For Brides: What Do You Wish Wedding Photographers Knew?

February 8, 2013 •

wedding photographers in utah county I’ve been thinking about you this morning.

You, recently engaged-soon-to-be-married lady.

And as I was thinking about how excited I am about the wonderful things I have to offer you–heirloom images of your favorite people in the world on the best day of your life, the highest quality albums and prints–I was thinking, ‘What is she most excited about for her wedding photos? What does she wish I knew about her wedding day and the products she dreams of having for years after?’

I gotta tell you, I really believe in the outstanding quality of the products and services I offer. That’s why I woke up excited thinkin’ about them! Truth be told I spend my whole life excitedly thinkin’ about them. It’s why I do what I do.

Sometimes I get swept up in the world of wedding photographers and we talk to each other about what we think about weddings and photography. I just wanna go back to the source and talk to you about what you want and need. Not only in terms of products, but also in the experience with your wedding photographer from start to finish.

I’ve written about my experiences as a bride and what they taught me in becoming a wedding photographer, but I’m just one person who got married once.

So I’m hollerin’ out to you. Yes, you, lovely!

I’d love to hear: what do you wish wedding photographers knew?

And you’re qualified to answer even if you’re already married or not engaged yet. If you’re a fellow photographer but also a bride/bride-to-be, you count too!

Fill out the survey and you get a prize: some real-alive snail mail, delivered to your mailbox (remember when we used to do that?), from me.

I’m on a mission to give your mailbox some real TLC–and give you a break from bills and ads for the newest plumber in town. Oooh, it’s gonna be fun!

So pretty please, fill out the survey here (it’ll take you about 10 minutes), and let’s get snail-mail partyin’.

Can’t wait to meet your mailbox!

Mentoring: Getting Your Cute Artistic Business Bum in Gear.

January 29, 2013 •

utah photography mentoring I’m real good at pretending.

Pretending that I absolutely need to spend hours on facebook or blogs for “networking” and “inspiration.” Lately I’ve noticed a huge jump in my productivity just from taking small steps to be accountable to other humans about what I’m doing for my biz. Simply writing “I’ll follow up next Monday” in an email makes me 438 times more likely to do it!

I bet that never happens to you, though. I bet you never find yourself wondering, Where did my morning go? Or finding opportunities have passed that you meant to follow up on, or discovering you never read that magazine article you saved…

As right-brained creatives, it’s easy to get lost in our own swirly, whimsical heads and find, to our dismay, that we haven’t actually done anything about X, Y, or Z that we’ve been thinking about for months. We eat up free business resources, other people’s website critiques, flashy articles about how to attract our target clients or make ten times the money we made last year.

But take a second, and get on the self-awareness boat: how many of those resources, articles, and fancy doodads have you actually implemented? How many times did you actually hustle your buns and DO what that business guru/youtube video/creativelive presenter advised?

Yeah. Me too.

No one was there to ask me if I did, so what did it really matter, right? It feeds our never-ending need to dissect the success of others while simultaneously believing it can’t possibly work for us. She’s successful because she’s prettier/smarter/has been in business longer, we rationalize. If it’s out of our control we can keep throwing ourselves some rockin’ pity parties and not actually get off the couch to do anything.

utah photography blogs This is a big part of the reason why I’m so excited to announce that I’m offering mentoring in 2013. I’m thrilled at the prospect of being the one who keeps you accountable for doing the things you know you need to do to make the art you know you were born to make.

I’m passionate about helping other artists (ah, hey, that’s you!) gain confidence in their artistic decisions and find their voice and vision.

We’ll cut through guilt and “shoulds” to create a business and life you really love.

Together we’ll discover, define, and hone your gifts–so you can see how your unique talents can be used to further your art, creativity, and your life.

I’ve created a curriculum to meet these goals, and I’d be thrilled if you’d come along for the ride.

It’s an investment in yourself, your talent, and your business–a way of validating to yourself and the world that you matter, your business is important, and your art is worthwhile. It is.

I can’t wait to help you reach your artistic and business goals!

The cool thing is: I’m offering mentoring in oodles of forms so you have the chance to get what you really need. Is it a consultation just to talk about what you’re struggling with? A guided shoot to help ease your insecurities about everything from camera settings to posing? A step-by-step discovery of what makes you unique as an artist? Photographers and other creatives alike, get your cute bum in big-bad-business gear and let’s do this thang!

