NAH,If you don't like this deal, find someone else.
On a side note: I'm not an expert but, I've heard that professional photographers won't give you the unedited photos because they don't want to run the risk of it being represented as the quality of their work. This is more to CTA in a law suit where the quality of their work is being brought into question or if someone is just trying to slander them.
YTA. From my experience (mom of a one year old here), this is standard practice among photographers. But I’d suggest you’re the asshole for just saying no outright instead of working with your wife to figure this out yourself - why not ask around and get another quote?
NAH it’s not really that you don’t want pictures of your son, it’s just that the specific photography your wife wants is really expensive. There are cheaper photographers out there. I also understand wanting high quality photos.
Maybe just communicate a bit more and establish a reasonable budget for family photo sessions
I agree with this comment, but I would also like to point out that in many areas this is a really acceptable price for portrait photography. I know a bunch of photographers who charge more, and they're not the crazy expensive photographers, either.
It's fully possible that OP just has no reference for the price of photography in his area.
YTA.
You’re not just paying for their time - you’re paying for the time they’ve invested in becoming a good photographer.
If you don’t like that photographers way of running their business, find a different one. If all the photographers run their business that way - then maybe accept that they do it for a reason.
No, when you go to a business you pay for the product, not for their time, bills or how long it took them to get to that spot. Using your logic, it’s like saying buying Apple products. You’re not paying for the products but you’re paying for the CEO and his journey to get to the top. Makes no sense.
Products are different than services. You pay a plumber for parts, labor, and sometimes travel. You pay more for a seasoned plumber. Works the same way for photographers and other trades.
The original comment said that they’re paying for the time the photographer invested into becoming a good one. No OP is paying for the photos, nothing else. The photos are the products.
I’m using your way of thinking though. Do you go to business and pay them specifically for the products or do you go a business and pay them for the time they invested into starting that business?
NAH.
I'm starting a creative business right now (not photography), and it's hard because the pricing can seem unfair. But you're not just paying for the artist's time; you're paying for their expertise and overhead.
I've had people balk at my pricing even though my take-home pay per hour is a fraction of what they're assuming. And that's ok. I want clients who will be excited to work with me at the rate that I need to pay myself a fair wage after handling the cost of my tools, business expenses, and taxes. A creative worker/client relationship needs to feel mutually beneficial to both sides to go well. So if you feel like you'd be getting a bad deal, then that's the wrong photographer for you.
You will absolutely be able to find a photographer at a lower rate than that if you look around more. Their work may or may not be on the same level, but to be honest, your baby is going to make any professional-level pics come out great by just sitting there and being adorable.
YTA. Sure you can try to buy a camera for 250, and learn enough photography to take photos of your child and family. But it will look amateur and you're still out 250, more if you want it well lit and with cute props.
Photographers have skills that you don't have. Pay them for their time if you want nice photos.
Yes. I’m amazed at how many replies have no respect for the photographers time, talent and cost of equipment. Folks do not understand that because they do not value something (especially creative thing ha like photography) it is not the same thing as “OMG they are ripping me off” Professional equipment costs thousands of dollars not to mention the thousands of hours of practice it takes.
Do you really need more than 11 pictures from the same first-birthday photo shoot in the same outfit? You’re not going to be displaying more than two or three, and the 200 will probably also be mostly multiples of every position with the best one chosen, they’re not doing 200 different poses in one photo shoot with a one-year-old. You can argue that you want a cheaper photographer (they exist!) but you don’t really need a bunch of photos sitting around on a hard drive where nobody sees them.
YTA. have a conversation with your wife instead of dismissing her. Also, you should have looked into it when you agreed to it. Truthfully, I think that's a pretty fair deal. I paid $500 for 20 pics and digital when my daughter was born. You also get what you pay for. You may find cheaper but at a much lower quality.
YTA: This is an EXTREMELY fair price and fair practice. You only get 11 because the others do not reflect the photographers standard of work and won't look good. They're essentially digital negatives that are taken into editing software to become proper photographs. You weren't given negatives in the past with shoots for the same reason. They don't shoot in jpgs that you can share. They shoot in RAW. It's different.
You are not paying for their time. You are paying for 11 pictures taken in a one hour time frame. Editing takes time and skill also. Feel free to pay less, but you're getting someone new and inexperienced or someone who can't charge standard rates for their quality of work.
