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I get the question over and over again. Why do we only get 20 images to select from? This comes with other questions such as; how about the unedited images…?
It often leads to question about pricing. “why would we pay you $1299 for 20 images when we can get 200 images from someone else at $199”?
If you continue reading, you will get a better understanding of the value of 20 images. And if you don’t see the value of them, then there is absolutely no obligation to use me as your photographer. The market is saturated with photographers, all at different prices and different quality.
Generally you get what you pay for.
The short answer to the question is: Because every single one of those 20 image are perfect. I am a fine art portrait photographer. I shoot for your walls. I do not shoot for your hard drive. What I create is to be enjoyed every day for decades. Not to be lost on a hard drive in a couple of years.
The longer answer to the question is here:
All my portraits are planned beforehand (style and colours). You let me know what style you like, what colours you like and who you want to bring for your session. A lot of time goes into planning a portrait even before it is taken. An in person pre session consultation is included for all my sessions. This means 1-2 hours planning your session together at my studio. Time that I do not charge for, it is included in the final image price.
I am highly trained in posing people. Whether it is family portraits, men, women, children or babies, I will guide my model through every single aspect of posing. It takes a lot of skill to pose people so they look their best and at the same time look natural. This skill is something I have learnt through years of practice and through numerous courses and expensive 1-2-1 mentoring sessions. Yes there is such thing as posing mentoring:)
Light is everything. It literally is such a bit part of an image. If not done correctly, the image simply won’t work. Every single one of my images have impeccable light setups. These individual setups are thought through lighting setups that suit the person I am photographing. I do not use a ‘one light fit all’. Often during a session you will see me change light setups, test lights, do modifications etc to get that perfect light that suit my model. Again I have spent years perfecting my lighting knowledge so I know which light to use for all types of portraits. And yes you guessed right, more 1-2-1 mentoring on lighting with some of the best portrait photographers in the UK.
Of course I take more than 20 images. After the session, during my selection process, I pick the best images for editing. I look at composition, lighting, posing, expression etc etc. It can take more than an hour to select 20 images from 200 images. And trust me, I do select the best ones! Firstly, because I don’t want anything less than perfect to my name. Secondly, I want you to like it, so why would I not show you the best?
Don’t even get me started on the topic of editing. Your shoot may take 2-3 hours, but it takes so much longer to edit those images. This is because I edit to perfection. I can spend 20 minutes alone on the background of an image, as I am extremely fuzzy about how I want it to look. Then comes all the retouching of the model. And no, I do not change the way people look what so ever. But it does take a long time to remove stray-hair, retouch skin, enhance colours etc. Then comes the tricky family and group images. There is always someone who closes their eye or look the other way. In this case I swap that persons’ head from another image, in order to get the perfect family portrait with everyone looking their best.
If I gave you more than 20 images to chose from, you would get a bunch of unedited images. Images where you can see the light stand to the left. Images where you are blinking. Images where your toddler is screaming his head off. You would have the choice of image A: mum and dad looks amazing, but toddler is screaming. OR image B: Dad and toddler look amazing, mum is closing her eyes and her foot is out of the frame…. By selecting 20 images I make the job easy for you. I only show you perfect images. In this case I would have merged the two images so all three of you look perfect.
Lastly, there is the space issue! I shoot for your walls. I only sell prints and wall art (I gift you the corresponding digital high resolution copy when you buy a print). Why do I do this? Because I want you to display your portraits! You have paid $1299 for 20 portraits. I have spent 25-30 hours creating them. Therefore, I want them on your wall! And do you have wall space for more than 20 images? Unless you live in a large house and decide to dedicate all your walls to these portraits, then chances are, you even have to select a few from the 20 you want to display. You simply don’t have space to display all of them.
As I mentioned above, there is a photographer for every budget. There is a photographer for every taste. I may not be the photographer for you. If you want 300 unedited images for $199, then I am not for you. In fact if you want unedited images, I am not for you.
If you want to chose between 20 perfect portraits, then I am for you. You don’t need to pick all 20. I will show you 20 portraits, beautifully printed and displayed at my studio for when you come for yout your viewing and buying session. It is totally up to you which ones you want to purchase. There is no hard sell, I only want you to get the ones you are in love with. However, most people fall in love with them all, so there is a good chance you will too.
If you want to read more about how my sessions work and everything I can do for you please read here
And my full pricing can be found here
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