"The Blog"

RANT ALERT!!!!! I have just had a phone call from a prospective customer enquiry about the cost for a few “beauty shots”, I got a whole run down on how she was an aspiring actress and had seen some of my work and looooooved it, and how she wanted both full length shots and a few different styles of head shots. So I wasted 5 mins of my precious time (seriously you wanna see the state of my house), selling my services.

I presumed price was not the issue as the aforementioned customer was going on about how good my work was and how she loved my style and how image was so important (seriously you wanna see the state of my house). So while trying to load the dishwasher and trying to sell to this…… this…. lovely person, I agreed and told her what a wonderful portrait she would have from her session. I was foolish enough to even start to get excited about the shoot (I looooove doing portraits on a one to one) and mentioned getting Ramona to do her make up (Ramonas uses fantastic make up that allows the studio light to enhance and soften the skin…… seriously its great), when the brakes went on and the sirens sounded…………. “How much would Ramona cost?” asked Elizabeth Tailor. “£30” I grunted (still working at the dishwasher), perfectly reasonable for a make up artist of her standard and almost essential for an image conscious actress who loves my work. I was starting to want to smash plates in my dishwasher (and not because of the state of my house). NO, she could do her own make up, £30 was out of her price bracket (????? not very image conscious now are you??) so I quickly piped up that my services would start at £50.

I should admit at this point that the alarms bells had rung, the kitchen was still like a bomb site and I dearly wanted to get this clearly un-image conscious bargain hunting “actress” off my very outdated phone. “No” she said “I don’t think you understand me, I will be passing these images to a lot of people and you will get a lot of referrals if the job is good”……. That was it….. the dishwasher got it, I took a deep breath and replied “I really don’t think any professional would provide such service for any less” (I will not even mention what was going on in my head) do you know what she said????? do you really want to know what she said????? “Well I have had offers from other photographers who WANT to do it for free”………………. well the aforementioned photographer probably rides round on a unicorn, sleeps on a rainbow and drinks fairy water, so grab them with both hands and get them to take your bloody photos woman!!! (obviously I said this into myself). “wow, thats a great deal, I would take that if I were you. Good luck with the auditions”……………arrrgggghhhhhh.

Now, lets change the conversation a little, lets just say I received phone call from a polite young lady, who asked me straight off if I would be interested in doing a sitting for free?? I would have politely refused and maybe gave a little advice on how to get a portrait done for free (go see the dude on the unicorn). But don’t phone me, give me a list of demands and then tell me you have absolutely no intention of paying. Try that out in Tescos!!!!!

Now, you want to know why I charge don’t you???? Well here is the simple answer. It costs ME £50 to get a client to my studio!!! don’t believe me, then lets break it down.

My training – I have and continue to train to keep ahead
My studio – you know the score
My advertising – Bridal Fayres etc etc
My printing – you are gonna want something to put on your wall…. that brings me to
My Framing
My very impressive camera (which needs constantly updated… similar to an iPhone)
My computer (see above)
My back up (because you know you are going to want another copy of that photo 2 years down the line)
My studio lights (I must have you looking good)
Professional Bodies and qualifications (believe me it costs a fortune to hang those certificates and awards)
My insurance (didn’t think of that one with Mr Unicorn did ya???)

The list goes on and on and as every business owner knows, you are lucky to get paid the minimum wage for the amount of work you put in. I KNOW that there are a lot of other cheaper photographers out there, but they are just starting up, or have bought a camera and want to get a feel for the professional side of things. They don’t have insurance, they don’t belong to any professional body and the chances are they are either a camera enthusiast with little or no people skills, or they are a friendly person with little or no photographic skills. I admire these people and even encourage them to pursue their passions, because sooner or later, they are either going to fall by the wayside as they realise that brides are demanding and two years olds never sit still, or they are going to come a true professional, get training, join a professional body and get all the necessary accessories to ensure that they are good at their job, and of course put their prices up.

I am fortunate enough to work at a job I truly love and time wasters are honestly few and far between. But it is important to bear in mind that a true professional doesn’t get there overnight, they have experience, a passion for their work, they never stop learning and most importantly they have a back up plan (and insurance) and that comes at a cost.

So go ahead and hire Mr Unicorn, but be warned (and don’t drink the fairy juice).