11/02/2026
This might ruffle a few feathers, but I’m gonna say it anyway………
$30 photo sessions are not “helping people” the way some photographers think they are.
Photography is a luxury service ….yes, but there is SOOOOOO much that goes into it beyond the 15 or 20 minutes someone is standing in front of your camera. Equipment…insurance….editing programs….computers…..props…..backdrops…. studio rent….education…..travel….editing …..communication….gallery delivery… the list goes on forever.
When you charge $30 you’re not just undercutting other photographers. You’re undercutting yourself. And it creates this weird expectation that the rest of us charging sustainable prices are somehow expensive, greedy or “not helping families,” when in reality we are simply trying to get paid a sustainable rate for all the work that we put into it.
And for my clients….I think this is important too…
When you book with an established photographer you’re not just paying for the amount of time you’re physically in front of the camera. You’re paying for years of experience…..You’re paying for someone who knows how to work with your kids ... someone who knows what to do when lighting changes, when the weather doesn’t cooperate, when something goes wrong, how to pose you… how to make you look natural when you’re not a picture person ….how to edit consistently and how to deliver the kind of work you saw when you decided to book them in the first place.
You’re also paying for a business that is priced to actually stay in business.
Because I WANT to be here next Christmas. I want to photograph your babies as they grow up. Your seniors. Your weddings. Your families year after year. And you simply cannot run a sustainable photography business charging $30 for everything.
I’ve been photographing people for a LONG time. I’ve spent years building to where I am …..investing in equipment, creating sets, learning, growing and figuring out what my time is actually worth and there are STILL others that charge way more than I do.
I absolutely understand wanting to make photography accessible. There are ways to give back….gift sessions, run special events or quietly help a family who genuinely needs it without making rock bottom pricing your entire business model.
But there is a difference between being affordable and pricing yourself so low that it devalues both your own work and the industry around you. So to the clients who continue to value what professional photographers do, who come back year after year, who recommend us, who understand that there is a whole lot happening behind the scenes… thank you. ❤️
You are the reason small photography businesses like mine get to keep doing this.
And photographers…
You don’t have to charge what I charge.
But please, for the love of cameras everywhere, charge more than $30. 😭📸
If you made it to the end I appreciate you.
Rant over
