My income end expenses vary widely from month to month and year to year because I'm self employed. Philip's method seems to be the only reasonable thing for someone like me to do.
I think most people would benefit from this. Disconnect your spending from you income. Obviously, you need to spend less than you earn. Other than that one rule, your income should not determine your spending. Spend on the things that bring you fulfillment and save the rest of your money.
That's the approach taken in the book, "Your Money or Your Life"
I too do a combo of the pay yourself first and last as well for my savings. My emergency fund comes out automatically with each paycheque deposit, and then after paying everything with each pay, I see what's left, and then deposit all or part of it into my Fun Money savings funds. The Fun Money grows more slowly than the Emergency fund, but that's okay, because it's supposed to be used for low priority items like a new tv (because I want one, not because I need one), my next vacation to Europe (I've got two years to save for that one), and the orthodontic work I've got to have done, again (sigh, don't ask).
So as Phillip says, whatever works for you is the way to go.
We haven't traveled extensively but did Italy with the kids. Generally the breakfasts (though sometimes modest) were included. Besides hitting the grocers (bread, cheese, fruit, bottled water), we did alot of pizza and gelati. We came back saying we could never use Rita's and gelati in the same sentence again.
In London we stayed on the outer rim of the city and tubed in. A huge breakfast was included (cooked mushrooms, grilled tomatoes!) so we thought bread and some P.B. would tide us over. Not recommended. Brits do not do peanut butter well. We should have stuck with cheese.
We haven't traveled extensively but did Italy with the kids. Generally the breakfasts (though sometimes modest) were included. Besides hitting the grocers (bread, cheese, fruit, bottled water), we did alot of pizza and gelati. We came back saying we could never use Rita's and gelati in the same sentence again.
In London we stayed on the outer rim of the city and tubed in. A huge breakfast was included (cooked mushrooms, grilled tomatoes!) so we thought bread and some P.B. would tide us over. Not recommended. Brits do not do peanut butter well. We should have stuck with cheese.
I have been boycotting chinese goods for many year and it is doable.
There is now a website with a data base of items alternatives, so that no one has to buy anything made in china. We are hoping to get items from all over the world to include in the database.
Any suggestions?
Sure, think of others or else if and when you've invested time and money in your future photography business don't moan at the fact that behind you you'll have more "I am taking pictures for free for friends to build up experience and a portfolio" types ruining your chances of earning an honest day's work.
Some toothpastes use silica, and some use calcium carbonate as a polisher. The latter will be gentler and might not even leave any fine scratches. But it will also not do much for deeper scratches, at least not without a lot of elbow grease.
The heading reflects today's standard answer with regard to paying for photographic services. Sadly, in this ever increasing digital world the only ones making more money from it all is the manufacturers. "I can buy one of those Canon DSLR things with a zoom lens and all I have to do is point and shoot and I don't need to pay a photographer" - the usual story, isn't it? They spend a thousand bucks and set out to beat that expensive photographer at his own game only to find that what they shot at their best friend's wedding is total rubbish, so the new toy is shoved into a drawer and life goes on.
It's not the gear, stupid, it's the creative guy behind the shutter. Meanwhile those of us who have been in this business for so long see it dwindling away; all because of one thing: IGNORANCE
If you offer digital copies with or without your prints then kudos. That's my only beef. I've noticed many studios offer copyright free CDs with packages too and that's just good business.
As far as uncle bob goes I meant that if you try to hold a monopoly on all the prints then people will rather just go with uncle bob's guest pictures...bride and groom usually just care about the bride and groom pics. if they have to choose where to cut the budget, that's who is going to lose.
Tell that to the people who come to me after they get their wedding photos back from Uncle Bob or an amateur. Many cry because they are so disappointed with their photos. It's a one-time event that can't be recreated.
Professional photography wouldn't even exist as a career if it was only a matter of pushing a button.
I archive the images. For those who want to purchase all digital files on CD, they may do so.
Give the kids a camera and let them cover your weddings and special events. Makes no difference to me. There is a market for what professional photographers provide. I can't believe the animosity some of you have toward photographers.
The mug versus paper cup debate is actually a lot more complicated than this, especially if you consider the life cycle of each.
