Why Do Photographers Cost So Much Money?
It’s no secret that I dabble in photography. Even so, I’ve been known to be guilty of having that jaw-hits-the-floor moment when I see prices photographers charge.
But then I really thought about it.
Good photography should be expensive.
“But digital photographs are free!”. Sorry, no. The myth is that since cameras are now digital, it doesn’t cost anything to produce a single image and so it doesn’t really hurt a photographer to send over a few images for free. Couldn’t be further from the truth.
The .jpg file I send to you, as a photographer, does not have the same value as the .jpg you took for yourself on your iPhone. Or even the same value as the .jpg Uncle Joe shot with his rebel, as nice as it may be.
You’re not just buying the single file. You’re also buying:
- my time. the time it took to take the image…. and not just the split second that particular one was shot – it can take hours, and hundreds of shots to finally get the *right* one. the time it took to create proofs. the time it took to communicate with you and arrange an order. the time it took to edit and send it to you. that one little file can take up a lot of time.
- my expertise. i didn’t get to be this good overnight. i’ve been shooting with SLRs for over 10 years. i’ve put in hours in a darkroom. i’ve read books, attended classes, spent thousands of hours practicing my craft.
- wear and tear on my equipment. i shoot with a $5000 camera body (and a $1400 backup), lenses i’ve spent $3000+ on, not to mention the cost of memory cards, external hard drives, computer equipment, software, camera bags, and regular maintenance of said items. All told, I’ve easily sunk $15000 into this… and counting. it’s a continual investment on my part.
- often – my travel, living and accommodation costs. i didn’t get to iceland with my magic teleportation device or survive on air while I was there. for example.
- sometimes - the time i’ve had to take off work in order to be there to take the pictures. even though i love photography, my vacation does have a value to me.
Because photography is not my full-time gig, but I am still obsessed with quality and improving myself, I have never actually gotten anywhere close to profiting from my work. I’m not in it for the profit, obviously, or else I would not continue to enjoy it; however, even someone not in it for profit deserves to be compensated fairly. I’ve ranted about this before, I know, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around my own value myself – really thinking about what I put into this helps me see that, yes, I am being reasonable.
This is why (good) photography is expensive.
Threave Castle, Scotland.
The Power of a Voice and an Audience
I’ve been watching a lot of “Undercover Boss” lately. In case you haven’t seen it, the concept is that a CEO of a company puts on a disguise and works “in the trenches” for a week – doing a variety of entry-level/minimum-wage type tasks while shadowing employees.
The show is very formulaic and no doubt incredibly scripted; however, these bosses seem to genuinely be surprised every time about how difficult the “regular” jobs are. Even more than that, once they take time to get to know the employees they are working with, they see them on an incredibly personal level. They’re no longer just pawns in the race to improve the bottom line – they are real people. As part of the “formula” of the show, the CEOs end up surprising these particular employees with lavish, make-you-break-down-in-tears rewards.
What kills me about this is: the four or five employees “highlighted” in these episodes are no different from every other employee out there. What touches the CEOs are their stories. Sure, they end up picking out some really inspiring folks who have overcome and are still star workers and are therefore extra “deserving”; however, everyone has a story if you take the time to listen to it. Everyone is trying to do the best they can with the cards they’ve been dealt. And those working “at the bottom” tend to be working harder than most because it’s incredibly hard to support a family on minimum wage.
So what do the chosen few have that the others do not? A voice and an opportunity to be heard.
Then we have Caine.
Caine is a typical, curious, imaginative boy. He built an “arcade” out of cardboard boxes at his dad’s store. The difference between Caine and thousands of other kids just like him? One day, a customer asked if he could make a short film about his arcade and his film has now gone viral. As a result? Millions are watching and Caine is well on his way to having a $100K scholarship fund by way of donations from those watching the video. But what about those other kids, who have not had the luxury of being showcased in this way? Are there not so many others out there who are equally bright and deserving of the promise of an education?
My point is not that these folks are not deserving of the good things they are getting – just to point out that the only difference between them and many others exactly like them is attention. So, maybe, just maybe, we could all make a point of choosing to pay more attention to everyone around us.
You Never Think You’re Going to Get Lost…
Note to self:
1) When someone thinks it’s a good idea to “just go for a walk around the lake”, it’s probably not a good idea.
2) When hiking in unknown territory, take a cell phone with you.
3) When planning a walk in the wilderness, make sure at least someone knows where you are going.
4) Water is probably a good item to take with you, too.
Before dinner tonight, my mom convinced me to “go for a walk”. There’s a few trails through the bush right behind our house that we’ve walked a hundred times, but they’re not very long and it doesn’t make for much of a walk. There’s also a lake back there. So, mom suggested we just “walk around the lake”. Which sounds like a brilliantly simple idea, right? Not so much.
Here’s where we actually walked:
What that picture doesn’t show are the elevation changes – we were up and down more hills than I can remember. There are swamps and cliffs and thick bush… so it’s really not as easy as one would assume to “just walk around the lake”. You can’t stay along the shore because the bush is too thick and it’s too swampy, so you follow a trail for a while and think you can just cut over after a while, but then there’s a huge rocky hill, so you just keep following trails, assuming they are bound to hook back up with civilization, right? Ha.
