The Difference

As we enter a  New Year, the time for making resolutions I decided it was time to finally get around to sorting out all of my marketing & pricing structure for 2011.  I always find this very difficult as Photography is a little harder than a lot of things to price correctly, yes you do have some physical goods such as prints, albums etc but you also pay for the Photographers time & talent too ....how do you price that?

So, as I was strolling through my local shopping centre the other day I noticed how many portable photo studios are popping up, I counted 4 just in the shops I went into. They varied in price, but were extremely cheap, one even offering a free photoshoot!  I began to wonder how, with this kind of competition, Photographers like myself can ever compete; that was until I stopped & watched one in action. The lady carrying out the photoshoot, although doing her job as trained I'm sure, showed no particular passion, flair or enjoyment in what she was doing, she did not engage with the child & simply went through a range of poses I expect are carried out with every child that is booked.

I'm sure the parents will love the images, as a parent we love all pictures don't we? Even the bad ones, but I wonder how many people are not aware that a Custom Lifestyle Photographer has so much more to offer than production line poses. Yes you will pay more but what you will receive are memories, frozen in time & I believe you can't put a price on that. Custom lifestyle Photography is a luxury, it requires an investment both financially but also in planning & preparation both on the part of the subjects & the photographer but what you are creating are timeless works of art that will be different from anyone elses image because they will capture who you are, right now & the personalities of your family.

I believe that photographs should tell a story & in order to achieve that the photographer has to get to know your family & what makes you tick. They also have to love what they do & shoot from the heart!

This reminded me of a quote I read on www.professionalchildphotographer.com that says;

"Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle.  To get to point B from A let's face it, even a bus ride would suffice.  If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea.  Custom photography is much the same cup of tea.  It is the Lexus of the photography world.  It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile"  

I'm going to be blogging more about this subject in the future because I believe that there really is no comparison in what a Custom Lifestyle Photographer can offer you in terms of capturing those precious moments. Your images should be about you & who you are not just posed, duplicated images created with no thought or emotion.