Styrofoam cups specifically are made from petroleum elements that tend not to be used for much other than styrofoam products. As such, they don't really tend to increase the use of petroleum, just the percentage of petroleum that's really used as it's refined. That's a good thing, right?
Styrofoam cups also take way less energy to produce. It takes the average ceramic mug longer to be less resource-intensive than the average ceramic mug tends to last. Consider the energy to fire the things, to glaze 'em, to ship them versus the light-as-air disposable alternatives, and you'll start to see where the difference comes from.
My father used to work in a chemistry lab. Once they did some bacteriological sampling of the office mugs, ceramic mugs were banned from the lab as a general health hazard. There's more living in those things than you think.
In many municipalities, using a provided mug is actually illegal as a violation of health codes, probably including most places where many of the readers are currently doing exactly that. Maybe not a big issue, but something to consider.
Now, I'm not saying that disposables rule or that durable mugs are inherently a bad idea. I'd just like many of you to realize the issue is more complex than you'd like to think, as are most resource-based issues once you consider the whole creation-shipping-usage-disposal life cycle of nearly any product.
And, as a bonus, let's not forget all the exciting chemicals that are floating just beneath that layer of chemical-rich glaze on your mugs. Checked for chips lately? ;-)
You guys sound like the recording studio who still hasn't figured out that slumping sales is not because a few people steal music but because the value in the product is not high and people WANT digital.
It's very simple. prints are dead. Aside from the frame and 5-10 shots for an album, people can do what you do very easily with point and shoots or various flavor of pro-sumer cameras. The old days of having to stay in the red room developing pictures are gone.
Now you can kick and scream about how much more you want to make after the initial sale and just tempt people to cut you out completely and shoot their own weddings (how hard can it be if you rent a few fast lenses and a strobe? It's not brain surgery to go clickidy click and get the parties together) or you can offer to give them selected originals for each print they order or the whole thing for a fair price. how hard is that?
think about it art school girl, are you going to be around in 10 years when you're already this angry about your line of work? what's going to happen if you move or they move and lose their pictures and want copies? are you that full of yourself to hold a piece of someone's most special days as hostage for ever even if you never sell a single print?
Just get over yourselves. I gave a 5 year old a point and shoot at a party and ended up with 50 really good pictures where everybody was smiling and in focus. hand a couple of 5 year olds a point and shoot and that'll cover all your candids and guest pictures and destroy your business plan....that's probably why you don't wnat others to take pictures at weddings.
Of course if you just give the people what they want, you'll get paid, they'll have "professional" pictures, and everybody is happy.
So what's going to happen in 5 years when you drop out of the business and your customer needs more pictures? Are their precious memories gone for ever because you wanted to make a few extra bucks?
What about in 10 years? people move around alot. How are they supposed to find you again to pay for those overpriced prints? If you're already not happy doing weddings, you're probably not going to be around in the business in 10 years.
What about 20 years from now when for all we know, paper print is a thing of a past and everything is digital? even now you see people with digital frames?
I don't disagree that it takes time to set up meetings and meet up with customers, but that's in every business. Those other businesses get paid one time to do the job however. You say that you charge an insane amount for a simple 4x6 because it took you a while to touch it up, but you already got paid for it! You're only doing it because you can get away with it...or at least you could. That gravy train is sailing though.
So you can either do what the customer asks you to do and get compensated fairly for it, or you can be greedy (some photographers even require that nobody else take pictures at the wedding or party! yeah that will win customers over), or you can include a 20 cent CD-rom of at least selected pictures if not all of them. Maybe if they buy a certain amount of prints that you'd love to sell they can get it. The point is, after a certain point when you've already made your money, holding on to someone's precious moments is pure greed and it's going to backfire.
I didn't go to art school but know my way around a camera and it's really not brain surgery. Maybe for the photographers who actually had to develop film and go through hell to make a few prints it was like that but it's not that hard to rent a fast lens and a strobe. Now days alot of people have a D80 or a 40D at home or know someone who does. The only hard part is getting everybody together and there is usually someone there to help with that too. Would many people go through the trouble of having a couple of friends shoot their wedding? probably not, but if you get too greedy, people will find other ways. again, it's not brain surgery to go clickedy click and hand out a few point and shoots to the guests and collect the cameras later.
