Just a wee vent about photographer costs.

aliasojo

OH took up running a couple of years back. The events he participates in tend to be very well attended.

The most recent was a half marathon. There was a photographer on hand taking various pics of the runners and these are then hosted online for you to view and possibly purchase.

Each pic costs £17.99 for a digital download. We were quite shocked at the cost and didn't buy any at that price. We know of severral other runners who feel the same.

Surely on events such as this where there are well over a thousand entrants, it would make more sense for photographers to drop their cost for downloaded pics especially, and more people would buy?

5 runners we know would have bought if the price had been around a fiver but none have bought at £17.99.

What am I missing? Why are these so expensive?

angelil

Because people are greedy.

Similar situation: my sister and I went to a photoshoot in East London where we had had to put down a small deposit beforehand. Afterwards the photos were absurdly expensive. Our deposit already included 2 photos free and the deposit cost was taken off the cost of any additional photos purchased. Good thing too as each additional digital photo (on a disc) was £80!!!!! So we ended up paying £80 for 3 photos, the photographer's/editor's/hair and makeup girls' time etc., which seems quite a good deal. However, we would have bought a lot more photos if they had been (say) only £5 or £10 each. The studio would probably make more money this way so I wonder why they don't do it? I appreciate they need to pay for the personnel's time etc but I still think it's a highly inefficient way of running a business. My wedding is next month too and wedding photography can also cost a bundle so I feel your pain

kev.s

in all honesty thats cheap, why should someone sell their talent short? photography is and art form far from point and click. if i want professional quality i'd expect to pay for it. if you're not happy with paying the price then get your own camera and click away, simple!

aliasojo

kev.s wrote: »

in all honesty thats cheap, why should someone sell their talent short? photography is and art form far from point and click. if i want professional quality i'd expect to pay for it. if you're not happy with paying the price then get your own camera and click away, simple!

Thing is, in a case like this, it really is point and click.

A photographer in a studio will spend time setting things up, sorting backgrounds, taking various pictures to get the best pose etc. I can understand his time will come into his charges.

In the case of a race, the photographer literally only has a few seconds to snap as the person goes by. Is that really worth £17.99? He's not even supplying an actual print for that price, he's just giving permission to download.

Don't get me wrong, it's no skin of our noses, we always take our own cameras anyway, but it seems a common feeling that people would buy at a lower cost so why do yourself out of sales by pricing so highly?

lucylucky

aliasojo wrote: »

Thing is, in a case like this, it really is point and click.

A photographer in a studio will spend time setting things up, sorting backgrounds, taking various pictures to get the best pose etc. I can understand his time will come into his charges.

In the case of a race, the photographer literally only has a few seconds to snap as the person goes by. Is that really worth £17.99? He's not even supplying an actual print for that price, he's just giving permission to download.

Don't get me wrong, it's no skin of our noses, we always take our own cameras anyway, but it seems a common feeling that people would buy at a lower cost so why do yourself out of sales by pricing so highly?

A good sports photographer needs a lot of skill to get a decent shot.

I am not defending the price but I don't think you should dismiss the work as just "point and click"

If the photographer is charging too much economics will soon sort that out.

aliasojo

lucylucky wrote: »

A good sports photographer needs a lot of skill to get a decent shot.

I am not defending the price but I don't think you should dismiss the work as just "point and click"

If the photographer is charging too much economics will soon sort that out.

Ok, point taken. I was perhaps being unfair there. I was just trying to show the difference in time spent on a race shot compared to time spent trying to photograph a squirmy, girny toddler for example.

PinkLipgloss

I do agree that it sounds expensive. However, other considerations include:

- cost of professional equipment (to buy and maintain)
- web space hosting fees
- time spent by photographer/web designer designing site and uploading photos etc
- set up and monthly fees for being able to accept online payments

vyle

PinkLipgloss wrote: »

I do agree that it sound expensive. However, other considerations include:

- cost of professional equipment (to buy and maintain)
- web space hosting fees
- time spent by photographer/web designer designing site and uploading photos etc
- set up and monthly fees for being able to accept online payments

And let's not forget the skill to (presumably) get the subject in focus, not under exposed, not over exposed, in centre, without it looking really crap.

It's not like he just puts the camera on auto, points and hopes.

Unless he's rubbish.

PinkLipgloss

vyle wrote: »

And let's not forget the skill to (presumably) get the subject in focus, not under exposed, not over exposed, in centre, without it looking really crap.

It's not like he just puts the camera on auto, points and hopes.

Unless he's rubbish.

Indeed - most pros I know have degrees (and therefore student loans to pay off!)

ukjoel

Interesting thread - I have noticed a huge drop in price of wedding photography in recent years due to the availability of good quality digital cameras for under 1k.

Its easy for people to do it as a weekend job and this combined with every other guest having some decent pixels at their fingertips means pictures are taken, facebooked, tagged and shared before the day is out.

If you think this guy is too expensive - and I think your right and he is - then undercut him.

All you need is a website - a digital camera, some business cards, and away you go.

trumpton

Professional photography has always been expensive. But if you look on MSE there are plenty of threads where people have paid for studio portraits on the basis of one photo being quite cheap, and then found they are pressured into buying more pics, and the 'cheap' one is a deliberately poor shot.

However talented the race photographer is, I personally think £17 for one photo is too much to pay. I also think family photos where the subject is relaxed and informal are much nicer than posed studio pics.