05/17/2026
“You charge HOW MUCH for a basic session?! My husband is a rocket scientist, and he doesn’t even make that much”. (For the record—no, this is not from a real conversation—just an example!)
Listen. I get it. If you’re looking at the time it takes for the session alone, paired with the price, it might seem steep to some. But you’re not ONLY paying for the time it takes to snap some photos. You’re paying for the experience, the lasting memories, and the time it takes to create ART, behind the scenes.
Photographers pour a lot of time & effort into their business, as do all other business owners. All of the many hours learning, practicing, the retouching, the editing, the cost of using editing software, the equipment, etc. Photographers are their own salesmen. Their own hype people, their own marketers, often their own everything. Sometimes it takes days, weeks, even months to finish a single project (depending how extensive it may be).
Not to mention having other sessions to edit, and other clients to communicate with. So please don’t assume we’re just taking photos & slapping on cheap filters from an app. If you’re dealing with a professional, you’re going to get quality photos that take time to create. Personally, I have my basic lighting & color adjustments saved, but then I go in & adjust every photo by hand. Retouching is the most time consuming, because there are soo many little details to fine-tune. Blemishes, flyaways, lint, stains, bugs buzzing around, unwanted people or objects in the background, etc. So yes, I may charge higher than some, but I try to stay as affordable as possible.
My time is valuable. If you don’t agree, then we simply won’t be a great fit, and that’s ok. I’m a firm believer that there’s someone for everyone, and there’s room for all of us at the top. 🤍✨
