Why does Custom Photography Cost so Much?

[HotHolly]

Good for you Norma! You should say stuff like that.

Once in a while I have someone who is brazen enough to say so and so only cost $100 AND will give me the CD, why dont you do that?

I tell them that sounds great! You should go book it right now, but wait...what are you talking to me for? They usually say something about how my stuff looks a lot better. lol. Fun stuff.

My time is the #1 thing people are paying for. If Im with them, Im not with my kids...and kids are only small once. Im not wasting 5 hours with someone over $100. It may sound arrogant until you realize what you are giving up...

[CaptainTom]

As a full time photographer trying to make money to pay the mortgage, the groceries, etc. I don't have the luxury of turning my nose up at customers.
My prices are reasonable. They're not as high as some of the "part timers" out there with viable day jobs that pay the bills.
But, I don't believe in bottom of the barrel pricing either. I have calculated the minimum hourly rate I can survive on and base my pricing on that. If I can streamline some of the processes, it's money in my pocket. If a bride wants to book a budget wedding with me, and I'd otherwise be sitting here answering posts on TPF, I'm likely to work out a price we can both live with.

[HotHolly]

There is a point, thought, when you thumb your nose at someone not b/c you dont want to get paid, but b/c you realize the profit margin on that payment is like $20 for doing 10 hours worth of work.

Anyone do that when they 1st started? You're all like wow - $500 for shooting a wedding! And then after you shoot, make a custom album, order all the prints and all the crap you gave away, you made like $5 profit? I cant be the only spaz who did that. Mike wouldnt let me charge a million dollars to shoot a wedding when we started out. lol. Now the insane train is driven by me. woooh ha ha!

[S-Man]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

...If Im with them, Im not with my kids...and kids are only small once. Im not wasting 5 hours with someone over $100. It may sound arrogant until you realize what you are giving up...

That's exactly the way you should feel, especially if you have kids.
I have a niece and nephew, who are 4 and 9 respectively, and I look back at old photos of when they were babies or small toddlers, and wish I would have spent more time with them and appreciated the moments with them more.
I wish I could keep them a certain size/age until I'm ready for them to grow up, but they never stop growing.
Kids are a once in a lifetime experience, and each one is different, so it's certainly something you don't want to miss, even for $100.
Cherish those moments with the little ones! Once those moments are gone, they're gone forever!
But I digress...

The first wedding I shot was one a friend of mine booked and the total price was $600. We split it down the middle and I was ok with that. I so lost on that gig.
But it was a learning experience indeed, and the photos didn't turn out half-bad. (And no, they weren't ALL-bad either )