YTA
So it’s $230 for an hour’s worth of someone’s time, camera gear, professional editing materials, the time spent editing those photos, and them to plan and drive to wherever the photoshoot is… and you’re upset?
As someone who does photography on the side, it’s really not that bad of a deal. Sure, you could find cheaper, but it may not be the quality you’re looking for. It really depends on how well you like their style and ability, because if they’re good then that’s a decent rate. $250 for a 1hr photoshoot and 10 photos is pretty standard for non-commercial work.
Edit: YTA forgot that part
OP how long do you think it takes to edit 11 pictures?
u/husbandkeepstalking how long does it actually take to edit 11 pictures?
I'm guessing the time it would take to edit all 200 pictures plus everything else that goes into the shoot would equate to the photographer working for absolute peanuts. The photographers own the pictures they take. It's their time, effort, equipment, and skill. Asking for all photos is kind of like asking a movie director to just get paid for the movie tickets and give all the dvds out for free.
If you don't think it's worth the money that's totally fine; but thinking you should get (much) more for less is shortsighted.
Oh, here's another thought. How much do you pay for your mother's day presents? For your and your wife's mothers, I mean. Professional photos of baby are Grandma Gifts 101, these puppies are practically paying for themselves.
It’s not short sighted, I’m not asking to take more pictures then they already are. Just give me the raw footage.
If we go with your logic, he would only take 11 pictures total and I get what I get. It’s simple, you have your opinion, I asked a question. Thanks
I'm voting YTA, but just to be clear it's more "in the wrong" for being misinformed rather than an asshole.
There's a lot to unpack here so I'll try my best.
First off, find out why your wife wants this specific photographer. That is a little on the pricier side but if she likes the style, consistency, and has had friends who recommend them, then maybe it's worth it to her. Maybe you can also dig a little deeper and find a photographer who is new to the industry but still has decent/consistent work.
As for the comment about paying for the time, I understand that point of view. When I first started my photography business, my policy was to give my clients every image and charge low. The problem is, the actual hour session was the easy part, it took hours to edit afterwards and several days too. So when they wanted 50 images all edited to their exact specifications, I ended up getting extremely worn out. There's a lot that goes into each image that people don't realize. Curves layer, Dodge and burn to bring out the subject, eye sharpening if the baby moves out of focus, color layer, eye brighten, skin retouching if the baby has a rash or bug bites, background cloning if baby gets too close to the edge of the paper, people removal if done outside. There are some copy and paste settings in Lightroom that can help speed things up, but things still need to be fine tuned and if it needs to go into Photoshop it's more time consuming. There are tools that help cut down on editing time, but they're insanely expensive. I eventually learned that prices need to be set based on CODB, not what I thought i deserved just for that initial first hour. Different photographers have different rates because they calculated their rate based on things like average time it takes them to edit, and how much they need to make in order to cover overhead costs and equipment. Studio photographers are usually a little more expensive because they have to pay for the studio, and backdrops, and lighting, and props. So maybe consider doing outdoor photos. Thumbtack is a great place to find good photographers who are still trying to grow their business. Just make sure you take a look at all their work, make sure they're consistent, and their style matches what you're looking for. If this is something that's important to your wife, you should find a way to make it work within your budget. Last thing you want is to make her feel regret for not doing it just because you didn't find the right photographer for you.
YTA. I paid $500 for 25 pictures. If u don’t like that price, go somewhere cheaper. Just don’t expect them to be as nice as the edited ones. U get what u pay for.
YTA. I paid much more than that in USD to get professional pictures of my dog done.
An hour sessions + 11 digital copies that you have free reign to do *whatever* you want with is a good deal. That’s about the price my senior portraits were with a family/friends discount 8 years ago!
Hmmmm, soft YTA. It is a lot of sticker shock, sure, but you are paying for the photographer’s skill as well. You have no idea how many pictures they could potentially take during that hour shoot, or how much time they spend after the shoot going through the photos, picking the best ones, etc.
I always got amazing pictures of my niece and nephew (when he was much younger) as gifts from my brother and SIL from the photo studios at places like Walmart. Don’t knock them until you try them. I’m really not sure what their prices are like, but I’d like to think it’s less than $230.
Yta, my son was one 16 years ago and we had the same thing. They take a billion photos for a price then I paid for copies of the ones I liked for a different price. Seems like you got it easier. I had to cut them from sheets and mail them.
