The reason that I’m publishing this site even though it’s not ready is because I felt compelled to write the following article and I needed a place to host it.  I knew that I wouldn’t be able to expressing my thoughts and feelings concisely enough for a Facebook status, so it’s going to be my first blog.

I usually don’t voice a public opinion on this topic, but I ran across a status on my news feed tonight that inspired me to put my thoughts down on paper on the keyboard.  Someone had said that they really needed professional portraits taken, but she couldn’t find anyone reasonable…and that maybe she would just get into photography herself because pros charge an arm and a leg (or something to that effect).  She isn’t alone.  This isn’t the only time I’ve heard (and read) this complaint.  So this wasn’t written directly to her…but to everyone who has expressed a similar opinion over the years.

From an outsider’s point of view, professional photography is cheap to produce and expensive to purchase.  I’m not much of a writer, but in the next few paragraphs, I’m going to attempt to explain why (in my admittedly biased opinion) I believe this is untrue.

Myth #1:  Professional photography is cheap to produce.

Let me list just SOME expenses related to being a professional photographer:

camera body – $3,300
back-up camera body – $3,300 (pros have one as a spare in case one breaks during a shoot)
2 lenses (at the very minimum) $4,800
Photoshop CS 6 – $700
computer (minimum of 1) – $2,000
other software $1,000
templates to create marketing pieces & products for clients $500
website – $500
memory cards and extra batteries – $300
external hard drives to back up images – $500
studio lights and lighting accessories – $3,000 (at least)
lighting for outdoors – $1,000
pop-up changing room for on-site clothing changes – $100
backgrounds and floors to keep images looking fresh – $5,000 (those things are NOT cheap)
background stands and track system – $500
props to cover seniors, families, newborns, babies, kids – $3,500 (I don’t use nearly as many props as a lot of photographers)
equipment insurance – $500
liability insurance – $500
accountant fees – $500
credit card processing fees – $2,000
professional membership dues – $600
travel to conventions and workshops to keep up my education – $7,500
attending a photography school to learn BASIC photography & photoshop knowledge $40,000
camera bags $500 (talk about overpriced!)
clothes hanging rack for the studio – $50
sample products for clients to view $2,000
physical marketing pieces (and I do VERY LITTLE of this) $500
other marketing including yearbook ads, mall display, t-shirts, etc. $7,000
phone and internet per year (businesses pay more) $1,750
office supplies – $300
projector for sales $1,000
(and I’m sure there are things that I’m not remembering)

Add that up and it comes to $94,700.

YES… NINETY FOUR THOUSAND & SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS

While my photography school expense will never have to be paid again, most of those things listed have to be purchased annually and a few others biannually.  Keep in mind that THIS DOES NOT EVEN INCLUDE: gas for my vehicle, electricity used to run the business at all hours of the day and night, drinks and snacks for clients, toilet paper and other necessities, actually purchasing the images and products from the lab, TAXES (self-employment taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, income taxes), business permits, etc.

Now, if you had to pay over $100,000 (including all expenses) your first year JUST TO GET STARTED in the professional photography industry… could you afford to work for cheap?

Really take some time to think about that.

Now lets think about it some more…

What do you, the reader, think is fair to spend on professional photography?

$50?
You’d have to photograph 2,000 sessions your first year JUST TO BREAK EVEN. That’s approximately 167 sessions PER MONTH.  That’s 42 sessions PER WEEK.  That’s 6 sessions PER DAY – 7 DAYS A WEEK – 365 DAYS PER YEAR (even Christmas).  And remember…that’s only photo shoots!  You’ll need to double that to include your sales session.  AND…that’s just to break even.  You’ve not made a single penny yet.

Ok, let’s say that you think $200 is reasonable.  That’s 500 sessions in that year (just to break even).  This means 42 sessions per month / 11 sessions per week / over 2 sessions per day (shooting 5 days per week).  And don’t forget to double that to take into consideration your sales session appointments!

So now let’s get real because you actually want to make money from photography and not just break even, right?  Let’s say you want to make a modest $40,000 your first year.  To do this, you would need to bring in AT LEAST $100,000 in sales (because you have to pay your labs, you have to pay for packaging, you have to pay taxes – LOTS of taxes).  Now, let’s not forget that $100,000 it cost to start up for that first year.  That’s $200,000 that needs to come your way in your first year.

How many photo shoots will that take?

At $50 a shoot, it would take 4,000 shoots per year.
At $200 a shoot, it would take 1,000 shoots per year.
At $500 per shoot, it would take 400 shoots per year.
At $1,000 per shoot, it would take 200 shoots per year.
At $2,000 per shoot, it would take 100 shoots per year.

Now each shoot takes a minimum of 8-10 hours of work to complete.  You don’t just take pretty pictures for 2 hours then call it done.

Let’s do just a little bit of math again, shall we?

We’ll use that middle example: $500 per shoot @ 400 shoots per year.

If it takes you THE MINIMUM of 8 hours per shoot, that puts you working at least 3,200 hours per year / 67 hours per week / EVERY WEEK (no 2 weeks vacation).  As a comparison, if you worked a 40 hour regular job, you’d work 2,000 hours per year / 40 hours per week / WITH 2 weeks paid vacation.

