Hi everyone of you 187 people who have viewed my blog.
Wow has it been awhile! only a little over 2 years. Life has a funny way of effecting you. I would like to think that I have gotten better at the photography, but I also think that I have hit a slump of some kind or a dry spell. Not so much in taking photos, but in having sessions. I seem to fight more and more for having sessions, but everyone wants to save money so they go to someone with less experience and hope they will get those glow-worthy photos. The ones that make you smile and do a little dance inside. The ones that make you radiate happiness when you think of them. That is my hope for every session that I do. Fighting for sessions though is not something I feel comfortable with. I have 3 children, am going to school full-time, and I love what I do. I feel horrid though when someone wants me to accept doing photos for them at rates which I no longer feel are adequate to what I provide.
Let me break it down for you.
I schedule a session with someone.
They want to do a regular family session.
The time I spend for this session:
~First talking about the session~
15-30 minutes ~ gathering information from you, about your family, what you are looking for, who will be in the session, if you have any hobbies, likes/dislikes, if you have any ides, etc.
I spend the evening prepping
~The day/night before~
45 minutes - 1 and a half hours ~ prep time - getting everything ready, props, browsing through my pinterest boards and pinterest in general for ideas. (some times I spend even more time doing this, I want to make sure that I get you those glow worthy photos)
~Day of~
45 minutes - hour and a half ~ for the session itself.
~In the days following the session~
I spend anywhere from 10 - 20 hours editing the photos.
All of that adds up to about 12 hours of work on the short end of the spectrum.
So on a short session at regular rates I make about $12 an hour (which is great!). However, those sessions are few and far between the average tends to be closer to a long processed session with over 20 hours put in on the session it leaves me with less than $7 an hour. Again I love what I get to do. I LOVE IT!
I love my family though as well. I will keep providing the sessions. But I do not think I will be doing so at the lower rates any longer. They take to much time from my family with little return.
This is a passion of mine, I want to share it with the world. So please check out my next post coming soon. Princess Sessions and why I love them so much!