Learn more about all the mentoring options in the pdf here.

P.S. Here’s your challenge: in the next two minutes, make yourself accountable to someone for that thing you’ve been wanting to do–even if it’s as simple as a blog post you’ve been meaning to write. Tell someone you’re gonna do it, and tell her when she can expect it! Shablazam! More productivity.

My Biggest Most Secret Special Offer Ever–For You, M’Love.

January 18, 2013 •

I’ve been cooking up a HUGE special offer for you. It’s so huge, I’m not even worried about hyping it up too much so that when you see it you’re disappointed–it’s that good.

I’ve never done anything like it before and I won’t ever do anything like it again.

It’s a once-in-a-Brooke-Schultz-Photography-lifetime offer–like, for real. Limited time and limited space and a wholllle lotta goodness,

whether you’re a past/present/future client or a fellow photographer/creative. I’ve got something both groups will lovelovelove.

It’s so huge and so wonderful that I can’t just let it be for any old person. Nope, this offer will be absolutely exclusively for email subscribers–Soul Train peeps.

As in, not for Soul Train peeps and their grandmas and best friends and just one of their still-cool ex-bfs. Nope. Only Soul Trainers.

And, whoa, Soul Train subscribers get tons of other perks, exclusive content and exclusive offers–it’s a party for your inbox, totally spam-free and always 100% non-annoying. The other cool thing? You can unsubscribe any time if you’re not feelin’ it. I’m not here to blast you with used-car-salesman-esque “promotions” with hidden costs and secret fine print and other things that will just make you frown and wish you were spooning out your eyeballs.

I’m here to collaborate and connect with people who feel the same way I do about the world, about photographs, about the creative process and about art.

I also need a group to go to first with cool new ideas, from model calls to goodies for creative folks. I want you to be in on it. Also, maybe there’s a little bit of 3rd grader still left over in me who wants to head up a secret elitist club. Uhh. So. Help me live my third-grade dreams, Internet.

Wanna know what this biggest coolest most exclusive special offer is? Hop on the Soul Train by signing up below, and you’ll receive the juicy details of this special offer on a magical day next week.

The Soul Train: Snazzy Tidbits for Creatives + Secret Sales

January 14, 2013 •

photography blogs First, I just want to say THANK YOU and extend a big virtual hug to all of you who supported my scary-juicy post last week. It’s so exhilarating to go out on a limb, assuming you’re the only crazy populating your own personal Planet Psycho, and then: people reach back with the most incredible “hey, me too!’s. Internet lovelies, you give me hope.

And now, I’m officially inviting you to keep the authentic, wild party going with me on The Soul Train, my snappy newsletter that shouldn’t even be called a newsletter because it’s way too much fun for such a borrrring word.

The Soul Train delivers exclusive, fresh content to your inbox, tied with a pretty bow–and you can bet it’s juicy.

It’s full of advice for creatives who want to live wild, wonderful, authentic lives–think quick exercises to get your creativity flowing, tips on unleashing your artistic self, and even how to use that icky tendency to compare yourself to your advantage.

You’ll also be in on fabulous freebies, secret sales, and special offers–which I promise to keep spam-free and 100% non-annoying.

Excited to get down with your soulful self?

Clicky clicky right here, and you’re on the Soul Train!

Ohhh, but wait. I’m feelin’ all sorts of love up in here, so when you sign up for The Soul Train, you’ll automatically receive one of my favorite gems: 5 Minute Exercises to Spark Your Creativity. These exercises are recyclable and reusable, so you’ll be reaping the benefits for like, ever. Can’t wait to see you and your beautiful, authentic self on The Soul Train!

One more hug and happy Monday, pretties.

Want more jazzy tips for creatives? Check out the creativity series.

4 Things I Probably Shouldn’t Tell You

January 11, 2013 •

provo photography I’m constantly striving for authenticity in my life, business, and photography. But today I’m really going out on a limb, and telling you things I probably shouldn’t. It’s unprofessional. It’s mushy. There are no snappy tips or practical advice. But I hope you feel connection in knowing another human feels these things like you have, and that you’ll glean some kernel of wisdom for your own soulful life.

1. For the past seven days, I’ve been an emotional disaster. This morning, I woke up crying and telling my husband that I’m a failure.

