- Professional photographers are in business. It is vital that business’ earn a profit. Professional photographers make photography their career, and as such dedicate themselves to becoming the best they can be, and share their knowledge with their clientele through the most incredible of images.
- Professional photographers know the benefit of professional equipment and backups for the same. Tens of Thousands of dollars are spent purchasing multiple camera bodies, fast lenses, flash equipment for multiple situations, backdrops, and viable carrying and storage cases. And just when one thinks they have enough, the gear needed to create one special image can be another $5,000.
- Professional photographers continue their education, and learn as much as they can about the business. They join groups like Professional Photographers of America or the National Press Photographers Association. They attend seminars and training with some of the best artists in the industry. Professional Photographers are artists at heart and concentrate greatly on honing their craft.
- Professional photographers don’t just snap a picture, they create a photograph. They understand positioning. They understand lighting. They understand placement. Clients don’t hire a photographer for his/her ability to place a finger on the trigger and snap a picture. Photographers are hired for the years of experience and the training it takes to create the perfect image.
- Professional photographers can spend hours producing one professional photograph. Time can include:
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- creating the marketing
- answering emails and phone calls
- meeting with the client to talk about the event
- setting up for the event
- drive time to and from the event
- time for the actual photographing
- meeting with the client for previews and decisions
- processing the image
- retouching the image
- mounting the image
- framing the image
- packaging the image
- delivering final images
- production work
- follow up work
Add it all up, and you can see why one portrait session may include hours worth of work. It’s impossible to stay in business if you only make a few pennies per client.
- Professional photographers have to be more than great artists. They have to be CEOs and marketers, and bankers, and salespeople, and production workers, and janitors, and buyers, and negotiators, and networkers, and drivers, and organizers…and photographers. That’s a lot of skills for one person to master.
- Professional photographers aren’t clickers and order takers, they provide total customer service. Professionals photograph dozens or even hundreds of clients a year. They understand what looks good, how to put together albums, and how to group multiple photographs together. Their goal is to provide you with what you need and what’s best for you – not just have you sign on the dotted line.
- Professional photographers watch for the newest, most innovative, creative products available. They stay up to date on industry news, and find things that perfectly match their clients taste. They don’t try and fit you into something you don’t like – they find out what you want and search the world over for the perfect things. They are the professional.
- Professional photographers have the knowledge and the skill to make you look your very best. I can buy a hammer for a few dollars at the hardware store. Yet I spent hundreds of dollars for a handyman to repair my deck. I can buy a needle and thread for a few dollars at the fabric store. Yet I spent over $100 on alterations at a local tailor. It’s not about the tools; it’s about the outcome.
Sure, anyone can buy a camera and take a picture. But they can’t create what a professional photographer can. Picture takers won’t concentrate on expressions. Picture takers won’t advise you on outfits and locations. Picture takers won’t provide 110 percent customer service. You won’t get a professional portrait.
Isn’t it time to see a professional?
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by Christina
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