Photo by Annie Spratt

Why do photographers charge so much money (to push a button)?

Every professional photographer has at some point heard at least one of these responses to their price list:

• You charge how much?!?
• What exactly do I get for that?
• I can get an 8×10 at Walmart for $1.50!
• But you just push a button all day!

Why is photography so expensive? Because good photography is not easy.

As a photographer, you get to hear all the time just how expensive photography is.

With technology advancement, cameras are becoming more accessible, user-friendly, and affordable. It’s honestly very easy for anyone to pick up a camera and take a decent photograph.

I mean, look at smartphones these days. Everyone has a camera-enabled device, many would rather use their phones than use the service of a photographer.

However, what many miss out on, is that great photography is an investment. It’s more than just having someone show up with a camera or set up a photography studio.

It’s having someone show up with their years of experience coupled with the ability to create a beautiful work that supersedes the client’s expectation. That’s way more than pushing a button.

Yes, photography is expensive. But, photography is expensive on both ends. Professional photographers don’t really earn $250 an hour for pushing a button. And when you factor in the hidden time and monetary investments, most photographers don’t earn much more than your hairdresser or accountant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,  most earn between $31,710 and $40,280 annually, or $15.24 to $19.37 an hour. Photographers also lose money when people help themselves to their work.

So then, why exactly is photography so expensive? Here’s what you are really getting when you pay for a professional photographer (and what you miss out on when you don’t).

Photography Sessions Are Filled with “Hidden Hours.”

So many factors make photography expensive, but the first of all and surely the most important is that you are paying for the Skills, Knowledge, Education and Experience the photographer possesses.

Taking photos is simple; taking great photos is very difficult. The photographer might make it look so. They might not seem stressed or even act like they are having fun, but don’t confuse expertise with ease. They are not the same thing.

No matter how good the camera, it’s not as easy as pushing the button and letting it do the math for you. Developing a style and doing good work takes years.

When a photographer charges $250 for a one-hour session, they’re not charging $250 an hour. At the very minimum, professional photographers typically spend at least three times that on a session.

While the client may only see the photographer for an hour, there was likely:

Over an hour of planning the shoot + time traveling to the shoot + half an hour to set up the equipment + the actual hour at the shoot + time traveling back + about an hour (or more, depending on how many images were taken) to load and choose the best images + several hours to days to edit the images + an hour to load the images online + an hour to order and deliver the prints.

That one hour session? The photographer probably spent a full eight hour day on (but more likely, days...).

That $250 session, then, becomes roughly $30 an hour, not including expenses (if your photographer only spent around 8 hours working on it).

How much do you pay your hairdresser? Tax guy? Mechanic? It feels easier to justify those expenses because you can see how much work went into the project firsthand. But, when you hire a professional photographer, you only see a small amount of what it actually took to produce those final images.

Photographers don’t get paid for working a traditional 40-hour work-week either....

Photography Gear Is Expensive.

Because of the hidden hours, what seems like $250 an hour is actually only about $30, right? Not so fast.

Photography equipment is downright expensive. For example, let’s take the typical costs for one of the genres of photography that requires the least amount of gear: lifestyle portraits.

The camera costs at least $1,500 for a professional-grade DSLR. Most photographers have a second camera body in case of emergencies. Oh, and those two $1,500 cameras will likely be replaced after about three years because, like any technology, they become outdated pretty quickly.

The camera lens at a minimum costs $350 for a basic lens without zoom (a 50mm f/1.4 is a good portrait lens, which costs about $350). That just allows one perspective, however, so most photographers will have either several prime lenses costing $350-$1,000 each, and/or two zoom lenses covering a range of perspectives costing over $2,000 each. The cheaper lenses will need to be replaced often, while the pricier lenses will, thankfully, outlast those camera bodies.

The camera flash will cost at least $300, and most professional photographers will have more than one.

The smaller, often overlooked expenses add up too. Memory cards ($25-$50), filters (anywhere from $30 to $400), tripod ($200-$1000), batteries ($25-$100), a camera bag (around $200)...the list is long!

The cost of renting or buying a studio space varies based on geographic location—but it’s a safe bet that you can factor in at least several hundred dollars to over a thousand/month for just space, with at least a thousand for lights. That’s not including the backdrop stand, multiple backdrop options, backdrop floors and of course, props. It’s not uncommon for professional photographers to spend half their income on studio expenses and keeping their gear up to date, or a quarter for on-site photographers.

 

Editing photos isn’t cheap either. To keep skin tones from becoming odd colors, professional photographers need a high-end display that will show the image just like it will print out. Most photographers have about $2,000 minimum in computer equipment (including external hard drives to back up those photos), and like cameras, they have to be replaced every few years. Oh, and factor in the $10/month subscription to Photoshop and Lightroom (and/or hundreds more for other software).

