Tell Me HONESTLY

[nun69]

how much have you spent on professional potraits? we had ours done and they are really good, but I am having a hard time justifying some of the prices! so am curious what people have spent and want to make sure I that it is worht it! and if you have a collage or photo wall would you guys mind sharing it with me? I amlooking to have 1 photo wall in my new house and this will decide on what size prints I buy.... thanks

[Leila]

The most I've ever spent was $300. JP was a baby at the time and that amount got me a boatload of photos as well as new shoots whenever I called. They guy just came to my house and did it then came back a week or two later with photos for me to choose from. LOVED that. I wish I could find it again, lol!!

[newfiemountiewife]

The most I spent was on Wedding pictures, and that was $1200. I don't regret it for a second. My DH takes most of our pictures now, so it's cheap LOL

[Kat Stokes]

Well, I'm not much help but here's what I've paid.

$75.00 sitting fee (for a large group). The photographer is building his portfolio and gave us a deal. Then I ordered his pics through SmugMug and spent about $40.00. I got an 8x10 and 4 or 6 5x7's.

Other than that, we always have our pics done at JC Penney and the most we have spent there was about $175 right after my youngest was born.

My MIL paid $800.00 for our wedding photographer. I got an album with around 15 8x10's included in that price but that was 14 years ago.

(See told you I wasn't any help! )

[HeatherKS]

I had my oldest dd's 1 year pics done by a professional photographer nearby and I think I spent about $400 by the time it was all said and done. We got quite a few pics and a 16 by 20 baby parts collage for the wall also. I spent about the same for dd #2's one year pics also. I look back on those pics and still think they were worth every penny.

[nonnie]

Depending on who is doing them - up to 450 - But I want all rights to the pictures and I want to print them - I would rather go to someone on line I know and have them printed then use the photographer's print service - Chances are they are going to go to an on line site anyway - so 450 - they have to eat too!

[lovely1m]

Other than my wedding photos, the most I have spent is $150, I think. I do go professional, but I get those photos for me. This last time I found one who is still building her clients and she gave me full rights for $40!!! I also found one for my grandma's party this weekend to give full rights for $75.

[rach3975]

We go for Picture People-type portraits once a year. Between us and the relatives, we need so many copies that even that can come to $150-200.

My brother is getting a photography business off the ground, so he's going to do ours one of these days (he's out of state). He does wonderful landscape and wedding photography, but my kids are the only ones he's photographed so far and he's finding group shots of them very challenging! If he can get some good ones, our portraits will be printing costs only If not, I'm planning to wait another year or 2 until the kids will cooperate better and then splurge on a really good photographer. I couldn't do it every year, but I want to go all out at least once while they're still young.

[ColleenSwerb]

I've never gotten professional portraits done (outside of the wedding, which was $3500 and downright cheap as far as I'm concerned for how incredible the photogs were to work with, and the quality and quantity of the images which we now have full right over).

But, I just read this blog post and thought I'd post it here, lol.
http://www.melissajill.com/blog.cfm?...ffer-discounts

[Sarah8914]

Well, because our little family changes so much from year to year, I can't justify spending much. We had pictures taken last month, to help the photographer with advertising so we got the session for free and a few free prints... but I love how they turned out, I'm hoping to work a deal and get a bunch on CD (she offers this, just a little more than we want...). I'd love to do half the pictures for the half the price, but I don't know if she'll go for that.

Anyway, I won't spend more than $100. I can't imagine spending $300+ every year to keep up with how much we all change!

[Megan Turnidge]

Last year I spent about $400 including the session fee and that included purchasing most (not all) of the digital files (with a print release). I didn't order prints through the photographer. It was worth every penny and I think I got an amazing deal. I love custom photography and I will save up ALL YEAR in order to get it every fall. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get portraits done this year... Dave Ramsey tells me I'm not supposed to have any luxuries when I have debt. lol

For the future, I'd be willing to spend up to $600 total for a custom session. I don't like the portrait studios so I don't do JCP and the like. Just not my thing.

[sprauncey1]

I spent about $200 for my DS#2's first b-day and $300 for both my boys at a park. I won't do it again every year, but it was so worth it for me. My sister is a photog so she took our family portraits last summer. So that was free! Then I spent about $100 for my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary last summer (my sister and other family split the photog's time fee so most of my cost was the prints on CD).

And I look at those pics and LOVE them seriously!!! So worth it!!!

[jovi_girl]

zip. haha. but im a photographer. And my best friend is a photographer. So im lucky like that.

Actually thats not quite true cos i did spend about 3grand on my wedding photos. And to me, it was worth every cent. I hired an award winning photographer, that i admired, and my photos are awesome.

I generally charge $200 for a session, and i give my clients a disc of full res. photos. Thats just whats easy for me, since i dont shoot much anymore since having my son, and i dont have the time to stuff around with prints. People seem to like that, and here, $200 is CHEAP for pro photos.

[scrapmommaof3]

I think you get what you pay for. If you want unique, high quality custom photography, then you should be prepared to pay for it. If you want boring, everyone has them studio prints from a inexperienced photographer, I wouldn't pay more than $50 for a package with a coupon. Just my opinion. I am no professional photographer, just a novice.

[DawnMarch]

Well if it makes you feel any better, I've had clients spend well over $10,000 with me for family portraits.

[mummytothree]

wow I have come to realize after reading this thread and a few other photography threads that have popped up, that I am even cheaper then I had originally thought!!!! I stopped all "professional" (picture people ect....) 3 kids ago because it just wasn't worth the $$. I love my candid shots much more then anything posed!!! But back when I did those type of pictures I think the most I ever spemt was $40 to $50 bucks and that was only once or twice!!!