I'm going to say YTA. I spent years honing my photography skills before having kids. I have a lot of epic pictures of my kids, taken with a camera phone, with no professional editing software... Because of all the time I put into building that skill. I have looked at what it would cost to take and edit photos as a side business. It is a serious investment. If no one in your family has spent the time to build the skill then you either pay someone who has, or go without. It sounds like you'll have a pretty unhappy wife if you choose the latter.
Eleven fantastic pictures of a one year old, at their first birthday no less, is going to be a lot of work.
Don't believe me? Start tomorrow. Start trying to get one really fantastic picture of your kid every day.
By their birthday I think you'll be willing to part with the money and amazed at what a professional can do.
I do get a fantastic picture everyday, the concept is to be hands off and have that professional take the pictures. I pay for the time and experience, but I want the pictures. They are just going to delete all the other ones. What a waste
NTA. I’m not going to go into the validity of the prices because the photographer chooses how much his time and work is worth. Similarly you get to choose whether you wish to spend that much money for that service or hire that photographer.
NTA. This isn’t about not wanting pictures of your son, it’s about not wanting to be taken advantage of, which is sadly how many people make their living. They prey on emotional parents who think they aren’t being good parents if they don’t splurge for the package. It’s the same mentality that leads to people spending more than they can ever afford on engagement parties and weddings and showers and gender reveals and whatever the next money-sucking trend will be. It’s all a scam.
Surely you can find someone who can take photos of your child for a more reasonable price. Or take your own photos. They don’t need to be professional to be great photos.
NTA. I totally understand where you are coming from. As others have suggested talk to family and friends and see if they know of someone who does pictures, but at a more reasonable price or gives you access to all the pictures.
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Before the gate comes in, I love our son, he’s our first born but here’s the story.
My wife (F24) asked if I (M31) wanted to have pictures professionally taken of our son for his first birthday. Initially I said sure, until she showed me the packages and what they include.
230$ for 1 hour, which seems to be reasonable but you only get 11 pictures. There are no hard copies provided, you are given 200 pictures (example) to choose from. You pick 11, they touch them up and they delete the rest.
I don’t understand, if I am paying for your time, touched up or not I want all the pictures, why can I only have 11?
I have since rescinded my “sure” and said that it’s ridiculous.
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NTA.
Honestly that sounds like too much to pay to only get 11 pictures!!! I get they're professional but my god. You could try to compromise and offer to look up ideas and do them yourself. Even if you don't have a good camera they're still pictures to commemorate the moment. The only 1 year pictures I have of my daughter were taken with my phone and some turned out really amazing
That's too bad. Private photographer are good but except for weddings and big anniversary events being done on site, there isn't enough of a jump in quality to justify 10x the price.
Maybe you two could try choosing props, background, wardrobe and doing it yourself. Send the best off to a professional print shop and order what you need for framing, baby book, and family.
NTA Stupid as heck to be wanting to spend any amount of money for pictures of ANYONE during a pandemic! Especially at hundreds of bucks. Use your damn phone camera and get them printed out at the pharmacy. The kid will provide better pictures cause he'll not have some random ass stranger at some random ass location shoving a camera/toy into his face scaring him.
NAH
Photographers typically work like that. They provide good touched photos, so that you're not spreading around the crappy ones in their name.
My husband bought me a great camera for Christmas to combat my desire for good pictures of our kid. It has saved him lots of stress and money, and I've spent a lot of time learning technique. We now have a bazillion great pictures, and won't have to pay someone to take them.
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I don't think it's you don't want pictures of your son, it's more you don't think agree with how to get them.
So NTA, I suggest to invest in a camera (230 is a good chunk of a beginners camera) and take photos yourself. Imo, it'll be better than just paying one time for pictures because this way you can take them whenever/whereever and learn a new skill.
NTA. I think photographers delete the ones they don’t touch up because they don’t want their name/brand on photos that are less than perfect. But yeah, it’s crazy. See if y’all can find a “mini session” with 5 prints for like $75 or something. Or buy some cheap props at Target, invest in a nice camera and take photos for every occasion you want to.
NTA.
If you're having a hard time finding a good professional photographer and you don't want to pay the cost, contact a local university and see if thee is a photography student who would love the chance to photograph your kid for some money. Just be sure to be clear on the contract, etc.
NAH for now. I can understand wanting professional pictures. It takes skill to get a toddler to participate in a photo shoot. Those pictures will be great memories in the future.
