Suburban Goddess

A friend of mine was over this evening, and we were discussing out ambitions to become photographers. She has done extensive research on pricing and packaging, and I have to say…

You people should be ashamed of yourselves.

As I looked over the sites of local photographers, I was sickened by how much they make. Granted, there are a few exceptions; I have a true and deep respect for photographers who still shoot and process film. There is true science & talent in that, and I am deeply envious.

But since the dawn of digital, there is a rise of amatuer professionals out there who have discovered that a decent eye and working knowledge of Photoshop is grounds to quit your day job and charge people an insane amount of money. As I look over some of the pricier ones, I can spot a Photoshop-ed picture faster than you can say Gaussian Blur. In fact, I can tell you a shortcut to almost every popular photo style I see. How to build a better black in white in three steps. How to colorize a portrait in four. Need a chocolate wash? I can do that in two steps. Soft focus? No problem…

I’ve started to get a decent amount of business through word of mouth, but I’m starting to think that keeping my prices low is working against me. People automatically wonder, why? Maybe because I can’t justify marking something up over 1200% in the name of art. I ENJOY taking pictures; I love making someone feel good about themselves. Now, if I could just convince myself that my pictures are good enough, I could quit my day job.

This entry was posted on January 22, 2007 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.