You guys sound like the recording studio who think your profits are going down because a few people copy your work. Give people what they want and they won't feel the need to steal it and the people want digital files to share with their families online. very simple. Do it for a reasonable price and they'll pay.
I love the picture you used for this post. When I was a student in China I used to read the newspaper like this every morning before class and often on my lunch break. Great memories.
I think it would be interesting if, in these drought stricken areas where disposable products are mandated in restaurants, people began bringing their own reusable place settings. It would sort of be similar to bringing your own bottle of wine to a restaurant that doesn't have a liquor license.
I realize this is not a solution as these plates would still, eventually, be washed. Still, an interesting image I think. I really enjoyed reading through this discussion!
If a reusable mug can't be used a coffee shops (and restaurants, as later commenters included)... then why not at least go green with disposable but 100% compostable cups, lids, sleeves (even utensils and plates)??
The city I live in has an Earth Day every year and they've mandated every booth to use these, and everyone does. If a college town where simple (and small) organizations can purchase these type of products to use instead of the styrofoam or disposable paper products, then why can't a larger company or restaurant. (See 100% compostable hot cups and lids and Cornstarch Plates as exampes.) They're a little bit (like a couple dollars to the 1000 count) more expensive, BUT they're good for the environment and still give the companies the ease of disposable.
Not all is profit. I just ordered a wedding album for the studio.
My cost? $884. Subtract that from your 2000 figure. Once you figure in the cost of wedding albums...the yearly salary would be closer to $25 or $30k.
After my costs this year, I made about $25,000. I photographed 20 weddings. I hope it makes you feel really good knowing that you are stealing from people like me, who live a modest lifestyle and who also have children to support at home. Photographers are really not any different from the rest of you.
I love the perception that we are overpaid and greedy. Beautiful.
I know the general perception of this business is that photographers make $2000 for a day's work. This is simply untrue. Let's say my average wedding is priced at $2500 and that includes a wedding album and an engagement session.
For 12 hours of work? you say- not bad! Now if only that were true! Let me breakdown how many hours actually go into a wedding:
1.5 hour- initial consultation
4 hours- email and phone/ customer service
(the typical relationship with clients last 6 months to a year. Many hours go into customer service)
4 hours engagement shoot- on-location, incl drive time
2 hours- color-correct and convert images, build gallery
7 hours- wedding coverage
1 hour- upload 100s of files from all cards
30 minutes- back up images at least twice
6 hours-color-correct and convert, build gallery
(100s of images require more time than a portrait session)
20 hours- design wedding album pages
15 hours- retouch all album images
1 hour- Put album online for approval. Make specified changes.
30 minutes- with album company to place order
2 hours customer service time for those who email and call every week to inquire on album delivery date.
1 hour- Delivery of album
Let's see how many hours is that total.....
Oh I don't know...about 65 hours? So photographers are making a whopping $30/hour! What a ripoff! I mean most photographers can manage about 20 weddings a year so they are rolling in the dough making about $40,000/year.
Wow, that's less than my mom makes as a teacher. Maybe I should reconsider what I do for a living!
Why charge $5? Because I retouch the images. And because I have $35,000 in equipment. And studio overhead.
If you want images for free the solution is simple- buy your own equipment and take your own pictures. Don't steal from people who are trying to make an honest living.
I believe some of you misread my post. I was being sarcastic. Please reread with more attention to the last paragraph. I'm a photographer who specializes primarily in weddings.
I've had a regular AT&T/Cingular plan for about 8 years now, and I've never seriously thought about switching. The phones are top quality, the reliability of the network can't be beat, and while the prices are a little higher than, say, T-Mobile (who I had previously), the reliability is worth it to me (my cell is my only phone, so it needs to work, all the time).