Yeah, see. You didn’t want to know that, did you? Did you come here for pretty photos and some generic sentence about how great my life is, about how perfect I am at making dinner and photographing everything and cleaning my gigantic house? It’s not real. In the middle of our cravings for Pinterest-ready perfection, we know it can’t possibly be real. It isn’t real. This is the double-edged part of photography: we can use it either to contrive ‘perfection’ or to celebrate the authentic beauty of imperfection. I, crazily enough, think it’s possible to do both. (Weren’t expecting that, were you?! You were expecting it to be all hippie-let-it-all-hang-out love up in here. Bhah! Let me explain.) You should look better than you’ve ever looked in professional photos. But it should be thanks to the photographer’s artistic genius, her ability to see beauty in you, and your own willingness to be vulnerable and present in the sometimes (okay, pretty much all the times) terrifying experience of being photographed. It’s through that process that we make both stunningly beautiful I-can’t-believe-that’s-me! photos and stunningly beautiful that’s-so-me photos. We human beings are very multifaceted. Photographs have the power to capture all of who we are.

2. I haven’t shaved my legs in weeks.

Even though I wrote to you party animals on The Soul Train about self-care, I’ve been neglecting it myself in a lot of ways. Some days I’d rather keep that extra warm layer than be socially presentable, I guess. And maybe shaving my legs is more a chore than a way to take care of myself, but: self-care isn’t always pleasant or desirable in the moment. Think eating fresh, raw food instead of the 13 cookies your mouth is watering for.

3. I’m going for instant gratification.

I’m reading Danielle LaPorte’s The Firestarter Sessions (so.good.read.it.now.) and she’s got me convinced: Why on earth would we delay gratification on purpose? Now I’m really getting out there. Didn’t I just tell you not to eat those 13 cookies? Here’s the thing. We train ourselves to believe there’s no substitute for hard work, no pain no gain, nothing good comes easily. And lots of times, that’s true. But sometimes it’s not. Sometimes, the easy thing–the thing that’s falling into our laps, the thing that seems to flow naturally–is the best.

So I’m finding ways to say ‘yes’ to myself more often.

Yes, you can start a new pretty journal even if your old one isn’t finished. (Okay, I’m a nerd. Love it or leave it alone.) Yes, you can tweak that recipe even though it might be awful. Yes, you can shower twice in a day if you want to. I’m realizing how many harmless desires I can fulfill–and how many times I am inclined to shut myself down for a hundred unwritten reasons. It’s a practice in nurturing and validating yourself instead of believing that stifling your desires, thoughts, and impulses is the noble, right, and practical thing to do.

4. I am more unsure about the future than I ever have been. Like, in my whole life.

I still know everything will be okay. Or, at least, that’s what I tell myself a hundred times a day. 🙂 But with Baby Girl on her way and a husband in graduate school I wonder how far my free-spirited artistic brain can carry me in a world where cars break down, things cost money, and my mailbox is full of logistics to take care of. I can’t hide behind school anymore. I can’t pretend I have a snazzy foolproof five-year plan. I’m flying by the seat of my pants here, peeps, and the rubber is meeting the road–it’s starting to matter big time. I’m about to be in charge of another human. ………………………. Hey. Thanks for listening. Really. Will you join me out on this crazy limb and give a ‘one thing I probably shouldn’t tell you…’ in the comments? ……………………….. Brooke Schultz is a Provo-based Utah wedding and lifestyle photographer who is passionate about keepin’ it real and taking authentically beautiful photos of soulful people. She finds nerdy pleasure in pretty new journals, inky pens, and musty bookstores. She’s really into glitter and yoga and digging her toes into the mud. She’d also love to photograph your beautiful self–the juicy details of which can be found here.

The Best of 2012

January 3, 2013 •

I can’t believe all that happened in 2012. Graduating from college, becoming pregnant with my first little one, and, of course, photographing so many wonderful people and places. Thank you so much to my dear clients for making 2012 not only possible but incredible.

I’m so excited to share what I’ve got cooking for 2013–lots of personal projects, explorations in creativity, and more! Let’s be friends this year, yes? I’ll be instagrammin (brookeschultz1) facebookin, and tweetin all the goods.

2012, you were wonderful. Love and au revoir to you.

Mini sessions are still available! Document the ones you love this winter in the cozy comfort of your own home and savor the knock-knock jokes, sack lunches, and toys scattered all over the carpet before your babies grow up.