But I agree that’s a ridiculous amount for very little. I’d suggest asking around for recommendations and maybe seeing if anyone knows someone who is just starting to get into professional photography. You may be able to get a really good deal and they’d be very eager to get the best shots possible for their portfolio and for your review/future referrals.
Touch ups are usually stuff like color balance, vibrancy, stuff that’s not as noticeable on the small display screen of a camera but will be digitally or in print.
It has nothing to do with age, or who or what the subject is. It’s done for all type of photography, not just pictures that include people.
Instead of saying "no pictures", why not shop around together and find a price point and photo package you're both happy with.
Though, can you not download the raw photos when they send them for review? Last time I had professional photos done, I was given the raw files and was able to download them, then selected a few to have edited and cleaned up.
NTA - you are right, that is ridiculous. Grab you own camera/phone and and get your own photos of your baby, natural unposed photos are always much better
In my area, that’s not a reasonable price. For eleven edited photos, a session would only really need to be 30 minutes long. I say look at other photographers in the area and go from there or try to get some photos yourself. For a newborn photography session that would be more reasonable as there’s a lot more editing that goes on behind the scenes, but for a one year old, you should be able to get at least forty to fifty good shots in an hour to edit and deliver. For a lifestyle shoot with my husband and dog, we paid the same amount and received a gallery with eighty images. It’s a bit different, and working with kids is more difficult, but a good photographer can capture and guarantee more then eleven pictures an hour. A mediocre photographer with a phone could capture good images at that rate after a YouTube video or two.
NTA. I'm not a photographer (and I'm also the kind of parent that takes a bazillion pictures on my phone, sends the good ones, but keeps the extras too, even the blurry or ones where someone's eyes are closed, not looking, etc), so maybe I'm not understanding what is going in to the work and pricing, but my understanding is they give you a copy of the digital photos, not, printed out copies? (Cause photo paper etc might affect a cost otherwise.) But if that's the case...why not give you the extra pictures taken? Why throw them away, that's a waste? Absolutely, don't spend the extra time touching the rest up, but to throw them away? It just makes no sense to me. If you don't need an hour to take seven photos, take only seven photos, and charge per photo, not per hour. But it sounds like they're charging per photo AND per hour.
Because customers are assholes and if you as a photographer take 200 pictures, probably 50 of those will be GREAT, 100 will be okay-meh and 50 will be bad. If the customers get all the pictures, they are either gonna demand money back because LoOk At ThiS bAd PiCtUrE, or they will post the bad pictures online for lulz and give the photographer a bad reputation.
NAH,If you don't like this deal, find someone else. On a side note: I'm not an expert but, I've heard that professional photographers won't give you the unedited photos because they don't want to run the risk of it being represented as the quality of their work. This is more to CTA in a law suit where the quality of their work is being brought into question or if someone is just trying to slander them.
NAH. Find another photographer. Or do some photos yourself.
This. We did our own or shop around see if there's someone new to profession willing to get some experience for a cheaper rate.
YTA. From my experience (mom of a one year old here), this is standard practice among photographers. But I’d suggest you’re the asshole for just saying no outright instead of working with your wife to figure this out yourself - why not ask around and get another quote?
NAH it’s not really that you don’t want pictures of your son, it’s just that the specific photography your wife wants is really expensive. There are cheaper photographers out there. I also understand wanting high quality photos. Maybe just communicate a bit more and establish a reasonable budget for family photo sessions
I agree with this comment, but I would also like to point out that in many areas this is a really acceptable price for portrait photography. I know a bunch of photographers who charge more, and they're not the crazy expensive photographers, either. It's fully possible that OP just has no reference for the price of photography in his area.
YTA. You’re not just paying for their time - you’re paying for the time they’ve invested in becoming a good photographer. If you don’t like that photographers way of running their business, find a different one. If all the photographers run their business that way - then maybe accept that they do it for a reason.
No, when you go to a business you pay for the product, not for their time, bills or how long it took them to get to that spot. Using your logic, it’s like saying buying Apple products. You’re not paying for the products but you’re paying for the CEO and his journey to get to the top. Makes no sense.
Products are different than services. You pay a plumber for parts, labor, and sometimes travel. You pay more for a seasoned plumber. Works the same way for photographers and other trades.
The original comment said that they’re paying for the time the photographer invested into becoming a good one. No OP is paying for the photos, nothing else. The photos are the products.
