Senior Pictures: What are you Paying for?
Sometimes when I meet with a prospective senior or their parents, their eyes widen when I explain the cost of a luxury senior picture experience. It’s not cheap, and it can feel like a big expense to many parents who are preparing to send their child off to college, or who are paying for other children to do activities or schooling. So, why do senior pictures cost what they do? I often hear parents say, “It only cost $100 when I was in high school!” or compare the price to a friend or family member who would “do it for free”. Of course, these are much more attractive options, but I wanted to break down just what you are really paying for when you book with me:
TIME:
Besides the actual shoot time, I spend a lot of time preparing for your session. I scout locations, explore current trends and wardrobe ideas for you, study posing and technical details, and prepare my camera and lighting equipment. Although I graduated from the photography program at college, I continually work hard on improving my own personal photography expertise by taking lessons and workshops to always be learning something new. On top of this, every photographer also spends their time running their business, doing bookkeeping, contracts and invoices, and making sure every client receives their prints or products after their session. Your session price is helping cover the time spent to give you the very best experience.
EDIING:
While my photography and lighting techniques ensure that each portrait looks great out of camera, there are still several edits we do to refine the images. Every professional photographer knows that many, many hours are spent editing and proofing your images. We don’t just pull them off the camera and ship them off to you…we carefully review each one for the coloring, posing, and any small fixes that need to be made so that your images are distraction-free and beautiful. We also curate the very best ones to show you when we do your big reveal, and help you choose how to utilize your photos after the session is over. This process takes many hours and is a very integral part of quality portraiture.
EXPERIENCE:
With over 20 years of professional photography experience under my belt, you can rest easy knowing that the photographer you have chosen has some viable experience. Your senior year only happens once, and you don’t want to look back with regrets that you chose someone without a strong portfolio or experience who subsequently failed to give you quality images. When you book with us, you know that you can feel confident in what you will get as an end result. You can page through my portfolio, blog posts or youtube channel to see the consistency in the editing, the lighting, and styling, so you can make sure that they match the vision. With all the information we provide, there won’t be any unpleasant surprises.
AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE:
I pride myself on treating every client like a loved one or friend; with careful precision and lots of care and attention to detail. While this part of the job can sometimes feel tedious, ultimately, I find a lot of joy in watching clients delight in their photos, and feel as beautiful and confident as I see them when we meet. Whether it’s a last minute smoothing of an outfit, a fixed hair out of place, or helping a client overcome insecurities, I always feel so honored to work with the juniors and seniors that come to me for senior photos.
The cost of senior photos may feel high, but you are paying for more than just the images at the end. You are paying for the peace of mind and the fun that comes with embracing a true professional for the job, rather than placing your big senior shoot in the hands of an amateur. If you have any questions about our a senior session, or what’s included in the Photoumbra experience, please connect with us below!
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