Annnnnnd! If you’re getting married in February or March 2013 the Winter Wedding Sale is for you, m’dear!

9 Tips for New Photographers

July 31, 2012 •

I hate the word “tips.” It implies something you can apply lickety-split and pain-free. But “9 Ideas to Mull Over for New Photographers” just isn’t as snappy. So some of these tips are actually tips–things you can do TODAY to improve your photography. And a lot of them–well, let the mulling begin.

Of course, all of this is born of my personal experience and opinion, so if you’re not feelin’ it no worries. You can write your own. Also, there’s no way I can cover everything I wish I’d known in 9 tips–we’re just getting our feet wet here.

1. Format your memory cards. This was a huge ‘duh’ moment for me, but I didn’t have anyone to tell me to do this for the longest time! Formatting cards ensures that the card you’re using becomes compatible with the current camera, as well as deleting all current photos in one fell swoop so you don’t have to manually do it. Format at least 3 times, just to be safe.

2. Shoot in all kinds of light. People tend to tell new photographers to find ‘good’ light–window light, backlight, shade, etc. But if you’re going to find your own shooting style, you need to experiment. A lot. When you can make beauty in all kinds of light, that’s when you are an artist. Look at (and fall in love with) Fer Juarasti–he shoots in some of the most traditionally horrible light: full sun, uneven light–and he makes magic. Don’t be exclusive and uppity about your lighting preferences yet. Open yourself to a crazy world full of possibility, and you’ll naturally gravitate toward what you love over time.

3. Pick one setup and stick with it for a while. Learning your gear should be the first and fastest thing you do in photography. There’s so much to worry about, and so much more fun to be had–so start with one setup and go with it until you know what to do in any and every situation, no questions asked. I always recommend any DSLR with a 50mm lens. You can pick them up for around $100, and it will amaze you. If you’re serious about photography, nix the kit lens. It’s a pseudo jack of all trades, and it’s definitely the master of none. You can create beauty on any equipment, to be sure–but give yourself a leg up and go with the 50mm.

4. Don’t look at other photographers’ work. Your photography needs to come from you. I started out with literally hundreds of photographers in my feeds–basically whoever was featured on Style Me Pretty that day. Oh my gosh, please, please don’t do this. Be very selective with the photographers you follow in your area–by all means, follow photographers in other specialties and draw inspiration from them until you’re blue in the face. But save the peeps you follow in your own arena for people whose work you think is crazy beautiful and a little outside your comfort zone. Your work will be most ‘you’ when you allow yourself to work through things organically, instead of trying (consciously or not) to imitate someone else’s style.

5. Shoot (and edit) in RAW. Just do it. RAW gives you the most leeway in editing your photos, and especially when you’re working with a camera body that’s not top-of-the-line, shooting in RAW ensures you get the best photos possible. Make sure to convert RAW files to sRGB when you’re done editing, though–otherwise your photos will be gray and all-around nast online. (In Photoshop: Edit–>Convert to Profile–>sRGB is in a dropdown menu.) BUT there’s an even faster way to work with RAW files! Which brings me to….(don’t you love when people do this in list-y posts? It’s so infomercial-esque. I can’t get enough.)

6. Figure out a workflow that works–fast. Old habits reign supreme, so get this right from the beginning. When you’re not shooting very often, it’s easy to get sucked into the Photoshop vortex and spend hours on each photo. Shooting in RAW really helps this time go down if you’re editing with ACR (Camera Raw within Photoshop). This is the window that automatically pops up when you open RAW files in Photoshop. Play around with it, watch tutorials, and find what works for you, but here’s a basic rundown of what I do in ACR (PS 6):

1. Open about 100 RAW files at a time in ACR. I edit while I cull.

2. Adjust white balance and exposure.

3. Apply VSCO presets.

4. Select all the keepers and click “save images” on the left side. I save level 10-12 jpgs in the folder I want and SHABAM I’m done.

If you don’t have/use/like VSCO, step 3 would look something like this: adjust highlights (I usually bring them all the way down) and contrast.

