I get it all the time, “Why does photography cost so much?” Actually, it doesn’t. People assume that photography is just snapping a few pictures. Heck, they can do that with their phone. That’s not what photography is at all. Photography is capturing a moment with light and time. There is a careful science in the capture process and a significant amount of creativity. Photography is printed and hung as art while the images captured with a cellphone reside in the cloud. The process for creating amazing portraits for a family begins with that first connection and isn’t finished until it’s hung on the wall.

Early on in the creation of art, I begin getting to know my clients, their personalities, stories dreams. I begin mentally creating an image, designing a client’s art long before they ever step in front of my lens. I look at how the art will fit not only in their home but in their life. I begin envisioning scale and grouping, color and theme, feel and texture.

When a client does stand before the lens, creativity gives way to technical expertise. I have to decide how much light, for how long and when the image is conveying the emotion, shape and presence I’m looking for…the color of light and intensity matter. These are all things I plan before the session and guide throughout the session.

After the session, I begin the design process, editing and enhancing client images, creating unique cinematic presentations. The client then comes to the design consultation where they experience their images. We spend time making finale adjustments customizing and producing the final art work.

While a client sees me making $100 an hour shooting, they don’t see or calculate the additional 5-6 hours I spend without them on the creative and technical process. While photography is highly technical and elaborately creative work, the average award winning photographer makes less than the average wage of an entry level IT professional which I am as a photographer.

Can you snap a photo with a cell phone? Yes, but that image will never be a flawless work of art on your wall. It won’t blow up nice above 8×10 and it won’t have the magic of carefully crafted light or the same artistry. It probably will never even make it past Facebook. To have truly amazing photographic art, you need someone with high quality equipment, technical training to use the equipment, color calibration from the camera to the monitor to the printer and high quality print materials. To have great family art you need skilled artisans, photographic designers like me!