As far as the customer service goes, I have never had a real problem with them. Yes, they will nickel and dime you to death, but what big corporation doesn't these days? I have stopped believing in companies that don't, and know enough about how customer service reps work to know how to get what I want. I routinely get huge refunds on their nickel and dime tactics, simply by asking if they would. For instance, this month I had a large bill for internet and text usage on my phone, so I called and asked if they had a media plan that would have covered it. They did, and I asked them to sign me up and apply it retroactively. They did, saving me over $100 in charges. I've done this several times with no issues.
Personally, if you are willing to be a little bull-headed with customer service, you can get through to them. The combination of great phones and reliability is something I'm not willing to part with just for a friendlier voice if I have a problem.
"Houston rocks" - you should pay the price you want. You aren't obligated to sign a contract with anyone. Photography is a tremendously competitive business.
There are two issues here, both of which you (and the original writer of this article) are clearly completely ignorant of. More precisely we're talking about breaking the law in more than one way, but this is not why so many people are upset - there is nothing wrong with breaking bad laws... We're talking about something different.
First of all, we have contract law. This is the oldest type of law on the planet. It's also something with more meaning than the paper lawyers throw at each other all day long. When you engage the services of a professional photographer, you sign a contract. A contract is a meeting of minds. It's a testament to the agreement of both parties and as such it is a very serious, very important thing. No one made you sign on that line. You did. And when you break that, you break the must fundamental thing that differentiates human beings from animals: the ability to look another person in the eye and make a promise.
I want you to think about that for a second. Your discussion of fairness, of greed, is completely inane. A contract, by definition, is an agreement between _two_ parties... Breaking a law is one thing, breaking an honest trust with a fellow member of the human race is another.
Secondly, we have copyright law, and intellectual property law in general. I think most sensible people are well aware of the fact that copyright law was written for a very different set of economics than exist today. The problems with it are far-reaching and unlikely to be solved in this blog's comment thread. However, while most will agree that the reach of copyright law may be excessive in this age, most will also agree that an individual deserves to be compensated for their efforts -- at least in some small way (if not 50 years after death...). You argue that because you commission the artist, that you direct them to a particular location, or set of subjects, that it is your own intellectual property that is being taken from you. That you have the rights to creations they made at your request. That is, to put it mildly, an arrogant and conceited perspective.
You view a request for compensation as an indication of a greedy disposition. You argue that someone is trying to take your own property from you. It is as easy to argue that it is your own greed, not the photographers that provokes your diatribe.
We aren't just talking about copyright law here - a nebulous and controversial subject on any day - we're talking about fundamental principles of honesty between human beings. It's as simple, and serious, as that.
I'll thank you to NOT hire me to take your pictures. You do not get it and refuse to try. A client who thinks like that isn't worth a pro photographer spending time on. You can stay with Sears and Wal-Mart. If and when you get married (if you aren't already) make sure you take the photos yourself -you wouldn't want anyone who knows what they are doing there because they might want compensation for the work. Do it yourself! (and then when they turn out like crap you can recreate everything again and try again)
If you aren't willing to pay for the work then don't have them come and waste their time!!! Do it yourself and we'll see how well you can do.
to leta... what do you do for a living. I'll come do it for free and we'll see how you like it. Of course you'll tell me how I don't know anything about your profession, but since you don't have a clue about mine... yet have the audacity to call me "Greedy"... that shouldn't make much of a difference to you ehy?
I've been carrying my own travel mug with me here in the San Francisco Bay Area and had no trouble getting my coffee and tea in my mug. But I wasn't sure it would be so easy during my recent trip to Honolulu, HI. But surprise! Not a single barista in any of the cafes I visited had a problem with filling up my travel mug. Not only that, but I saw several people carrying canvas shopping bags into Safeway. Now if only my parents, who I was visiting, could take the hint from their fellow kama'aina.
Oh, also, just a note about recycled paper cups: I hope folks realize that a paper cup does contain plastic. So opting for paper instead of plastic is not exactly opting for paper instead of plastic! Any paper product that can hold liquid without leaking is coated with plastic, and while the paper might biodegrade, the plastic (except for the rare new cups coated with corn-based plastic, which has other problems) will last forever.
My income end expenses vary widely from month to month and year to year because I'm self employed. Philip's method seems to be the only reasonable thing for someone like me to do.