7. Don’t start a business until you’re ready. Give yourself room to grow and explore. Once you are receiving money for your services, you’re in business. Whether it’s $25 or $2500. There’s a whole lot of ish that goes into being in business–you’ve got to have your craft down by the time you get there. Or else what? You’re glowering at your computer. I know. You’re crazy for photography, you know it’s the perfect fit and you just wanna get this thing going! I’m just going to be so bold to say: you haven’t practiced enough. Give yourself time and room to explore: technical things, business things, philosophy things, subject matter things. If you were opening a cafe you wouldn’t start with the two menu items you knew you could make and your garage; you’d plan and study and try a million recipes, because you’d know this was going to be a big investment, of time and money and energy and all your creative juices for the rest of ever. We should encourage those entering the photography industry to do the same amount of back end work before we jump in and just hope we learn how to swim.

8. Don’t worry too much about your ‘style.’ You’ll find it with practice, and only ridiculous amounts of it. 10,000 hours, actually, if you want to be an expert. Another reason to let yourself gel stylistically before you jump into big bad official BIDNISS.

9. Don’t give away the farm. Yes, you need as many portfolio building opportunities as you can get your pretty little hands on, but get clear about what you want out of each opportunity when you’re not getting paid. You call the shots, and find models who can help you realize your vision. Make each session a slice of personal work instead of an open invitation for free photos for everyone and their dog. Nothing will burn you out faster. Plus, when clients know you have a specific vision for a particular shoot, you’re less likely to get droves of people asking you for free sessions because you did it for so-and-so.

I hope these help–I’d love to hear your thoughts/experiences/success stories with these in the comments!

P.S. Diggin’ this post? There’s truckloads more juicy stuff for photographers and creatives on the Soul Train. Jump on it with that cute little tab on the left!

Light Leaks + Imperfections

July 25, 2012 •

Have I talked about how much I love imperfections in photographs 76981 times yet? No? Okay, cool, cause I’m talking about it again. I bought myself an official film camera, and I am obsessed. Not because film is the cool thing to do, or because I’m a hipster, or any other claims people throw at me that just make me giggle. I’m obsessed, number one, because of the look film gives. Number two, because it takes like .23 seconds to edit film and I’m really into not spending my life behind a computer. Number three, because it’s unpredictable and thrilling and you get images like this:

Since the camera I bought is ollld, it’s more prone to light leaks like this (that rainbow effect)–which is just fine with me. Some (very popular) digital photographers actually add fake light leaks to their photos. I could take it in and fix this ‘problem’, but nahh. I’m going to embrace it as part of the process of creating art: happy accidents, the unknown, and a finished product that has evolved from the beginning–when it was first just a little thought in my head. {Canonet QL 17, Portra 400, f2} for the geeky crowd. Being an artist is exhilarating. Let’s go out and make stuff.

My Lifelong Perfume Search + Choosing a Photographer

July 20, 2012 •

Confessions of a true perfume-a-holic:

I search for perfume constantly.

Sometimes–well, a lot of times–my shopping plans revolve around how much perfume I can sample.We gotta park by Nordstrom, because I need to do my sampling first and then see how I feel throughout the rest of the mall, wearing Marc Jacobs’ latest or Coach’s classic.

I’m surprised the Sephora folks didn’t bar me from the premises when I proceeded to sample every.bottle.in.the.store the first time I went in that glorious place. and by ‘sample’ I mean spray them on the testers and stick them in my purse, and then into my clothing drawers for months. And when my friend’s dad picked us up from the mall, he said, “Wow.” Sometimes ‘wow’ is a good thing. Sometimes it is nice code for, you smell like a chemical plant dipped in eighty nine kinds of flowers, and you leave a vicious flowery tornado behind you wherever you walk.

But I was in love.

For all my love of perfume, I rarely buy actual bottles of actual perfume. I scoop up armfuls of body mist and the like, because I haven’t found something I love enough to commit to a full bottle of full strength eau de parfum. Every trip, I get my hopes up and think my smell soulmate might just have arrived, and we’ll ride off into the sunset together–but I leave, every time, smelling of someone’s latest attempt and brow furrowed.

This search has been so long in the making that I’ve wondered, in a small voice:

is it possible there will never be the perfume for me?

Maybe you’ve been on the hunt for the perfect photographer for you for a long time, and you’re discouraged. Why isn’t there someone out there who gets it?! You’re wondering. You might be at the point of wanting to tear out your hair. Just hold off on that for a sec, k? I want to take pretty pics of that hair before you rip it out.

See, choosing a photographer is like choosing a perfume.

Go with me here.

The first thing you see is the packaging of the perfume–the oh-so-gorgeous bottle with its pretty little ribbon and the tantalizing name of the darn thing. Who doesn’t want to smell like ‘happy’, or ‘beautiful’? Yep.

