Professional Photo pricing

sweetsunnyc · June 2013

Hi all
We are finally getting around to scheduling professional photos and, wow!!, they are expensive. We have a "friend" that is willing to offer a discount 400.00 for an hour plus a disk of edited images. This seems really expensive to me....or is this about right?? Just wondering if I should go through her or keep looking. Thanks!

rjeller32 · June 2013

That is pretty pricey, but I know a lot of professional photographers in my area charge about the same (really anywhere from 200-600). But, from their perspective, they are giving up rights to their photography on a disc, and it's usually even pricier to get them printed through a photographer. I would keep looking if I were you, just to see if there was a possible cheaper route. My Groupon usually has some great deals for local photographers, maybe check that and Livingsocial out!

I got mine done by a friend, and I traded my sewing skills for her photography skills (I am making her a camera bag and her wedding dress...eek, talk about nerve wracking!)

perfectlove09 · June 2013

I too was going to suggest Groupon. I know a girl who will do it for 150 pro and all images on disc with no time limit. She did my maternity pics. You can see one in my siggy.

Jackiemxoxo · June 2013

That is a little on the pricey side but you do get the edited images which is hard to get with most photographers. I ended up doing my maternity pics for $250 with images. I would look at their work and compare it to others. Shop around and see what style you like best for the best price.

jwebb0512 · June 2013

Photography is very expensive, but IMO, photos are one thing I won't be cheap on. Pictures capture memories and moments in time that I won't ever get back, so I want to look back on good quality photos, not crappy ones. Luckily, we found an amazing photographer who shot our wedding and first set of family pictures and she works with our budget. Maybe call around, talk to people about your budget, and see what they offer. You never know what you might find! Good luck!

Jacqui105 · June 2013

Ive had some great professional photos taken of the girls at JCPenny's and never spent over $100 for the session plus tons of prints. A studio like that just involves you planning some good props and poses ahead of time so you still get the look and style of photos you want. Something to consider if you don't want to spend $400.

ArmyWife114 · June 2013

Jacqui105:
Ive had some great professional photos taken of the girls at JCPenny's and never spent over $100 for the session plus tons of prints. A studio like that just involves you planning some good props and poses ahead of time so you still get the look and style of photos you want. Something to consider if you don't want to spend $400.

We had professional pictures done at Sears, and had the same experience (I also had a groupon for A TON of free prints!). We got a digital disk of images (paid extra for it) but it was worth it in the end considering we spent less than half what the photographers here charge.

SingleMom31 · June 2013

Actually, for a professional photographer, I'd consider that inexpensive.

We did the "year of photos" package, which includes my maternity photos, newborn, 6 months, and a year (so 4 sessions), which was $450 for the sitting, a photo book at the end with photos from all four sessions, and nothing else. She won't sell you the high resolution images for any sensible price, though you can buy the facebook-quality ones for $25/photo (they are included if you order more than $500 in prints though). In terms of prints, 4x6 are $20, 5x7 are $25, 8x10 are $40, and anything bigger is fairly pricey. I was willing to cut back on other things to pay for it though -- The newborn pics were amazing.

Edit: Since I'll be a bit of an attention whore, you can look at them at: https://www.jenniferbatesblog.com/2013/02/13/happy-new-year-newborn-photography/ If you'd like to leave me a comment for a free photo, I need 6 more for a 8x10.

aelhunt · June 2013

It depends on where you are at. Mine does a package for 4 baby sessions and then a yearly birthday session up to 5 years old for $500. The pics are seperate but I buy all the images on a disk and 20 are edited for $250 a session. See siggy for pics. She is amazing too and did our engagement pics.

ExcitedAunt2b · June 2013

I have never paid more than $175 for professional photos. I am having Morgan's done tomorrow and it is by a professional and she is super reasonable! For the price she gave me we are getting at least an hour session, more if needed, and the CD with all of the pictures, and rights to print them. We can order prints if we want but I usually get them from Walgreens when they have their sales!

nanabanana06 · June 2013

400$ for the sitting fees and the disk sound super cheap to me. I was looking into newborn photos with professional photographers while I was pregnant. They all wanted pretty muchly the same, 400-600$ for you sitting fee and the basic package for kids, babies, newborn (they all had a package) and then another 400-900$ for their CD and the rights to them.

JessAnnJ · June 2013

Excluding my wedding photos which were a lot more expensive I have paid anywhere from 200 up to 550 for professional photos. I have hired 4 different photographers. I think price depends in large part on your area. Personally I would never use a photographer that I could not afford to purchase the digital images. I want digital versions of my images to be able to preserve them forever. I also like the option of making my own photo book and Christmas card and being able to order whatever prints I want whenever I want. That means there are some photographers I can't use, but there are still a lot of great ones that I can. The price you mentioned seems like a lot for a friend discount. I would do an online search and see if there is anyone else that you are interested in before you agree to this price.

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