit. Additionally, photographers often need to replace or repair equipment to keep up with evolving technology, and those expenses are reflected in their pricing.
Editing software and tools like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are also costly, and proficiency with these tools takes years to develop. Photographers invest time and money into mastering their craft, ensuring that clients receive a professional product that they couldn’t replicate on their own.
4. Building a Sustainable Business Model
Professional photographers are also small business owners, and like any other business, they have overhead costs, including marketing, insurance, taxes, website maintenance, and continuing education. Many clients only see the shoot itself and might not consider the unseen elements required to make a business sustainable. By charging rates that reflect their expertise, time, and investment, photographers ensure they can continue to provide quality work for years to come.
5. Delivering a Unique, Personalized Product
Photography isn’t just about clicking a button—it’s an art form. Each photographer has a unique style, perspective, and approach to storytelling. Clients are paying for this creative expertise, along with the ability to capture and convey emotions, moments, and memories in ways that will last a lifetime. Unlike other trades, a photographer’s job is to create a timeless product that clients can cherish, which requires meticulous attention to detail, creativity, and dedication.
The Jackson’s formerly the Jackson 5. 6. Time and Skill: Why Photography Isn’t Just an Hourly Service
Photographers price their work not only on hours spent at the shoot but also on the cumulative time and skill required to create an exceptional product. While an 8-hour event may seem like a one-day job, in reality, that event can involve up to a week or more of preparation, editing, and delivery. Their pricing reflects this commitment to quality, not just an hourly wage.
In Conclusion
Photography is an art that takes time, skill, and commitment well beyond the hours spent on location. When clients invest in a professional photographer, they’re investing in not just a service but a creative process that results in a unique product tailored just for them. By recognizing the full scope of a photographer’s work, clients can better appreciate the value they’re receiving—memories crafted with expertise, care, and dedication, ready to be cherished for a lifetime.
Creating an Authentic Analogue Film Look Using Digital Cameras
As someone who fell in love with photography through using original film cameras, where I would develop the film myself, I cherish the organic, nostalgic qualities of analogue photography. Today, I shoot primarily with modern digital cameras from Canon, Panasonic, and Fuji—the three systems that form the backbone of my professional photography work. Despite the digital age, I always strive to recreate that cherished film look, blending the best of both worlds.
With my Fuji cameras, for instance, I often create my own film recipes or use the excellent resources at Fuji X Weekly. However, with AI being the current hot topic, I recently decided to experiment and let AI craft a nostalgic film recipe for me. This was the result . Not bad to be fair…
The Process of Creating a Film Look
To emulate the distinctive characteristics of analogue film, I focus on several key elements:
1. Colour Grading
- Film has a unique colour palette, often warmer or cooler depending on the type of film used. With digital cameras, I replicate this by adjusting the white balance, tweaking the hue and saturation, and sometimes applying split toning.
- In my Fuji cameras, I start with a base film simulation like “Classic Chrome” or “Astia” and adjust the colours to match the tones of my favourite film stocks.
2. Grain Structure
- One of the hallmarks of film is its grain. Digital sensors are generally too clean, so to add that authentic film grain, I apply a subtle layer of noise in post-processing or use in-camera settings like Fuji’s “Grain Effect”.
- The key is to keep it natural—too much grain can look artificial, so I aim for a balanced texture that mimics the organic randomness of film grain.
3. Dynamic Range and Contrast
- Film typically has a softer contrast and a wider dynamic range, especially in highlights. I often lower the contrast slightly and use a gentle curve to ensure the shadows and highlights have that smooth, natural transition characteristic of film.
- In-camera, I adjust the “Dynamic Range” setting on my Fuji cameras, usually setting it to DR200 or DR400, to preserve highlights and maintain a balanced look.
4. Lens Selection
- Vintage lenses can help achieve an analogue look due to their imperfections and unique character. I sometimes pair my digital cameras with old manual lenses, which introduce a bit of flare, softness, and unique bokeh, adding to the film-like aesthetic.
Experimenting with AI for Film Recipes
Given the rise of AI in photography, I decided to experiment by letting AI assist in creating a film recipe. AI tools can analyze film images and suggest settings that replicate the look. For example, using AI-powered software like RNI Films or VSCO, I can create custom profiles that emulate classic film stocks such as Kodak Portra or Fujifilm Pro 400H.
The AI approach offers a fresh perspective, suggesting tweaks I might not have considered. It allows for a blend of automated creativity and manual refinement, making it easier to achieve a consistent film look across different shoots.
Conclusion: The Best of Both Worlds
By combining the precision of digital cameras with the aesthetic qualities of film, it’s possible to create images that carry the warmth and character of analogue photography. Whether through manually crafted film recipes or AI-assisted techniques, the goal remains the same: to evoke the nostalgic beauty of film in a digital world. With these methods, every shot becomes a journey back to the golden age of photography, while still benefiting from the conveniences of modern technology.
You often get what you pay for with Wedding Photography
There seems to be tendency amongst certain potential clients to always go for the cheapest option. As if the lowest price is all that matters, when it comes to hiring a photographer or videographer .
To be honest these aren’t the sorts of clients we like to take on, because they tend to have zero appreciation for the work, passion and dedication involved in good photography or film making . And to make matters worse, they also tend to be the most problematic too.
Unfortunately some unscrupulous suppliers can take advantage of people with this race to the bottom mindset, with some suppliers quoting a ridiculously low price, which gets them hired, but they then use this booking as a back up plan, just in case nothing else comes through on that particular date. If something subsequently comes through with a more realistic price, they then leave the first client in the lurch, looking for new supplier at the last minute.
Another thing to look out for is this example given by a bride to be from London
“The person we chose at first turned out to be fraud … website was built from stolen photographs, when I asked them they changed their name and took down the website … came up with an excuse they are going to travel abroad for person emergency .. I try to be very open and transparent in the way I work at my job and things like this always manage to amaze me. ”
Photography & Videography