Again, let that sink in… 67 hours per week for 52 weeks.  Even the week of Christmas, for $40,000 income your first year.

So, does $500 for a photo shoot seem like “an arm and a leg” anymore?

Myth #2:  Professional photography is too expensive.

“Expensive” is very a very relative term.

Would you buy your teenage daughter a $100 pair of Miss Me jeans?  How long will she wear them before she “needs” a new pair?  1 year?

How about a $200 pair of Ugg boots?  Again, she’ll wear them for probably 1 (maybe 2 if you’re lucky) winters before she’s done with them.

And what about your $400 Coach bag?  How long will that last you?

Many of you might say “I would NEVER buy any of that stuff!” and maybe you wouldn’t.  But do you smoke?  How much do you spend on that per year?  Let me guess here… $5 per day = $35 per week = $140 per month = $1,680 per year.

The point is, we all have things that we spend money on that aren’t necessities.  What you need to do is ask yourself “What’s more important?”.  When you’re 90 years old lying on your death bed, what would your rather have?  That Coach bag… or beautiful, professional portraits of your family?  If your house caught on fire (and all your family and pets were safe) what would you want to save?  Your pictures (both prints and digitals) or those jeans and boots?  The latter can be purchased again while the former is priceless.

Let me tell a story from my own life…

When I was 5 years old, my house caught on fire and my mother didn’t survive.  The most valuable memories that I have of her are pictures that my family members gave me of her.  Because of those pictures, I have some memories of her. Like my first day of kindergarten (only a few months before she passed).

When I was 15, my step mother died suddenly of medical complications.  She HATED having her picture taken.   There are barely any snapshots of her where her hand isn’t in front of her face… not to mention professional portraits to help me remember what she looked like.  Sixteen years later, those memories have faded.  As each year goes by, I remember fewer and fewer details about her personal appearance…about our day to day interactions.  We never once had a professional family portrait, which now, I would give anything to have.

Two years ago, when I was 29, my dad died suddenly of a heart attack.  Even though I’m a professional photographer, I realized that I didn’t even have one useable picture of him less than 8 years old to display at his funeral.  However, in 2002 when I was just entering into the photography industry as an assistant, I INSISTED that we have a family portrait taken.  Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy to get myself, my dad, my brother, his fiancé, and his 1 year old daughter all in the same place at the same time.  If I remember correctly, it was a HORRIBLE day.  I drove separately from the rest of my family and they were over 1.5 hours late to the photo shoot….I was pissed, the 1 year old was pissed, my dad was pissed that he had to wear a sweater, my brother was pissed that he spilled a TINY bit of Coke on his jeans, and the photographer (my boss at the time) was pissed that they were 90 minutes late.

BUT… we still did the photo shoot.  I couldn’t afford it.  I put it on a credit card that took me 5 years to pay off.  I was a broke 21 year old college student and the only way I could talk the family into the shoot was to pay for it as their Christmas present.  Because that maxed out my credit card and I had no cash after bills, I couldn’t hang out with my friends for weeks.  I had to miss my favorite band’s concert.  BUT I MADE THE SHOOT HAPPEN ANYWAY.  Little did I know, that would be the very last picture that we all took together (professional or otherwise).  Do I have regrets about missing that concert?  Do I have regrets about not going out with my friends for a few weeks?  Do I have regrets that taking into consideration my credit card interest, I probably paid 3x for those portraits?  Not one tiny little bit.  In fact, I don’t even like that band anymore and I’m no longer friends with those people.  I have no regrets.  What I DO have are some beautiful family portraits.

A year later, I started in photography school.  One week, our assignment was to create a family portrait.  After a LOT of begging and pleading, I convinced my aunt Sonita (my mom’s sister who helped raise me after she died) to get her family together so I could use them as my subject.  She (and the rest of the family) had an endless supply of excuses to not do this.  They were too busy.  They didn’t have anything to wear.  They didn’t like having their picture taken.  They needed to lose some weight first. (Any of this sound familiar?)   But, they hadn’t had family portraits taken in over 15 years, so I finally convinced them that they needed to make time.  I got just a few minutes before the dad was DONE.  I’m telling you…it was like pulling teeth to get this project finished.  As a “thank you” I gave her a framed, mounted wall portrait for Christmas.  She cried.  Hard.  I’m talking what Oprah calls the ugly cry.  She was SO glad that I made them do the photo shoot.  In fact, the whole family was.  Dad even said that he didn’t hate it!  Unfortunately, they never made the time or the investment to have family portraits taken again.  In April of this year, my aunt (who was like my second mom) died unexpectedly at the age of 55.  Even though it was 8 years old and she had 2 more grandchildren after that, there was still a family portrait displayed at her funeral…the same one I gave her for Christmas in 2004.

What would I give today for a professional portrait of my mom as an adult?  What would I give for a professional portrait of my step-mom so I can remember what she looks like?  What would I give for a professional portrait of my dad with his  cute gray beard and gray hair?

The answer:  ANYTHING.

So, let me ask…

Do you still believe that professional portraiture is too expensive?