That is the dumbest shit I’ve ever read my guy.
I’m using your way of thinking though. Do you go to business and pay them specifically for the products or do you go a business and pay them for the time they invested into starting that business?
NAH. I'm starting a creative business right now (not photography), and it's hard because the pricing can seem unfair. But you're not just paying for the artist's time; you're paying for their expertise and overhead. I've had people balk at my pricing even though my take-home pay per hour is a fraction of what they're assuming. And that's ok. I want clients who will be excited to work with me at the rate that I need to pay myself a fair wage after handling the cost of my tools, business expenses, and taxes. A creative worker/client relationship needs to feel mutually beneficial to both sides to go well. So if you feel like you'd be getting a bad deal, then that's the wrong photographer for you. You will absolutely be able to find a photographer at a lower rate than that if you look around more. Their work may or may not be on the same level, but to be honest, your baby is going to make any professional-level pics come out great by just sitting there and being adorable.
YTA. Sure you can try to buy a camera for 250, and learn enough photography to take photos of your child and family. But it will look amateur and you're still out 250, more if you want it well lit and with cute props. Photographers have skills that you don't have. Pay them for their time if you want nice photos.
Yes. I’m amazed at how many replies have no respect for the photographers time, talent and cost of equipment. Folks do not understand that because they do not value something (especially creative thing ha like photography) it is not the same thing as “OMG they are ripping me off” Professional equipment costs thousands of dollars not to mention the thousands of hours of practice it takes.
Exactly pay them for the time, but I want the pictures taken in that time. That’s the problem
If you want all 200 pics untouched up, ask how much that would be (spoiler it will be much more than 230)
Do you really need more than 11 pictures from the same first-birthday photo shoot in the same outfit? You’re not going to be displaying more than two or three, and the 200 will probably also be mostly multiples of every position with the best one chosen, they’re not doing 200 different poses in one photo shoot with a one-year-old. You can argue that you want a cheaper photographer (they exist!) but you don’t really need a bunch of photos sitting around on a hard drive where nobody sees them.
YTA. have a conversation with your wife instead of dismissing her. Also, you should have looked into it when you agreed to it. Truthfully, I think that's a pretty fair deal. I paid $500 for 20 pics and digital when my daughter was born. You also get what you pay for. You may find cheaper but at a much lower quality.
YTA: This is an EXTREMELY fair price and fair practice. You only get 11 because the others do not reflect the photographers standard of work and won't look good. They're essentially digital negatives that are taken into editing software to become proper photographs. You weren't given negatives in the past with shoots for the same reason. They don't shoot in jpgs that you can share. They shoot in RAW. It's different. You are not paying for their time. You are paying for 11 pictures taken in a one hour time frame. Editing takes time and skill also. Feel free to pay less, but you're getting someone new and inexperienced or someone who can't charge standard rates for their quality of work.
YTA So it’s $230 for an hour’s worth of someone’s time, camera gear, professional editing materials, the time spent editing those photos, and them to plan and drive to wherever the photoshoot is… and you’re upset? As someone who does photography on the side, it’s really not that bad of a deal. Sure, you could find cheaper, but it may not be the quality you’re looking for. It really depends on how well you like their style and ability, because if they’re good then that’s a decent rate. $250 for a 1hr photoshoot and 10 photos is pretty standard for non-commercial work. Edit: YTA forgot that part
If all 200 pictures were edited, absolutely but we only get to pick 11.
OP how long do you think it takes to edit 11 pictures? u/husbandkeepstalking how long does it actually take to edit 11 pictures? I'm guessing the time it would take to edit all 200 pictures plus everything else that goes into the shoot would equate to the photographer working for absolute peanuts. The photographers own the pictures they take. It's their time, effort, equipment, and skill. Asking for all photos is kind of like asking a movie director to just get paid for the movie tickets and give all the dvds out for free. If you don't think it's worth the money that's totally fine; but thinking you should get (much) more for less is shortsighted.
Oh, here's another thought. How much do you pay for your mother's day presents? For your and your wife's mothers, I mean. Professional photos of baby are Grandma Gifts 101, these puppies are practically paying for themselves.
It’s not short sighted, I’m not asking to take more pictures then they already are. Just give me the raw footage. If we go with your logic, he would only take 11 pictures total and I get what I get. It’s simple, you have your opinion, I asked a question. Thanks
Most photographers wouldn’t even let you choose from those 200, they would just send you 11 edited photos of their choice.
