Looking for a photographer that “Won’t cost an arm and a leg” or is “Reasonably priced” ?

See also: “Won't break the bank” and “affordable”.

Would you walk into Tiffany’s and ask for a “reasonably priced” piece of jewelry?

No, if you wanted a reasonably priced piece of jewelry you’d go somewhere that the quality was much lower with less of a reputation.

Would you try to find a pair of Christian Louboutin’s that don’t “cost an arm and a leg”?

No, you’d go to Macy’s and find another brand of shoe that is of lower quality.

Would you walk into Louis Vuitton and ask for a reasonably priced purse large enough to hold everything you want to cram in your purse on the daily, quality enough that it’ll last a lifetime, fashionable enough that it’s both timeless and trendy?

God, no. You’d go to target and sacrifice on most of those things if not all of them BUT it would fit into your budget.

This is what it feels like when photographers see these posts of people looking for “reasonably priced” photographers. Maybe there’s some new photographers out there looking to build their portfolio and charging way less than industry standard. If that’s a risk you’re willing to take, I am not against it.

But if you’re posting this looking for a talented photographer with a good reputation, quality product, high end equipment, solid business practices and reliable turnaround on a target budget, I promise you it’s offensive and I implore you to think about why. For the same reason you wouldn’t expect that from reliable and quality brands that charge properly for what they have to offer you, you shouldn’t expect that from us.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’ve found talented photographers that charge way less, so those that charge more must be price gouging, right?

Not exactly.

It’s far more likely that the photographer that barely charges for their time, energy, equipment, talents, small business expenses, taxes, etc either hasn’t calculated their CODB (cost of doing business) or they genuinely don’t know their worth and probably even more likely that they will either realize this and raise their rates or have to fold their business because it’s simply not a sustainable business model.

This is a full time career for most of us, it shouldn’t be treated like a hobby by the public. If you deserve a livable salary for your time and talents at your job, we do too.

I have found over the years that this country struggles to value art. Well, let me rephrase that. Our country values art as something everyone loves and wants, but somehow has decided everyone is entitled to it just the same. Not to beat a dead horse, but everyone knows they’re not entitled to a beautifully crafted Louis Vuitton purse, but they still would like a purse so they get what is available to them.

Most people have a beautiful piece of technology at their fingertips at any given moment. That iphone or android phone you have has anywhere from 12 megapixels to 108 megapixels (the Samsung Galaxy S20 has a whopping 108 megapixels which could honestly print some billboard sized images). This allows you to take some beautiful photos of your family or yourself, and since you’re already paying for it (or have already paid it off), that puts it at your “reasonably priced” category and if you hand it to your friend to capture some shots of you, it also won’t “cost an arm and a leg”.

If you recognize that there’s a difference in the quality of someone taking photos with their phone vs someone taking photos with their professional equipment and an eye that has studied lighting, the art of photography, emotional captures, posing, business practices, the list goes on… then stop trying to get one for the price of the other.