I think most people would benefit from this. Disconnect your spending from you income. Obviously, you need to spend less than you earn. Other than that one rule, your income should not determine your spending. Spend on the things that bring you fulfillment and save the rest of your money.
That's the approach taken in the book, "Your Money or Your Life"
I too do a combo of the pay yourself first and last as well for my savings. My emergency fund comes out automatically with each paycheque deposit, and then after paying everything with each pay, I see what's left, and then deposit all or part of it into my Fun Money savings funds. The Fun Money grows more slowly than the Emergency fund, but that's okay, because it's supposed to be used for low priority items like a new tv (because I want one, not because I need one), my next vacation to Europe (I've got two years to save for that one), and the orthodontic work I've got to have done, again (sigh, don't ask).
So as Phillip says, whatever works for you is the way to go.
We haven't traveled extensively but did Italy with the kids. Generally the breakfasts (though sometimes modest) were included. Besides hitting the grocers (bread, cheese, fruit, bottled water), we did alot of pizza and gelati. We came back saying we could never use Rita's and gelati in the same sentence again.
In London we stayed on the outer rim of the city and tubed in. A huge breakfast was included (cooked mushrooms, grilled tomatoes!) so we thought bread and some P.B. would tide us over. Not recommended. Brits do not do peanut butter well. We should have stuck with cheese.
We haven't traveled extensively but did Italy with the kids. Generally the breakfasts (though sometimes modest) were included. Besides hitting the grocers (bread, cheese, fruit, bottled water), we did alot of pizza and gelati. We came back saying we could never use Rita's and gelati in the same sentence again.
In London we stayed on the outer rim of the city and tubed in. A huge breakfast was included (cooked mushrooms, grilled tomatoes!) so we thought bread and some P.B. would tide us over. Not recommended. Brits do not do peanut butter well. We should have stuck with cheese.
I have been boycotting chinese goods for many year and it is doable.
There is now a website with a data base of items alternatives, so that no one has to buy anything made in china. We are hoping to get items from all over the world to include in the database.
http://edinburghfurfreecity.co.uk/boycottchina/index.php
Please send in some of the items you have found. The larger the database the more effecitve the boycott will be.
Ruth Eisenbud
Any suggestions?
Sure, think of others or else if and when you've invested time and money in your future photography business don't moan at the fact that behind you you'll have more "I am taking pictures for free for friends to build up experience and a portfolio" types ruining your chances of earning an honest day's work.
Some toothpastes use silica, and some use calcium carbonate as a polisher. The latter will be gentler and might not even leave any fine scratches. But it will also not do much for deeper scratches, at least not without a lot of elbow grease.
The heading reflects today's standard answer with regard to paying for photographic services. Sadly, in this ever increasing digital world the only ones making more money from it all is the manufacturers. "I can buy one of those Canon DSLR things with a zoom lens and all I have to do is point and shoot and I don't need to pay a photographer" - the usual story, isn't it? They spend a thousand bucks and set out to beat that expensive photographer at his own game only to find that what they shot at their best friend's wedding is total rubbish, so the new toy is shoved into a drawer and life goes on.
It's not the gear, stupid, it's the creative guy behind the shutter. Meanwhile those of us who have been in this business for so long see it dwindling away; all because of one thing: IGNORANCE
If you offer digital copies with or without your prints then kudos. That's my only beef. I've noticed many studios offer copyright free CDs with packages too and that's just good business.
As far as uncle bob goes I meant that if you try to hold a monopoly on all the prints then people will rather just go with uncle bob's guest pictures...bride and groom usually just care about the bride and groom pics. if they have to choose where to cut the budget, that's who is going to lose.
"It's not brain surgery to go clickidy click"
Tell that to the people who come to me after they get their wedding photos back from Uncle Bob or an amateur. Many cry because they are so disappointed with their photos. It's a one-time event that can't be recreated.
Professional photography wouldn't even exist as a career if it was only a matter of pushing a button.
I archive the images. For those who want to purchase all digital files on CD, they may do so.
Give the kids a camera and let them cover your weddings and special events. Makes no difference to me. There is a market for what professional photographers provide. I can't believe the animosity some of you have toward photographers.