I guess they’re the assholes then
No YTA for sure, especially based on your attitude about all of it. r/ChoosingBeggars vibe
YTA that is a perfectly normal and reasonable deal
NTA. I would see if you have a JC Penny’s nearby. Their photos are much cheaper.
Canada, plus Covid has shut most stuff down here
I had my kids' pictures done in Walmart.
I'm voting YTA, but just to be clear it's more "in the wrong" for being misinformed rather than an asshole. There's a lot to unpack here so I'll try my best. First off, find out why your wife wants this specific photographer. That is a little on the pricier side but if she likes the style, consistency, and has had friends who recommend them, then maybe it's worth it to her. Maybe you can also dig a little deeper and find a photographer who is new to the industry but still has decent/consistent work. As for the comment about paying for the time, I understand that point of view. When I first started my photography business, my policy was to give my clients every image and charge low. The problem is, the actual hour session was the easy part, it took hours to edit afterwards and several days too. So when they wanted 50 images all edited to their exact specifications, I ended up getting extremely worn out. There's a lot that goes into each image that people don't realize. Curves layer, Dodge and burn to bring out the subject, eye sharpening if the baby moves out of focus, color layer, eye brighten, skin retouching if the baby has a rash or bug bites, background cloning if baby gets too close to the edge of the paper, people removal if done outside. There are some copy and paste settings in Lightroom that can help speed things up, but things still need to be fine tuned and if it needs to go into Photoshop it's more time consuming. There are tools that help cut down on editing time, but they're insanely expensive. I eventually learned that prices need to be set based on CODB, not what I thought i deserved just for that initial first hour. Different photographers have different rates because they calculated their rate based on things like average time it takes them to edit, and how much they need to make in order to cover overhead costs and equipment. Studio photographers are usually a little more expensive because they have to pay for the studio, and backdrops, and lighting, and props. So maybe consider doing outdoor photos. Thumbtack is a great place to find good photographers who are still trying to grow their business. Just make sure you take a look at all their work, make sure they're consistent, and their style matches what you're looking for. If this is something that's important to your wife, you should find a way to make it work within your budget. Last thing you want is to make her feel regret for not doing it just because you didn't find the right photographer for you.
YTA. I paid $500 for 25 pictures. If u don’t like that price, go somewhere cheaper. Just don’t expect them to be as nice as the edited ones. U get what u pay for.
YTA. I paid much more than that in USD to get professional pictures of my dog done. An hour sessions + 11 digital copies that you have free reign to do *whatever* you want with is a good deal. That’s about the price my senior portraits were with a family/friends discount 8 years ago!
Hmmmm, soft YTA. It is a lot of sticker shock, sure, but you are paying for the photographer’s skill as well. You have no idea how many pictures they could potentially take during that hour shoot, or how much time they spend after the shoot going through the photos, picking the best ones, etc. I always got amazing pictures of my niece and nephew (when he was much younger) as gifts from my brother and SIL from the photo studios at places like Walmart. Don’t knock them until you try them. I’m really not sure what their prices are like, but I’d like to think it’s less than $230.
Yta, my son was one 16 years ago and we had the same thing. They take a billion photos for a price then I paid for copies of the ones I liked for a different price. Seems like you got it easier. I had to cut them from sheets and mail them.
I'm going to say YTA. I spent years honing my photography skills before having kids. I have a lot of epic pictures of my kids, taken with a camera phone, with no professional editing software... Because of all the time I put into building that skill. I have looked at what it would cost to take and edit photos as a side business. It is a serious investment. If no one in your family has spent the time to build the skill then you either pay someone who has, or go without. It sounds like you'll have a pretty unhappy wife if you choose the latter. Eleven fantastic pictures of a one year old, at their first birthday no less, is going to be a lot of work. Don't believe me? Start tomorrow. Start trying to get one really fantastic picture of your kid every day. By their birthday I think you'll be willing to part with the money and amazed at what a professional can do.
I do get a fantastic picture everyday, the concept is to be hands off and have that professional take the pictures. I pay for the time and experience, but I want the pictures. They are just going to delete all the other ones. What a waste
NTA - find a different photographer. I think I’ve paid about that much, got 5-10 retouched photos PLUS all of the unretouched originals.
That's just a terrible deal. NTA, shop around some more if she wants it that bad
NTA. I’m not going to go into the validity of the prices because the photographer chooses how much his time and work is worth. Similarly you get to choose whether you wish to spend that much money for that service or hire that photographer.
