Enterprise, Alabama Family Photographer | Custom Photography

      First of all, I cannot express how much I adore my job and I believe the quote, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Sometimes, I myself, don't realize how much hard work each and every session is. I'm sure clients and potential clients know I work hard, but they might be like me and not really realize how much time and effort custom photographers put into every single portrait session.

      I have a minimum purchase requirement, not to include the session fee, of $200. Potential clients ask."Do I have to spend that minimum?" or "Why is there a minimum purchase requirement?" I always explain that it's my policy because that is the minimum that I can afford to work for per session. That explanation is a very short version of what I decided to blog about tonight. This post has been one that I have planned for a while and I am happy to finally share it with everyone.

      So, how much time do I put into each session? When you see that the session fee is $100 and includes an hour of shooting time, you may think I'm making $100 per hour. I wish! After a client books a session, I normally spend an hour of time communicating with my client prior to our session via email, telephone calls, and in person. This time is spent answering any of their questions, deciding on when and where to have their session, delivering their welcome packet, and having contracts and forms signed. The day of the session, I spend another hour planning the session, packing all of the equipment and props I will need, and driving to the location. Then the shoot will typically last an hour. Once the session is over, I will spend another hour driving home, unloading equipment and props, transferring files to my computer, and backing up my files on an external hard drive. After that is completed, I will spend an average of 8 hours choosing the best 20-25 images to edit, editing each of them, creating a file for the client on my computer, saving all of the new images, and backing up my computer once again.

       The next step is to showcase the client's gallery either in an online gallery or in person ordering session. Both of these require at least another hour of my time. Once the client places their order, I will re-size every portrait to the appropriate size and place the order with my professional print lab. When the client's order arrives, I package all of it in beautiful boxes and bags with ribbons, tissue paper, and stickers and write a heartfelt thank you note to include with their order. :) Then the order is hand delivered by me. A couple of days later, I call my client once more to ensure they received everything and are completely satisfied. Now, I might not be getting paid what you may have thought when you first looked over my price list.

      Like I said, I adore my job, but I work extremely hard for the income I make. I spend an average of 15 hours of my time working with each client. My time is just as valuable as the next person who has a full-time career and I cannot work for free. The time I spend working is precious time away from my family. I do this in order to provide for them. Now, I hope people who read this will have a better understanding of why I charge what I do. If I didn't have the minimum order requirement, after cost of the goods sold and taxes, I would be making less than minimum wage!

       The goal of this post was to explain the hard work and time it takes to create these beautiful memories for you. I wouldn't want any other job in the world, but it is a job. My priority is to provide for my precious family. Thank you for reading this post because it really means so much to me!

<3 Casey