And who is angry btw? I love my work.
The mug versus paper cup debate is actually a lot more complicated than this, especially if you consider the life cycle of each.
Styrofoam cups specifically are made from petroleum elements that tend not to be used for much other than styrofoam products. As such, they don't really tend to increase the use of petroleum, just the percentage of petroleum that's really used as it's refined. That's a good thing, right?
Styrofoam cups also take way less energy to produce. It takes the average ceramic mug longer to be less resource-intensive than the average ceramic mug tends to last. Consider the energy to fire the things, to glaze 'em, to ship them versus the light-as-air disposable alternatives, and you'll start to see where the difference comes from.
My father used to work in a chemistry lab. Once they did some bacteriological sampling of the office mugs, ceramic mugs were banned from the lab as a general health hazard. There's more living in those things than you think.
In many municipalities, using a provided mug is actually illegal as a violation of health codes, probably including most places where many of the readers are currently doing exactly that. Maybe not a big issue, but something to consider.
Now, I'm not saying that disposables rule or that durable mugs are inherently a bad idea. I'd just like many of you to realize the issue is more complex than you'd like to think, as are most resource-based issues once you consider the whole creation-shipping-usage-disposal life cycle of nearly any product.
And, as a bonus, let's not forget all the exciting chemicals that are floating just beneath that layer of chemical-rich glaze on your mugs. Checked for chips lately? ;-)
You guys sound like the recording studio who still hasn't figured out that slumping sales is not because a few people steal music but because the value in the product is not high and people WANT digital.
It's very simple. prints are dead. Aside from the frame and 5-10 shots for an album, people can do what you do very easily with point and shoots or various flavor of pro-sumer cameras. The old days of having to stay in the red room developing pictures are gone.
Now you can kick and scream about how much more you want to make after the initial sale and just tempt people to cut you out completely and shoot their own weddings (how hard can it be if you rent a few fast lenses and a strobe? It's not brain surgery to go clickidy click and get the parties together) or you can offer to give them selected originals for each print they order or the whole thing for a fair price. how hard is that?
think about it art school girl, are you going to be around in 10 years when you're already this angry about your line of work? what's going to happen if you move or they move and lose their pictures and want copies? are you that full of yourself to hold a piece of someone's most special days as hostage for ever even if you never sell a single print?
Just get over yourselves. I gave a 5 year old a point and shoot at a party and ended up with 50 really good pictures where everybody was smiling and in focus. hand a couple of 5 year olds a point and shoot and that'll cover all your candids and guest pictures and destroy your business plan....that's probably why you don't wnat others to take pictures at weddings.
Of course if you just give the people what they want, you'll get paid, they'll have "professional" pictures, and everybody is happy.
So what's going to happen in 5 years when you drop out of the business and your customer needs more pictures? Are their precious memories gone for ever because you wanted to make a few extra bucks?
What about in 10 years? people move around alot. How are they supposed to find you again to pay for those overpriced prints? If you're already not happy doing weddings, you're probably not going to be around in the business in 10 years.
What about 20 years from now when for all we know, paper print is a thing of a past and everything is digital? even now you see people with digital frames?
I don't disagree that it takes time to set up meetings and meet up with customers, but that's in every business. Those other businesses get paid one time to do the job however. You say that you charge an insane amount for a simple 4x6 because it took you a while to touch it up, but you already got paid for it! You're only doing it because you can get away with it...or at least you could. That gravy train is sailing though.
So you can either do what the customer asks you to do and get compensated fairly for it, or you can be greedy (some photographers even require that nobody else take pictures at the wedding or party! yeah that will win customers over), or you can include a 20 cent CD-rom of at least selected pictures if not all of them. Maybe if they buy a certain amount of prints that you'd love to sell they can get it. The point is, after a certain point when you've already made your money, holding on to someone's precious moments is pure greed and it's going to backfire.
I didn't go to art school but know my way around a camera and it's really not brain surgery. Maybe for the photographers who actually had to develop film and go through hell to make a few prints it was like that but it's not that hard to rent a fast lens and a strobe. Now days alot of people have a D80 or a 40D at home or know someone who does. The only hard part is getting everybody together and there is usually someone there to help with that too. Would many people go through the trouble of having a couple of friends shoot their wedding? probably not, but if you get too greedy, people will find other ways. again, it's not brain surgery to go clickedy click and hand out a few point and shoots to the guests and collect the cameras later.