For photographers, this is their logo and the design of their website. Does the photographer’s logo and website resonate with you? Do you find it ridiculously hard to navigate their website? It’s okay to give up if these things aren’t floatin’ your boat. (Remember when that was the cool thing to say? Wooo 7th grade!) Photographers spend a lot of time and money creating websites, logos, and other doodads that represent them and their brand.

So the bottle is beautiful, the packaging makes your heart sing, and you’re ready to lean in and smell.

You inhale.

The top notes are heavenly.

This is the photographer’s portfolio. The best foot is put forward here, and you’ll start to see themes. Is there a particular edit that makes you want to barf? Move along and keep smelling, sista. Does this photographer seem to be more documentary, or is there an apparent posing to the photographs? Most of all, how does their portfolio make you feel? If you find your brow furrowing or your mouth frowning, even if you can’t put words to it, seriously: don’t go any further. Trust your gut on this one.

But, if the initial work you see makes your soul soar, you’re ready for the middle notes of this photographer’s scent. (Is this going too far? I’m kind of obsessed.)

The middle notes of a perfume are apparent after a little while on your skin. This is scrolling through the photographer’s blog and/or seeing a full wedding/shoot at a consultation–this is the heart of the perfume, and the heart of what you’ll experience and receive through working with a photographer.

Still love what you see and hear?

Awesome.

The base notes of a perfume are what’s left lingering after hours of wear–with a photographer, it’s the feeling you have after interacting with him or her. Do you still feel excited out of your mind to work with him or her? If not, for real: this is the great thing about there being so many photographers out there today: you can find one whose work you love and whose personality meshes with yours.

Now let’s talk price.

If I could find this elusive perfect perfume I’ve been searching for for years, I would pay a whole lot of money–because the experience is a million percent worth it to me.

For me, the joy of waking up and splashing a few drops of pure liquid happiness and pleasure on my wrists would warrant me dropping some serious cash.

It would be an investment in my joy in waking up and wanting to face each day with confidence and wild love.

And if someone, say, Walmart, proclaimed to me that they had the perfect soulmate perfume for me for the low price of $19.99 I would not believe it, and I would run in the opposite direction. Is it possible that the $19.99 perfume could smell amazing? Yeah. But if Walmart doesn’t value that perfume for what it’s worth to me, why would I value it that way? It’s possible a photographer could be amazing and only charge you a fraction of what you might pay for the same photographs–but if that photographer doesn’t know the value of her work, why should you value it?

This is the tough part about hiring a photographer.

If you really care about photographs–if you really care about the experience of waking up every day to the lusciously custom personal art on your wall of the people you love most–your soulmate photographer is not going to be the equivalent of the $19.99 Walmart perfume.

She will know the value of the photographs she’s going to create with you. She will want to do those photographs justice with the highest quality products. And she knows that when you make the mistake of using the $19.99 Walmart photographer, it’s a complete waste of your time and money because that perfume is going in the trash after one use.

High quality photographs are an investment–and I want to make sure you find the most incredible photographer for your style and your soul. So–if you’re not completely sure if I’m the photographer for you, that’s 100% fine. Let’s chat about it! And, if we don’t end up being a good fit, I’m more than happy to recommend other professionals who will give you what you want better than I can. (because I don’t believe in photographer competition, remember?)

But if we are soul mates? Whoa. We’re gonna create amazing things. I can’t wait.

Brooke Schultz is a photographer who is only a little bit obsessed with perfume. This summer she’s fulfilling her lifelong dream of being a blonde, and she would love to photograph you and the people you love most in the world–she would also love to give you the inside scoop on life overflowing with creativity and soulful photographs by lettin’ you on The Soul Train. (clicky clicky that pretty coral tab on the left and jump on it!)

Wedding Photography Pricing: Explained

June 25, 2012 •

For some unknown, unwritten and apparently universal reason there are some pretty hefty misconceptions about wedding photography–I’m taking it upon myself to debunk the myths in hopes that you’ll learn something you hadn’t considered before when it comes to what it takes to run a wedding photography business, specifically in regards to pricing.

There’s some school of thought out there that wedding photography is crazy lucrative, and a surefire way to get rich quick. I can understand that idea, because the initial price tag might seem high–especially if you think, “It’s just ONE DAY!” If photographers really did pocket the whole price you see for just one day’s work, yeah–I’d think it’d be a pretty sweet gig.

