As most of you know, I do photography as a hobby, a side job so to speak. It's a passion of mine, and I love to do it, but it's not my first and main job (maybe someday). I teach. Being a teacher is a massive job. People always look dumbfounded when I mention that I literally (if allowed) could stay at school until 8, 9 at night and literally be busy the entire time. Every night. Teaching is so much more than standing in front of 28 kids on a daily basis. It's lesson planning, it's curriculum planning, it's interventions, it's copies and grading and emails to parents. It's an all-consuming love of changing minds and hearts and seeing children grow from the moment they walk in your door in August to the moment they leave it in May/June.
This being said, I am so grateful to be able to do both of my passions in life (I have a ridiculously helpful husband). And I only have all of you to thank (really, thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart), without all of you I wouldn't be able to do photography. Business has definitely soared as of late and it has quickly showed me that it is so much more than just a passion for me now.
So again, that being said, I have thought long and hard about this, but I am making some changes to the way that I set up my clients for photography. These changes, in essence, took effect starting January 1, 2014 and are as such subject to change, but for the time being are in effect.
Changes (A List):
- First and foremost, my pricing has gone up. Now I know that this may turn some of you away, and that's so disheartening to me, but understandable. I have always prided myself on being a photographer who is highly reasonably priced with high quality photography and accessibility; but along with that comes a lot of editing time. I meet with my clients maybe once or twice, but then comes the moment where I get home, and I have to sit down and edit all those beautiful photos. This is a huge task, as I want to present only the best photos to my public as well as my clients. On average it takes me anywhere between 10-15 hours to fully edit a session. While I want to be reasonably priced, I cannot work for free. Therefore my pricing has gone from $50 to $75 for any session. This being said price breakdown for sessions is as follows:
- A 1-2 hour session $75, for each .5 hour it will go up $10.
- Family sessions start at $75 for a family of 4 and will go up $5 extra per member.
- Secondly, I will be instating a contract with each new client. This not only protects your rights, but mine as well. This will include copyright vs. print right clauses and any other small issues that may arise (acts of God, emergencies, etc.)
- Next, is that tricky business of copyright vs. print right that I mentioned. As someone who is still learning the tricks-of-the-trade so to speak, I was prone to making some mistakes. This is a huge one. Those of you who had photos done before September 2013 will be grandfathered in, however, those of you who have had photos done since then will know of this change. Let me explain the difference for those of you who don't know the difference:
- Copyright means that you have full rights to the entirety of your photos, meaning you are free to edit them, change them, claim them.
- Print Right means that you have the right to print the photos as they come to you on the CD I prepare. You do not have the right to edit, change the color, crop, or in any other way adjust them or lay claim to them - if this happens you are committing copyright infringement which is prosecutable.
For those of you who had a shoot after September 2013, this will be on your discs letting print companies know you own the print right to the photos (even Wal-Mart has started cracking down) - Next thing I'd like to mention is a travel/location cost. Time and travel is one of those big expenses (especially with gas prices). If your location is within a 45 mile radius of Tooele City there is no extra cost. But if you want to shoot in 3 different locations, regardless of mileage, that's going to add a cost, to be determined, to your session price. Also, I am willing to travel outside of that radius, but a cost will be added. Again, to be determined upon the distance and whether or not I need to book room & board, etc.
- Lastly, I just want to clarify with everyone my editing time frame. I use a 4-6 week window, and generally end up at the 6 week mark (remember, teacher). This is average for all the photographers that I have ever worked with. If you need your photos sooner we can work out a time frame, but at an additional fee.
Price Breakdown
- Basic Session: 1-2 hours, one main location, 20-30 edited photos on a disc: $75 + $10 per extra .5 hour
- Family Session: 1-2 hours, one main location, 20-30 edited photos on a disc: $75 + $5 each member after first 4. Also, this includes one disc. For extra discs a $20 additional fee will be added.
- Print Right Purchase: All sessions will include a disc with 20-30 of the images that I, as the photographer, find the most appealing, capture the moment, etc. If you would like all of the other images, non-edited that is also a possibility, but will cost $50
- Print Right Choice: If you would like to personally pick the images I edit and put on your disc we can set up an appointment for a $10 fee.
- Copyright Release: This allows you to purchase, outright, all of your photos and do what you would with them. This releases my hold on the copyright and, because of that, comes at a pretty hefty price: $300
- Rush Order: My average editing time frame is 4-6 weeks. If you need photos sooner a rush fee of $25 will be added and could increase depending on the quickness of necessity.
Free Session Contest
Now for the moment most of you have been waiting for! When I asked for you to promote my Facebook page to 75 likes I received overwhelming response and garnered more than 75 (currently we're at 84 likes - I can almost taste 100 - and at that point I have this awesome idea for when we hit 150...and you'll know what that is only when we reach 100 (and yes I already know EXACTLY what I'm doing when we hit that milestone!)!).
The last time I drew for a free photo session and I loved how that turned out. This time I will be giving 2 lucky winners a free sessions! All you need to do is like the link on Facebook. However, if you want to earn more entries, you can leave a comment on this post stating what kind of session you would like and where you would shoot it if you could (remember, within reason). Here's how you get entries:
- Everyone who comments on the blog will get 3 entries, remember you will need to tell me who you are too (can't give points to anonymous people ;) ).
- If you mention the contest to a friend and they mention you as a referral in any form of the contest (blog, Facebook) you will receive an extra entry.
- You can also get 2 entries on Facebook: one for liking the post, one for commenting on the post with what you would want and where.
Now for the part that no one likes but needs to be stated.
Official Rules (and all that other stuff)
- This being a contest, you cannot receive more than the max entries.
- Every person who submits a valid entry will be entered.
- Being a promotional session, you will receive a 1 hour shoot and 10-15 edited images on a disc. If you would like the regular 20-30 it will be at a reduced rate of $20, and $30 for the full disc (that's almost a 50% discount).
- The contest will start on January 25, 2014 and will end on February 15, 2014 at 12 pm mountain time. A winner will be announced by February 20, 2014.
Get going guys! I can't wait to see who wins (I love just getting sessions in!). Also, remember to mention me to any of those cute high school seniors who may need photos done soon - I would love to get some work in (even with the icky weather)! Thanks again :)