You guys sound like the recording studio who think your profits are going down because a few people copy your work. Give people what they want and they won't feel the need to steal it and the people want digital files to share with their families online. very simple. Do it for a reasonable price and they'll pay.
I love the picture you used for this post. When I was a student in China I used to read the newspaper like this every morning before class and often on my lunch break. Great memories.
Also, great job lobbying for literacy.
I think it would be interesting if, in these drought stricken areas where disposable products are mandated in restaurants, people began bringing their own reusable place settings. It would sort of be similar to bringing your own bottle of wine to a restaurant that doesn't have a liquor license.
I realize this is not a solution as these plates would still, eventually, be washed. Still, an interesting image I think. I really enjoyed reading through this discussion!
If a reusable mug can't be used a coffee shops (and restaurants, as later commenters included)... then why not at least go green with disposable but 100% compostable cups, lids, sleeves (even utensils and plates)??
The city I live in has an Earth Day every year and they've mandated every booth to use these, and everyone does. If a college town where simple (and small) organizations can purchase these type of products to use instead of the styrofoam or disposable paper products, then why can't a larger company or restaurant. (See 100% compostable hot cups and lids and Cornstarch Plates as exampes.) They're a little bit (like a couple dollars to the 1000 count) more expensive, BUT they're good for the environment and still give the companies the ease of disposable.
Not all is profit. I just ordered a wedding album for the studio.
My cost? $884. Subtract that from your 2000 figure. Once you figure in the cost of wedding albums...the yearly salary would be closer to $25 or $30k.
After my costs this year, I made about $25,000. I photographed 20 weddings. I hope it makes you feel really good knowing that you are stealing from people like me, who live a modest lifestyle and who also have children to support at home. Photographers are really not any different from the rest of you.
I love the perception that we are overpaid and greedy. Beautiful.
I know the general perception of this business is that photographers make $2000 for a day's work. This is simply untrue. Let's say my average wedding is priced at $2500 and that includes a wedding album and an engagement session.
For 12 hours of work? you say- not bad! Now if only that were true! Let me breakdown how many hours actually go into a wedding:
1.5 hour- initial consultation
4 hours- email and phone/ customer service
(the typical relationship with clients last 6 months to a year. Many hours go into customer service)
4 hours engagement shoot- on-location, incl drive time
2 hours- color-correct and convert images, build gallery
7 hours- wedding coverage
1 hour- upload 100s of files from all cards
30 minutes- back up images at least twice
6 hours-color-correct and convert, build gallery
(100s of images require more time than a portrait session)
20 hours- design wedding album pages
15 hours- retouch all album images
1 hour- Put album online for approval. Make specified changes.
30 minutes- with album company to place order
2 hours customer service time for those who email and call every week to inquire on album delivery date.
1 hour- Delivery of album
Let's see how many hours is that total.....
Oh I don't know...about 65 hours? So photographers are making a whopping $30/hour! What a ripoff! I mean most photographers can manage about 20 weddings a year so they are rolling in the dough making about $40,000/year.
Wow, that's less than my mom makes as a teacher. Maybe I should reconsider what I do for a living!
Why charge $5? Because I retouch the images. And because I have $35,000 in equipment. And studio overhead.
If you want images for free the solution is simple- buy your own equipment and take your own pictures. Don't steal from people who are trying to make an honest living.
I believe some of you misread my post. I was being sarcastic. Please reread with more attention to the last paragraph. I'm a photographer who specializes primarily in weddings.
I've had a regular AT&T/Cingular plan for about 8 years now, and I've never seriously thought about switching. The phones are top quality, the reliability of the network can't be beat, and while the prices are a little higher than, say, T-Mobile (who I had previously), the reliability is worth it to me (my cell is my only phone, so it needs to work, all the time).