As a disclaimer: this post is not meant to be complain-y at all. Every business costs money to run, and if photographers don’t like it, they don’t have to go into this business! It’s just that for some reason I’m encountering a lot of people who think wedding photography is an easy money maker, automatically ridiculously profitable, and that photographers have somehow gotten together and decided they want to rip their clients off. When you understand more of what goes into all this goodness, you can appreciate that (most) photographers aren’t trying to swindle you out of your hard-earned cash, sleazily selling you products and services “you could get for X amount of dollars cheaper*”–they’re just trying to make a living at something they love, like everyone else.

1. Hidden time spent.

Most people I talk to seem to think that the time photographers spend on a typical wedding just includes the day of the wedding and the time it takes to edit the photos. Even if this were true, that would be about 15 hours as a low estimate (10 hours wedding day coverage with 5 hours editing time.) Of course this varies for everyone, but roll with me here.

The hidden time wedding photographers spend answering emails, phone calls, texts, in consultations, prepping for sessions likely included in your wedding day package (like an engagement or bridal session), location scouting, driving to and from sessions and the wedding, blogging/facebooking/social media-ing sessions and the wedding, prepping photos for print, placing orders, and designing albums isn’t accounted for. Then there’s even more blurry stuff like the time it takes a photographer to prepare mentally, physically, and creatively for a wedding. How do photographers compensate themselves for that time? It’s getting stickier, huh?

The time costs listed above don’t include any general business TLC time, like accounting, marketing, or continuing education. These things can take up oodles of time that photographers again have to ensure they are compensated for so their business remains profitable.

(By the way, can we get rid of the stigma that it’s shameful to have the goal of making your business profitable? If it’s not, you’re not running a business: it’s just a really expensive hobby/charity.)

If all this time isn’t enough, what about vacation, sick days, insurance? Not built into the job.

2. Actual costs.

There’s the cost of gear, prints, software and albums, yes–which adds up very quickly as photographers are most likely bringing $4,000+ worth of gear to your wedding (and that’s without software or any prints or albums). It’s easy to say, “Oh, you make that back in one or two weddings!” But that would mean that those weddings yielded zero profit, and most likely the photographer lost money shooting the wedding (gas, wear and tear on the car, the cost of making and mailing a disc of images, prints, an album, etc.) Not to mention the time we just outlined that was apparently time spent working completely unpaid. For free. Now, there’s nothing wrong with working for free. Nothing. Wrong. It just means you don’t have a business, you have a hobby.

Other costs lots of people might not think of? Laptop. Website (design, maintenance, updates). File backup. Online galleries. Packaging. Gear repair and replacement. Taking credit cards. Promotional and sample materials. Oh, what? This photographer wants to attend a workshop to sharpen his or her skills? $1,000 is a (very) low estimate for a workshop from a professional.

We haven’t even gotten to the biggest one yet: TAXES. Taxes eat up such a ridiculous chunk of the initial price tag you see–many photographers set aside 30% of their profit to send off to The Man. Yep, 30%, peeps.

And none of this accounts for services photographers might need to hire others for, like an accountant or designer or an assistant or a second shooter.

So even though many photographers don’t have the overhead of a storefront, they are still running a business and have to manage all the costs that come with it.

*I have to say just a lil’ something about the “I can get the same thing for cheaper” mentality when it comes to wedding photography. YES. You’ll find someone cheaper. So go ahead and do it! I’m not trying to be nasty–really, do it. While this post talks about the sheer time and cost of running a photography business, it doesn’t even touch trying to put a price tag on a photographer’s talent and vision. I’m absolutely mystified when I hear stories of people saying, “I found a guy with a nice camera who will do it for $300. Will you do it for $300? You’d still be getting paid!” It may technically be the same service, same amount of wedding day coverage, whatever, but you get what you pay for. It’d be like emailing Picasso and saying, “I found someone with a really nice paintbrush and a cool canvas who will do a custom painting for me for $300. You’d still be getting paid!” HAH. =) If you want a photographer who knows the value of his/her work, is professional and has really incredible vision, you need to be willing to pay for that.

I hope this insight into the nuts and bolts helps!

I was inspired by this post, which I highly recommend reading.

Newer
1
2
3
4
5
6
Older