I never understood why photoshoot are expensive in Australia. I have seen my friends hundreds of dollars for 2-3 photos.
Why Are Photoshoots So Expensive in Australia?
Cyberninja on 07/12/2016 - 11:55
Comments
1) Time. You need to be able to make a living off a job that doesn't guarantee full-time hours. Realistically, a photographer can maybe only do a couple of jobs a day - before performing post-processing. Add to that setup and travel times, you've basically got a full day's work there, even for just a few photos.
2) Equipment. The photographer is likely carrying $10+k in equipment with them, with probably 2 - 3x that amount still at home for the various types of jobs they'll have.
3) Experience. We're not talking about your iPhone-spec meal photos here; the photographer has studied and practised their skill for years understand how every single factor affects a photo - lighting, positioning, framing, background, foreground, posing, expression and so on; post-processing is an entirely different skillset with a massive learning curve on top of that.
A person with a DSLR does not a photographer make :)
post-processing is an entirely different skillset with a massive learning curve on top of that.
That's where it can make or break a good shoot too, is if they can't or don't edit, the differences are chalk and cheese
and before photography became digital?
Your photographer had a darkroom, which was orders of magnitude more expensive than a high-end PC and some software, and an entirely different skillset again.
Film processing in itself can vary the result in exactly the same way digital post-processing can.
You mean when we had cassette players in our cars?
Post-processing on digital photography has changed photography for the better and allowed pictures to 'pop' like they haven't before
And I do like cassettes. Most albums were good to enjoy from side a to side b. Imagine how hard it would be to find the 1 or 2 good songs on a cassette
Agree with this. Its so time consuming.
3) Experience. We're not talking about your iPhone-spec meal photos here; the photographer has studied and practised their skill for years understand how every single factor affects a photo - lighting, positioning, framing, background, foreground, posing, expression and so on; post-processing is an entirely different skillset with a massive learning curve on top of that.
You wouldn't need to "study" a textbook though.. it mostly comes with experience.
Not really. You improve with experience, but methods of composition aren't something you can just 'figure out'. You might develop your own style, and this might align with a couple of the more common composition methods, but unless you're a mathematician, you're not going to figure out something like this: http://digital-photography-school.com/divine-composition-wit…
1) this is probably the only difference. The cost of living in Australia is high.
2 & 3 will apply to photoshoots of the same quality around the world… even more so in some places because the tech will have a fixed price and might be more of an investment comparative to the cost of living. eg. $2000 camera is still $2000 in Vietnam
From my experience with ex work colleagues there are plenty of full time mums that have entered the photography business. The laws of supply and demand will mean soon prices will fall.
Also a large number of full time photographers that worked for newspapers for example are now on contract or part time so they will also be looking to supplement their income with glamour or family photography
A bored mother with an entry-level DSLR with a kit lens is not a photographer much in the same way I can cook my dinner but I'm not a chef.
Well I know two ex colleagues who are full time mums and moved in part time photography. They don't have entry level cameras. They have the works including home office with apple mac screen the size of my TV..
They don't have entry level cameras. They have the works including home office with apple mac screen the size of my TV..
The amount of money spent on cameras doesn't make you a great photographer.
Sure it helps in terms of capturing more detail so you can crop out some unwanted details and still have a great photo.
Entry level cameras are still very capable!Have a look at Cheap Camera Pro Photographer challenge by DRTV
My photographer wife left the industry after 21 years.
2 Film / 4 Digital bodies - 3 bags of lenses, batteries, leads, flashes, stands, reflectors, including spares of everything $400 per month in liability insurance $1500 a year in professional body fees.
She could still do a stellar photo shoot for 4-500 dollars but Mums with a Jill-E Bag and a smile were doing what they thought was a "lovely" shoot for $100 or even less.
Genuine training and skill takes years and costs a fortune to maintain.
I think the market will return to genuine professionals as the mums and hipsters get bored and move on, but it has damaged the industry as a whole. Finding a Professional with genuine talent is getting harder but OZB'ers can still dig up a student with talent working their way up in a confused world if you're looking for a bargain. Check out TAFEs and Uni ads for people "with an eye"So what does she do now?
If someone has a DSLR then by taking 1000 photos durring a shoot would have to (by some law of averages) result in at least a 1% chance some decent photos which provide for at least 10 shots.
some decent photos which provide for at least 10 shots.
That's a terrible approach to shoot photos though.
I guess you better glue the auto setting down for them.Well no, not really… you're basically using the 'given infinite time, monkeys and typewriters, one will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare' theory.
Turns out, no - because you're not going to consistently fluke a shot because no part of it is random. Timing, lighting, pose, scenery, as well as camera settings such as aperture, are everything.
1000 shots with the lens cap on randomly isn't going to produce a Mona Lisa :P
But…black cat in the dark is post modern art.
Recently had a new born and also discovered how $$$ photos can be.
Luckily I have a decent SLR and some reasonable photography skills :)