As a Photographer and Videographer, I hear a lot of comments from couples, from guests, from even my friends. Some however, are almost a slap in our face. Yes I just said that! This post is going to be about the brutally honest info of what goes into our job. Because us Photographers and Videographers aren’t charging you just to make a lot of money. Our job is complex and usually by the time it’s done, our Cost Of Doing Business (CODB) outweighs it all.

“How can we cut down the cost?”

“Is that part of your package necessary?”

Or my most recent fav comment … “I don’t mean to insult you but that’s a lot of money for what I want.”

What you want - yes is very important. However, what goes into our job and what we NEED to do it also can’t be pushed aside or your final product will not come out as you see in our portfolio.

Our job doesn’t start when we walk into your sessions/wedding and end when we leave. Our work goes much beyond that, starting from the moment you email us and doesn’t stop until we deliver the final product to you. So factor it all in:

  • The man hours we communicate with you, they add up. It’s time we can’t spend on other tasks.
  • Generally we have another shooter with us, who also deserves to be paid fairly for their time and work.
  • The hours of editing afterwards that needs to be accounted for. This is time we can’t take on other jobs and we still deserve to be paid for it.
  • The price of all our hosting to keep your final product online to share with family and friends.
  • The website of work to look at for you to even consider hiring us for the job.
  • The upkeep of all our gear to do our job.
  • The upkeep and gas for our vehicle to get to each job.
  • This list can goes on and on…
  • Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you all this to complain. I LOVE my job, my career of choice!!! Each day I get to interact with new individuals and share in some of the most precious moments of their life. It warms my heart to be able to capture these memories for each and every one of my clients. I get to work from my own home and be here on days my kids are sick and need me. I can work later when they are asleep to make up for it. I don’t have to sit in rush hour traffic and have horrible road rage. There are many perks.
  • However, my job also takes me away from some of the most previous moments of my own life so I can share in with yours. We miss moments in our children’s life that we will never get back. We come home from shooting, to sit behind our desk for hours and sometimes weeks on end to deliver a final product to you. Which means time away from our loved ones because our job isn’t just from the time we walk out the door til we come back as your regular nine to five is. You get to leave your job behind each night, ours keeps going.
  • So when we give you a price on a package, please remember our CODB financially and personally before you ask for a discount… we can not serve you properly by cutting you a deal. You wouldn’t walk into a grocery store and ask for that milk half price. Nor would you agree to doing work for your job and only be paid for half of it.
  • Now I fully understand that not everyone has the same budget. Most of us are willing to work within your budget and give you less hours while covering the most important parts of the day. Think of it as want over need… Do you need that bigger house that will cost more on every bill just because it’s pretty? Or knowing your can afford xxx amount, you go for a smaller home. We are the same, we get you can’t always afford the biggest package. While it offers more hours and coverage, a lot of times the most important parts can be captured in a smaller window. Let us work with you on your timeline to ensure we capture what matters the most to you.
  • With all that being said, that was not meant to be a poor me post. Every job has it’s pros and cons and I choose to take what comes with being your Photographer or Videographer. It was just to help you understand what goes into our job so we can give you our full, undivided attention. We are here to help! We want to make your day as fun and stress free as possible. We want to provide you with our full attention throughout the whole experience. And I promise you we will be by your side through the whole experience!!!
  • Shauna :)