So here it is, the sun is going down, no one knows where you are (not even you), you’re tired but you’re sure that “just over that next hill”, you’ll see something familiar. Ha.
We finally see houses – problem being, they’re on the other side of a body of water. I contemplated swimming.
So we start following around this lake. It’s swamp at the end of it, but we eventually just trudge through the swamp anyhow, end up in someone’s backyard.
Over 4 kilometers later, we are home.
I never really understood how stupid people must have to be in order to get lost in the woods… now I know.
Weird Cat Quirks
Cats like to:
- protest when we are packing by sleeping in/on suitcases
- lick your face at 7 am when they want fed
- stand guard outside the bathroom door if you dare close it
- or cry in protest outside any closed door
- dust blinds
- chase lights and shadows
- stare out the window for hours on end
- purr when eating
- have “conversations” with you
- climb inside bags
- sleep on top of TVs
Or maybe that’s just my weird cat?
Disappointed by Lack of Support
I may be way off base, but I just need to vent. As with anything on my blog, the opinions expressed are strictly my own and do not reflect the opinions of anyone else or any organization I may or may not be associated with.
I have read the stats and seen the research, so I know by the “facts” that approximately 20% of the people give 80% of the support. It’s called the Pareto principle. Examples of this can be found in business – 20% of customers give you 80% of your business, etc. Be it donations or volunteering, this “80/20″ rule seems to also hold true in the realm of charities and non-profits. The “vital few” are keeping organizations afloat.
All this to say that because of this well-documented effect, I’m not at all surprised that I’m seeing yet another example of it in real life.
I am trying to raise money to bring new activities to a summer camp for which I am on the board of directors. This camp meant a lot to me as a child and has shaped my identity. I can see its impact in my own life and I know the impact it has had on so many others. But where are those others now when camp needs them?
Like every charity, we are feeling the impact of the current economic climate. Enrollment has been on a steady decline. I am fighting very hard to promote the camp as much as I can in order to hold enrollment steady or hopefully increase it.
The camp has always relied heavily on donations to keep fees low and keep the camp experience accessible to families. According to Stats Can, in comparison to the overall Ontario averages, the local geographical area we serve has a higher-than-average number of single-parent families, lower than average median family income and a much higher than average rate of unemployment.
There is also a need in the area for activities for children. Not to say there is absolutely nothing else – but in comparison to many areas, there is quite little for kids to do that is specifically designed for them. As a child growing up there, camp was certainly something I looked forward to every year.
Not to brag, but we certainly serve an important need in the community.
And I must give credit – there are those who are being incredibly supportive. People sacrificing and going above and beyond to give of their time and money to keep making camp a reality. The 20% is alive and well and oh so important.
Where I am incredibly disappointed and discouraged is with the 80%. While I perhaps, according to the research, should not be surprised at all – it is still disheartening that so many people (and I’m talking people that have a direct connection to the camp and have attended there in the past) do not seem to be willing to contribute at all. While I know everyone has a different financial situation and I am not here to judge circumstances – I certainly know that not all of the “80%” is incapable of giving, even just a little bit. Even someone struggling financially can give a one-time donation of $20 and basically not notice it is gone.
So what is it?
Research indicates that many do not give simply because they are not asked – so I have made a conscious effort to try to ask. It’s a fine balance between asking and being annoying.. and I may sometimes cross that line, unintentionally. Most times I am completely ignored. Emails go unanswered – not even a “I’d love to help but just can’t right now.”
Is it the bystander effect? Do people think that they do not hold any responsibility and somebody else will step up and take care of it, so therefore they do not have to? I’m here to say that it is not true. We must all take responsibility for the things that we want to still have around. This organization is not immune to financial realities. We will have to close at some point – perhaps sooner rather than later – if we do not continually get the support we need. I’ve seen examples of things closing, where people all of the sudden want to help when it is announced that something will close. It’s too late, then. Don’t wait for it to be too late to suddenly remember the importance of this place.
Is it that they don’t think we need the help and so giving is unnecessary? So not true. We do. Very much so.
Have we done something to offend or discourage giving? If we have, I am sorry but truly hope if anyone felt this way they would let us know so we could improve.
Is it a generational thing? According to this Globe & Mail article, only about 23.4% of Canadians donate and the average age of donors is 53. The median amount of money donated in a year is $260. The actual number of people donating may be higher – as this report gathers information from tax forms and perhaps not all people who donate claim it on their taxes – but the main message is surely still true: many people are not in the habit of giving.
I am young. I understand student debt, the reality of trying to find a job, and the financial stresses of trying to get your life in order. Providing the basics of food and shelter for oneself feels so challenging that one doesn’t think they have the means of giving anything to anyone else.
But giving is a sacrifice. Giving is a conscious choice one makes and a way of life. You don’t just start giving “later, once I make more money” or “later, once my debt is paid off” or “later, once I have my life figured out”. You start now. You make it a habit now. If that means starting small, so be it. But do you think if you can’t bring yourself to give away any of your money now while you have so little that it will be any easier to part with it once you have more? I’m not saying to be reckless with your finances, but budget and designate a portion/percentage of your income to donate to the things that matter to you.
Being young is not an excuse. Don’t put off giving. Stand up now for the things that matter. Support the organizations that have supported you. Pay it forward. The reality is that if we do not, these things will not be there for the future generations.