As far as the customer service goes, I have never had a real problem with them. Yes, they will nickel and dime you to death, but what big corporation doesn't these days? I have stopped believing in companies that don't, and know enough about how customer service reps work to know how to get what I want. I routinely get huge refunds on their nickel and dime tactics, simply by asking if they would. For instance, this month I had a large bill for internet and text usage on my phone, so I called and asked if they had a media plan that would have covered it. They did, and I asked them to sign me up and apply it retroactively. They did, saving me over $100 in charges. I've done this several times with no issues.
Personally, if you are willing to be a little bull-headed with customer service, you can get through to them. The combination of great phones and reliability is something I'm not willing to part with just for a friendlier voice if I have a problem.
"Houston rocks" - you should pay the price you want. You aren't obligated to sign a contract with anyone. Photography is a tremendously competitive business.
There are two issues here, both of which you (and the original writer of this article) are clearly completely ignorant of. More precisely we're talking about breaking the law in more than one way, but this is not why so many people are upset - there is nothing wrong with breaking bad laws... We're talking about something different.
First of all, we have contract law. This is the oldest type of law on the planet. It's also something with more meaning than the paper lawyers throw at each other all day long. When you engage the services of a professional photographer, you sign a contract. A contract is a meeting of minds. It's a testament to the agreement of both parties and as such it is a very serious, very important thing. No one made you sign on that line. You did. And when you break that, you break the must fundamental thing that differentiates human beings from animals: the ability to look another person in the eye and make a promise.
I want you to think about that for a second. Your discussion of fairness, of greed, is completely inane. A contract, by definition, is an agreement between _two_ parties... Breaking a law is one thing, breaking an honest trust with a fellow member of the human race is another.
Secondly, we have copyright law, and intellectual property law in general. I think most sensible people are well aware of the fact that copyright law was written for a very different set of economics than exist today. The problems with it are far-reaching and unlikely to be solved in this blog's comment thread. However, while most will agree that the reach of copyright law may be excessive in this age, most will also agree that an individual deserves to be compensated for their efforts -- at least in some small way (if not 50 years after death...). You argue that because you commission the artist, that you direct them to a particular location, or set of subjects, that it is your own intellectual property that is being taken from you. That you have the rights to creations they made at your request. That is, to put it mildly, an arrogant and conceited perspective.
You view a request for compensation as an indication of a greedy disposition. You argue that someone is trying to take your own property from you. It is as easy to argue that it is your own greed, not the photographers that provokes your diatribe.
We aren't just talking about copyright law here - a nebulous and controversial subject on any day - we're talking about fundamental principles of honesty between human beings. It's as simple, and serious, as that.
Hey leta,
I'll thank you to NOT hire me to take your pictures. You do not get it and refuse to try. A client who thinks like that isn't worth a pro photographer spending time on. You can stay with Sears and Wal-Mart. If and when you get married (if you aren't already) make sure you take the photos yourself -you wouldn't want anyone who knows what they are doing there because they might want compensation for the work. Do it yourself! (and then when they turn out like crap you can recreate everything again and try again)
If you aren't willing to pay for the work then don't have them come and waste their time!!! Do it yourself and we'll see how well you can do.
to leta... what do you do for a living. I'll come do it for free and we'll see how you like it. Of course you'll tell me how I don't know anything about your profession, but since you don't have a clue about mine... yet have the audacity to call me "Greedy"... that shouldn't make much of a difference to you ehy?
I've been carrying my own travel mug with me here in the San Francisco Bay Area and had no trouble getting my coffee and tea in my mug. But I wasn't sure it would be so easy during my recent trip to Honolulu, HI. But surprise! Not a single barista in any of the cafes I visited had a problem with filling up my travel mug. Not only that, but I saw several people carrying canvas shopping bags into Safeway. Now if only my parents, who I was visiting, could take the hint from their fellow kama'aina.
Oh, also, just a note about recycled paper cups: I hope folks realize that a paper cup does contain plastic. So opting for paper instead of plastic is not exactly opting for paper instead of plastic! Any paper product that can hold liquid without leaking is coated with plastic, and while the paper might biodegrade, the plastic (except for the rare new cups coated with corn-based plastic, which has other problems) will last forever.
Great green post!