I wanted to take a minute to explain the main schools of thought around how to understand different photography studio pricing to help educate you on how best to select a photographer that fits your budget and needs.

Digital vs Print

The first thing you need to know is there are two ends of the spectrum on delivery of the final product – on one end of the spectrum you have some professional photographers believe photographers shouldn’t give clients digital images at all, only prints.  The other end of the spectrum gives all digital images away.  Then there are a bunch of variations in between.

Before I break this down further I just want you to know that this is a topic that can get a little heated in photography circles.  Both sides are passionate about it because, in the end, they care about their work and want their clients to have the best experience! And I think we all, as photographers, agree that having prints or albums are best because having our images just live in the digital world does not provide the client with the best product or do the photographer justice by not having the work viewed as it should be. Having a beautiful image framed on your wall or a collection of images in an album not only gives you something tangible to enjoy but it gives more permeance to the images that photographer worked hard for.

What is a Sitting Fee?

In addition, some photographers have a “Sitting Fee” or “Session Fee” which is for the pays photographer’s time, overhead and talent for them to show up and take the images. After the sitting fee, you might need further investment to own the images either digitally or print or both.

Some photographers offer packages which include the sitting fee and then have an offering of a certain number of digital images and/or maybe a few prints or product depending on what package you select. If you want more than the package offering, you’ll need plan of further investment. Some also require a minimum product purchase in addition to the package or sitting fee.

Where I land in this debate

Back to the subject of owning the digital images, I really do see both sides. But, while I definitely want my clients to have prints and albums and tangible product, I don’t want to force product on them that they might not want or value. I also feel like the images should be their images if they’re hiring me to take photos.  Just like if I was hired to paint a mural in your house I wouldn’t start putting parameters on how you should use it.

You should also know that my pricing structure stems from a negative personal experience I had with a photography studio before I became a photographer. There was drawing for a free family session and, guess what?! I won!! So exciting! We had never been able to afford professional shots as a family. We got all dressed up, had our photos taken, were shown these beautiful images of our girls, and then were told that each print could be purchased at an exorbitant amount. We couldn’t enjoy these images unless we bought a tiny print for well over $100…for ONE print! We were a one income household with two small girls at the time. I left feeling hoodwinked. I also learned that everyone “won”! None of the print prices were explained to me until I’d seen the images. It felt very used-car-salesmany to me.

When I started my photography business, I knew I would never feel comfortable putting the hard sell on my clients like that. My clients pay for my services and all the full sized edited images are theirs (30-40). Full stop. I give them a tangible product in the set of mini albums that they can share with family or friends and if they value prints, they can purchase further product at a very reasonable cost. That is it!

I don’t think my way is better than other studios but it works for me and my clients. I still encourage clients to either buy prints because, without them, it’s a bit like buying a beautiful new shirt and then only wearing it in the dark. It doesn’t do it justice! But I’m not going to trick my clients into agreement with me like my experience above.

6 Questions to ask your photographer about pricing

When you are looking for a photographer, many photographers don’t have the prices on their site. This does not mean you can’t afford them or they’re trying to trick you!  Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask what their prices are but be sure and ask;

  1. What, if any, products are included in the Senior Session?
  2. Is the yearbook image included?
  3. What are their prices of products not included in the Senior Session such as prints and canvases?
  4. Do they include any digital images and if so, what size (key! Because small images can only be used on screen and can’t be printed by you).
  5. Does their fee include touch-ups?
  6. What is the average investment of families for Seniors Sessions?

To answer the above questions about my own studio to give you a jumping off point –

  1. I provide a set of 3 custom mini albums ($70 for additional sets).

  1. The yearbook image is included and I upload or send it to the school for you.
  2. Small prints (4×6, 5×7) are $10.00, medium (8×10, 8×12) are $15 and large prints and cavasses start at $100.
  3. All the images that you see in the online gallery (30-40) are downloadable at full size.
  4. Touch-ups are included in the Session Fee.
  5. The average investment for my clients including the Session Fee is $800 ($600 for the Session and most spend an average of $200 for prints, product or announcements).

I hope all this information helps you select a photographer for your Senior Portraits!

Xo Christiana