[mlewis]

I'm a personal fan of professional photography, and I don't mean JCP or Sears. We've lucked out in having great photographers take the kid's pictures the last two years (with free session fee) and I spent about $300 each time to have prints made. I did not order for the family - just prints for my own walls. I doubt I'll ever look back and regret spending that money for the beautiful pictures of my kids. My goal is to have one professional shoot a year for the kids.

[nun69]

so here is the deal...she charges $450 for 15 digital images that you can only print up to 8x10 {not sure how this is unless she sizes them that way} and you have to have a minimum $150 order with her before you can even purchase the digital images....and even though I am NOT a professional photograher, only amateur, I do seem to think this is a little too expensive for 15 images[that do not have any touchup done to them]! Now if she was willing to sell me all the images for $450, then I would totally be ok with that and would think that would be less work for her...so I am still debtaing...just not sure I want to spend $600 for 15 digital images and not very many prints.....

[ColleenSwerb]

Originally Posted by nun69

so here is the deal...she charges $450 for 15 digital images that you can only print up to 8x10 {not sure how this is unless she sizes them that way} and you have to have a minimum $150 order with her before you can even purchase the digital images....and even though I am NOT a professional photograher, only amateur, I do seem to think this is a little too expensive for 15 images[that do not have any touchup done to them]! Now if she was willing to sell me all the images for $450, then I would totally be ok with that and would think that would be less work for her...so I am still debtaing...just not sure I want to spend $600 for 15 digital images and not very many prints.....

Not wanting to sound like a hard @$$ or anything, but I think you should've looked into the packages before you had the pictures done. Yes, $600 is a lot of money, but that's what this photographer has decided her time and services are worth. If you disagree, you probably should have used a different photographer.

[nun69]

I did look at her packages, and I knew what I was getting into, but I still think it is a little ridiculously overpriced...that's why I was sort of wondering what other people had paid for family pictures/professional pictures....I will probably end up only getting prints because I am just not sure I can justify $30 for 1 digital image file....I know she puts time and effort into her busniess and am not saying she is not worth it, but for me I think it is just way too overpriced.

[MandaT]

I haven't spent any on a photographer, except for my wedding $1300.

I would however spend up to & possibly over $1000 to get the custom photography experience & great photos. Up to this point, I have done all of our family portraits & any sessions of my children, but since we're actually done, done & won't be having anymore kids, ever, unless we adopt, I will hire a photographer once the baby is around 1 to have some portraits made.

I wouldn't look at digital prices vs. print prices & compare them, because it's kind of like apples & oranges.

I think that $30 for 1 digital image is reasonable--heres my thought behind that--say you purchase 1 of her 8x10's for $30, you're getting 1 printed image, but if you purchase the digital file for $30 you can print it as many times as you'd like, 100's of times in as many sizes as her release allows.

[nun69]

Originally Posted by apphotos

I think that $30 for 1 digital image is reasonable--heres my thought behind that--say you purchase 1 of her 8x10's for $30, you're getting 1 printed image, but if you purchase the digital file for $30 you can print it as many times as you'd like, 100's of times in as many sizes as her release allows.

very good point...never thought of it this way!!!!

[Sarah8914]

That seems overpriced to me as well. The photographer we worked with would give us all the photos on CD for $200, edited and everything! And she's good! That might be on the lower range, but still, much better than what you'd be getting!

[nonnie]

Originally Posted by nun69

I did look at her packages, and I knew what I was getting into, but I still think it is a little ridiculously overpriced...that's why I was sort of wondering what other people had paid for family pictures/professional pictures....I will probably end up only getting prints because I am just not sure I can justify $30 for 1 digital image file....I know she puts time and effort into her busniess and am not saying she is not worth it, but for me I think it is just way too overpriced.

ITA - the pictures were really great - but I would have a REALLY hard time with her pricing

[Milmomma]

I had my portraits taken last Sept. I paid 150$ for about 2 hours of time and a CD with about 35 ish edited prints to which I had full rights.
Normally I do all photo's of us. This was a special thing I did for hubby. I think I will stick with doing the portraits myself. I usually do birthday photos each year and hope this winter to do a family portrait of us. I figure no body knows us better, or knows what I want better than me.

[mommy2boyz]

Wedding photography cost $2000.00. When both of my boys were born I had portraits done at 2 weeks. The sitting fee varied from $75.00 - $100.00 (not bad), but the print prices are what got me! I wanted them on digits so that I could print out whatever sizes I wanted, on whatever media I wanted, however many times I wanted. Both times I paid $800.00 for them. I justified it by telling myself that they will never be that tiny (or sweet and innocent) again!

[4noisyboys]

I have none of my boys from professional photogs from when they were small...If I could go back, I'd pay whatever!

[kim21673]

Other than my wedding photos, the most I spent was back in the fall. We got family portraits taken and spent about $400....that was with a discount...it was a mom of one of my oldest son's friends. We did get a lot of prints made...she was going to charge me $50 a print to be able to use that print for Christmas cards but decided that I would just have her do it....ended up being cheaper!!! Her sitting fee is normally over $100 but she charged us $50....

Before I got into photopraphy, we would spend about $150 at BRU for Jason's pictures every few months but then Seth came along and I decided I was doing their pictures myself. I have tons of backdrops and props for inside shots...I take their pictures now, do all the editing and get them printed professionally...spend less than $20 now and have awesome photos of the boys!!!