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Portrait Photography - an Introduction
You've
probably already got a digital camera and, no doubt, you have taken some
lovely photos of your family and friends but there's nothing quite like
the excitement when you view some really great quality portraits of your
family especially when its on a special occasion. Getting some
professional portraits done is an investment of your time and money but
the final result should be something that you and your family will
treasure forever.
OK so I'm
enthusiastic about family portraits, I love photos of people, that's
really the point of this website. I want to help you get enthusiastic
about photos too! Taking your family to a photo studio, getting dressed
up, playing the fool and having a good laugh is a family event, a
special occasion for everyone to be experiencing something
different together and it shouldn't cost you any more than a family
ticket to the zoo ! (did I really make that comparison?). And what's
more you usually get to keep a free photo at the end of it.
In the
Bournemouth & Poole area there are some good portrait photographers that
offer excellent value. For a more detailed list of recommended
photographers & studios see our
Local Portrait
Photographers page. For example, Studio Shotz in Southbourne
offer a 30 minute studio photo shoot for up to six people for £50 and
include an A4 print and two 6x4 prints. DK Capture in Poole offer a 60
minute family photo shoot for just £40 and can accommodate up to 25
people. A 10x8 print is also included.
What a
bargain! What's the catch? There must be a catch!
You're
right, there is a catch and it's the fact that the photographers are so
confident that you'll fall in love with all their photos they are
willing to provide their services for well below cost price. They don't
want you to go home with just the free print, they want you to buy as
many photos as you can afford. Believe me, a really good photographer
can work out very expensive; a great photographer
can leave you
nearly bankrupt!
TIP: the secret of choosing a suitable
photographer for your family portraits is not just to look at the
initial sitting price but to find out how much any additional prints are
going to cost you. Make sure you do this BEFORE booking a portrait
session.
The
largest portrait photography franchise in the UK (no names given but
they don't have a studio in Dorset anyway) manage to lure their clients
into their studio with photo shoots for just £25 including a free 7x5
print. No doubt the photos are great, they would have to be, because an
extra 7x5 print will set you back an incredible £95 and an album of 10-15 prints
can cost
around £800!! Their website conveniently forgets to inform you of these
costs, you only find out during a viewing session after the shoot. Here
in Dorset our photographers are not so excessive and you can expect to pay
£10-15 for an extra 7x5 print of your choice - a bargain some might say
but still quite expensive when you consider a 7x5 print will only cost
you a few pence from your local supermarket (inferior quality print
though - see section on why use a professional photographer below). A photographer will tell you that
you're not paying for the paper, you're paying for the skill and years
of training and experience that has enabled the photographer to capture that special image. Fair point. The photographer also has to recoup his/her costs
after offering you an initial photo shoot for a ridiculously small
amount and although the shoot may have only been for 30 or 60 minutes
the photographer may have easily spent another 4 or 5 hours selecting
and editing the best photos and uploading them to a website for you to
view. (I have been told that the actual cost of a 1 hour shoot including
photographer, studio hire/ running costs, equipment and post production
editing time adds up to around £150-200).
The good
news is that most of the photographers listed on this website actually
include the prices of their extra prints and services on their websites.
Many offer a wide selection of print sizes and photo packages as well as
poster prints, large acrylic frames, canvas prints, etc. You can
often view all of your photos from the shoot a few days later at a
personalized online album with no pushy sales persons and no immediate
pressure to buy any extra photos - most online albums are available to
view and make purchases from for up to 12 months after the shoot.
If a
photographer's website doesn't show the prices of the extra prints then
email them for a detailed price list. Most will be happy to supply one,
if not just find another photographer.
Family Portraits - A Typical Budget
Obviously
the amount that you spend on your portrait photos will depend on the
initial price of the sitting (studio time), the price of the prints and
how many extra prints you buy. This will also depend on how much you
like the photos and how much money you have to spend. I've listed four
categories of budget below - which category will you fall into!
1. Low
Budget £40-70
You're
just go to try something new, have a laugh, and are happy to come away
with the free photo. You've got no real intention of buying any
additional prints but you could be persuaded to buy one or two extras if
the photos were really great.
2.
Typical Budget £100-400
It's a
good day out with the family, you're very open mined about buying
additional prints. When you see the photos you really like them and
decide to spend another £100-400 on a few smaller photos and a really
nice canvas print to put on the wall. Everyone is happy including the
photographer who has covered their costs and makes a small profit.
3. High
Budget £400-800
Fantastic
photos making it difficult to select only a few. You buy some large
prints and a canvas print. Over the next 12 months you also buy another
canvas or a beautiful acrylic mounted print for the wall. See I told you
it could be expensive but if the photos are really great it is not
unusual to end up spending this amount. You're happy, your friends all
comment on the great photos hanging in your lounge and how you look like
a model or the perfect family. You end up spending more than you had
planned but well worth it. Photographer very happy.
4. No
Limit!
You're
rich and buy them all. The photographer is really really happy and
falling over themselves to give you a stack of their business cards to
hand out to your rich friends. Your contact details have been safely
stored away and you'll probably get a follow up call from the
photographer very soon to check for any new additions to the family,
weddings, birthdays, anything really. Please email me I am sure I can
help you!
Why have your portrait taken by a
professional photographer?
1. Making
an appointment with a photographer forces your family members to get
together in the same place at the same time. Stop putting it off and
make an appointment today!
2. Having
your photos taken in a studio is great fun. It's warm and dry inside
with a selection of different backgrounds, controlled lighting and a
choice of props to play around with.
3. A
professional photographer will use high quality equipment - a high end DSLR camera with a
selection of pin-sharp lenses. Quality equipment is expensive usually
costing several thousands of pounds. If you're only going to buy small
sized prints then you're not really going to see a great difference
between your standard compact camera and a professional camera but if
you are planning on getting poster prints or enlargements to put on the
wall you'll definitely see the benefits.
4. A
professional photographer will have years of experience. They'll know
how to get you smiling or feeling relaxed, they'll guide you through the
poses and get your children playing happily. They know how to make you
look good and where to place the lights.
5. When
you leave the studio at the end of the shoot the photographer still has
a lot of work to do. For every hour taking photos in the studio a
photographer will typically spend another four hours selecting and
editing your photos to make you look your best. This post production
work is usually done on a computer using Photoshop - an image editing
software that costs more than £600. If this post-production editing is
done well you probably won't even notice it - you'll just think you
naturally look that great. Editing may include colour correction,
lightening of dark rings under the eyes, removal of spots and blemishes,
slight smoothening of the skin, brightening of the eyes, etc. If this
process is done by someone without much experience you'll just end up looking
kind of strange, like a waxwork or even worse.
6.
Many professional photographers will upload your photos to an online
gallery where you can browse and choose the photos you want to buy
without any pressure. You can invite your friends and family to view the
photos online. (note that these online photos usually have the
photographers logo as a watermark embedded in the image so you can't
print them out or copy them).
7.
Professional photographers won't take your photos down to the nearest
supermarket to print them out (or at least they shouldn't do!). Check
out their website to see the type of paper they use for the print.
Rather than use low grade machine automated prints they will offer
prints on professional photo paper that have been colour corrected and
checked by an expert. Pro quality paper means that your prints won't
fade with time which is particularly important if your going to hang
them on your wall.
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