Wedding photographers often invest in more gear so they can shoot in any conditions—can you imagine the photographer packing up because they didn’t have the gear to shoot a dimly lit church? The lenses that handle the limited lighting of churches and receptions while still offering zoom flexibility,are at least $2,000. Many wedding photographers hire (i.e. pay for) an assistant and/or a second shooter to ensure all those moments are captured.

Which brings that $30 an hour from the $250 session down to about $15 or $20.

 

 

Photography Is a Small Business.

Besides the expense of actual photography equipment, professional photographers are paying for the same bills that your hairdresser and tax guy pay.

Self-employed taxes and health insurance + liability and gear insurance (often over $500 a year) + utilities—including a faster-than-average internet speed for uploading large image files online + marketing expenses (including the cost of and maintaining a website).

Oh, and like your tax guy, there are often “seasons” for photography. Wedding photographers are busiest during the warmer months, and often book very few, if any, jobs during the winter. Outdoor portrait photographers are also limited by the weather.

The bottom line? The photographer that you thought was making $250/an hour, after expenses probably makes $15/hour.

With all of those expenses in mind, photographers still have to turn a profit.

Many photographers work multiple jobs or work in different genres of photography to make ends meet, and the ones that don’t are charging well above that $250 for a one-hour session.

 

Photography Is More Than Just Pushing a Button.

Sure, you can probably get photos for under that $250 by walking into a chain studio, often located inside a department store. But here’s the thing—I’ve seen the help wanted ads for these types of businesses, and they say no photography experience necessary. What were they looking for in their applications? Marketing experience.

These $50 studios don’t hire professional photographers, they hire people with sales experience and you walk in the door for a $50 special and walk out spending $250 in prints and extras with an up-sell. When you hire a photographer, you hire an artist. Chances are, they’ve spent years perfecting their craft. They’ve invested a lot of money in learning how to take beautiful images, and when you walk in their studio, they’re going to put time and effort into helping you relax and smile—not rushing you through a session and then spending twice as much time convincing you to buy the add-ons.

What about the $50 "pro" photographer that doesn't work for a studio? With all of the above expenses in mind, it would be simply impossible for a professional photographer to run a legal business and still earn a profit pricing their photography at $50, unless the difference was made up in the cost of prints and "up-sells"—which is why it is always important to ask upfront if they are licensed and insured—and what you're actually getting for that $50.

What Happens When You Don’t Hire Professional Photographers?

I believe that everyone should take photos, whether it’s of their own kids growing up or the places they travel too. But, there’s a big difference between a casual snapshot and a professional image.

And the truth is bad photography is more expensive than good photography. Bad photography wastes time, money and memories.

Whether you’re getting pictures of your baby or your wedding, imagine the cost of trying to do that again if you don’t like the photos.

You might be able to have another perfectly peaceful moment with your baby but no one in the history of mankind has spent money redoing their wedding because their photography was lame.

When you hire a professional photographer, you’re getting an artist who knows just how to light the shot, how to pose, how to set up the photo. You’re getting a photograph that, because it was taken with a professional camera and not your smartphone camera, can be reprinted onto a large canvas. And because you hired an artist, you’ll actually want to.

When you hire a professional portrait photographer, you get images that make you feel confident about yourself. When you go to a walk-in chain store instead, you feel rushed and often leave paying more with an upsell anyways.

When you hire a professional product photographer, you get high-end images that will often increase your sales with no other changes. Especially for consumers buying something online that they can’t touch, professional photographs go a long way. When you don’t hire a professional, you get images that are obviously DIY, and you loose sales.

When you hire a professional wedding photographer, you get images that are just as beautiful as the memories you have of that day. When you just let guests take pictures, you end up with dark and blurry photos. I once had a client that decided at the last minute to just let a friend take her images—and she was making selfie facies in her bridal portrait. Everyone starts somewhere, and hiring a new photographer is a good way to save some cash, but be sure to really look at that photographer’s samples, so you don’t end up regretting your choice of photographer.

When you hire a professional real estate photographer, you get photos that bring buyers through the doors. When you use smartphone snapshots for online listings, you get less traffic and often even a lower selling price.

Photography is expensive—but so is not hiring a professional.

Good photography is expensive. It should be—but it’s expensive on both sides. This principle applies to web design, writing, and almost every other field or industry on the planet. Professional photographers spend thousands on gear and expenses, often sacrifice their weekends and spend many more hours than the time you actually see them shooting. It’s easy to look at a photography price spec sheet and picture photographers around the world tucking themselves in at night to Egyptian cotton sheets inside large mansions. But, in reality, much of that cost is going towards expenses (and they’re probably staying up editing those photos anyway).

The next time you question a photographer with their pricing, please keep these things in mind. We’re small business owners with dreams & desires like the rest of you. We love what we do and love our clients. We want to provide incredible memories for years to come.

What do you think? Still, think photography is "just pushing a button?"