Not All Photography is Created Equal | How is Photography Priced?

I see this question a ton on Facebook in all the location groups and it’s usually coupled with another statement that is a dead give-away that this person has never owned a business, nor do they have any understanding of quality over quantity within the photography world. My goal is to shed a little light on this one.

I have written a bit about this before but even now as some things have changed in our society, there have been many changes within companies, small businesses, prices of groceries, restaurants, and really anything that would give us a sustainable life. All these factors of cost, time, insurance costs, price increases are going to be felt and have an effect on every part of our lives.

Photography can be broken up into many categories by style, skill, technique, customizations, the experience of the photographer, and by genre.

High-end Portrait Photography

Beautifully lit, intentional posing, controlled lighting that shows great detail in expression, eye contact, and connection. Flawless retouching.

Lifestyle Photography image by Beautiful Soul Portraits. Notice the difference between the image above and the image below. Shows connection and personality, generally shot outdoors. Works great for children or pets.

Friends playing together in the park. Lifestyle image.

Each of these categories contain an average number of hours that are put into the session and retouching in order to achieve the final piece of art. Each photographer has their own style which encapsulates their own personal lighting choices, locations, vibe, shooting method, perspective, posed or unposed etc. Every photographer also has a skill level which will be revealed by their expertise, talent, professionalism, and the experience they can offer their clients whether fast-paced quick sessions or longer, more guided, enjoyable and skilled luxury sessions. Whether a photographer is a lifestyle, portrait, fine art, or headshot photographer will also vary depending on their style, time spent on the session, and how polished the final look is. Obviously, a photographer’s style is as unique as a thumb print and cannot be duplicated exactly unless you go to the same artist who has the style you are looking for.

If price is the most imporant criteria to you, then I would lean towards a lifestyle session. This is usually 30 minutes or less at an outdoor location. They are not very guided, it’s pretty much you and your family acting naturally together. There may be a few prompts to give you a guidepost as to how to interract with one another but the facial expressions and body language are very natural and not posed or forced. It’s more of the connection of the family being photographed than their faces like in portrait style. These photos require a lot less retouching due to the faces not being shown up close. Think documentary style for this.

If you desire to have a beautiful traditional portrait of a loved one or your family, think classic portraits. This is a more detailed and fully guided portrait session, usually indoors though not always. The lighting is perfect, highlighting all the most interesting points of the face, the posing is conveying a mood, personality, or some other intent that very much shows the facial details of a person. The retouching process can be quite intense for these portraits depending on your end goal. Fine art will be retouched until the photo resembles that of a painting. A story can also be revealed in these types of photos. All that would be discussed and planned ahead to make this session very specific and goal oriented around the subjects’s hobby, personality, or favorite things. This is character conveyance.

Headshots are generally on the professional or acting side and give literally a chest up presentation of a person’s face. its’ a showcase of what people see the most. It should be clean, well lit, solid colors, and well posed. The retouching for this is also quite intense as clients want imperfections removed and their best self-shinning in the photo.