Why does photography cost so much?

First of all, let's start off with this topic is controversial.

A photographer's perspective.

When I first started photography professionally, I wanted to be the photographer that everyone can afford. I wanted to be the photographer that didn't charge, “an arm and a leg,” which by the way, is almost as bad as telling your photographer, “Your camera takes good photos.” I was a new photographer, I was building my portfolio and putting my name out there for people to learn about my business and what I can offer.

At first, I didn't know how much truly of an investment it takes to become a photographer. If I listed all of the things I use for photography, you would be truly amazed. All in all, about a $20,000 investment. Borrowing from credit cards and using all of the money I have earned to pay for this new start-up.

I didn't realize how much behind-the-scenes work there was as a photographer. Just to name a few, web designer, bookkeeper, booking clients, back-and-forth communication, hours of editing, social media ideas and posts, and so much more. It started to take over my life.

All of these things were merging into my family time, and I started realizing it isn't fun anymore. I was worried I was going to get burned out in my very first year. It was also becoming an issue in my marriage and my relationship with my children. I had boundaries for my family, but not for my business. When your toddler asks, “Mommy, can you please play with me now” and you tell her, “In a minute,” and you don't realize that you've already said that to her 10 times in one day, for months, it is damaging.

Taking on so many clients, for such an “affordable price” and getting booked so full because everyone loves a good deal, was destroying my life. How can something I am so passionate about be so damaging to the people that I love the most? Because I let it. Because I wanted to be the photographer that everyone can "afford", putting affordability over my family.

Besides all of these things, how do you think photographers get good at what they do? We practice and spend countless hours mastering our skills. We invest in top education courses and training in order to master our skills, develop new skills, and set ourselves apart from other photographers.

As much as I want to be the “affordable” photographer, I would rather be a “valued” photographer. There is a value in what I do. Photography is a specialty, a skill, and an art, one of a kind and worth the investment. Being able to document the most important people and moments of your lives; creating feelings with emotions attached to every image I create is priceless. Photography is an investment and it's worth every penny.

So please be kind and value your photographer.