THE MAGIC YOU DON’T SEE

Why the photo shoot is only part of the job

A rule of thumb in the photography business is that 30% of each assignment is the actual photo shoot. That means if I take an hour in the studio to shoot head shots with you, I’m spending about two and a half hours on all the other tasks necessary to deliver your final photos.

A common response when I share this is, “Huh? What in the world would take that much time?” If you’ve never been a professional photographer, you’d have no way to know.

The first thing to remember is that my job is to deliver photos that will represent you or your business brand in a professional, polished and appealing way. The images you purchase will be used to make an impression, and they’ll probably be used many times, in many ways, for many years. So, there’s more at stake than texting a quick vacation photo to your Mom. More steps to take, too.

Let me explain what happens before and after...