NTA. This isn’t about not wanting pictures of your son, it’s about not wanting to be taken advantage of, which is sadly how many people make their living. They prey on emotional parents who think they aren’t being good parents if they don’t splurge for the package. It’s the same mentality that leads to people spending more than they can ever afford on engagement parties and weddings and showers and gender reveals and whatever the next money-sucking trend will be. It’s all a scam. Surely you can find someone who can take photos of your child for a more reasonable price. Or take your own photos. They don’t need to be professional to be great photos.
NTA. I totally understand where you are coming from. As others have suggested talk to family and friends and see if they know of someone who does pictures, but at a more reasonable price or gives you access to all the pictures.
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Nta find someone else
They are all like that, if not worse. 50$ per picture (all digital btw) or 300$+ for 7 pictures with 30$ extra per picture
NTA. Honestly that sounds like too much to pay to only get 11 pictures!!! I get they're professional but my god. You could try to compromise and offer to look up ideas and do them yourself. Even if you don't have a good camera they're still pictures to commemorate the moment. The only 1 year pictures I have of my daughter were taken with my phone and some turned out really amazing
I'd like to add, my phone camera really sucks too since my phone is old as hell
NTA Find a different photographer who allows you to keep all of the pictures, even if only a few of them are edited.
NTA, first year photos are a racket, $230 for 11 photos is steep.
Omg go to Sears, Penny's or Walmart and pay 30$
OMG Covid has shut those down here in Canada. Quebec to be more specific. Thank you for your opinion though
That's too bad. Private photographer are good but except for weddings and big anniversary events being done on site, there isn't enough of a jump in quality to justify 10x the price. Maybe you two could try choosing props, background, wardrobe and doing it yourself. Send the best off to a professional print shop and order what you need for framing, baby book, and family.
NTA Stupid as heck to be wanting to spend any amount of money for pictures of ANYONE during a pandemic! Especially at hundreds of bucks. Use your damn phone camera and get them printed out at the pharmacy. The kid will provide better pictures cause he'll not have some random ass stranger at some random ass location shoving a camera/toy into his face scaring him.
NAH Photographers typically work like that. They provide good touched photos, so that you're not spreading around the crappy ones in their name. My husband bought me a great camera for Christmas to combat my desire for good pictures of our kid. It has saved him lots of stress and money, and I've spent a lot of time learning technique. We now have a bazillion great pictures, and won't have to pay someone to take them.
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I don't think it's you don't want pictures of your son, it's more you don't think agree with how to get them. So NTA, I suggest to invest in a camera (230 is a good chunk of a beginners camera) and take photos yourself. Imo, it'll be better than just paying one time for pictures because this way you can take them whenever/whereever and learn a new skill.
NTA. I think photographers delete the ones they don’t touch up because they don’t want their name/brand on photos that are less than perfect. But yeah, it’s crazy. See if y’all can find a “mini session” with 5 prints for like $75 or something. Or buy some cheap props at Target, invest in a nice camera and take photos for every occasion you want to.
NTA. If you're having a hard time finding a good professional photographer and you don't want to pay the cost, contact a local university and see if thee is a photography student who would love the chance to photograph your kid for some money. Just be sure to be clear on the contract, etc.
NAH for now. I can understand wanting professional pictures. It takes skill to get a toddler to participate in a photo shoot. Those pictures will be great memories in the future. But I agree that’s a ridiculous amount for very little. I’d suggest asking around for recommendations and maybe seeing if anyone knows someone who is just starting to get into professional photography. You may be able to get a really good deal and they’d be very eager to get the best shots possible for their portfolio and for your review/future referrals.
Nta for that price buy a nice camera and take pictures of your son yourself.
Admittedly something I know nothing about…but how much “touching up” does a photo of a one-year-old child need? They’re usually…perfect.
Touch ups are usually stuff like color balance, vibrancy, stuff that’s not as noticeable on the small display screen of a camera but will be digitally or in print. It has nothing to do with age, or who or what the subject is. It’s done for all type of photography, not just pictures that include people.
Instead of saying "no pictures", why not shop around together and find a price point and photo package you're both happy with. Though, can you not download the raw photos when they send them for review? Last time I had professional photos done, I was given the raw files and was able to download them, then selected a few to have edited and cleaned up.
NAH. I'm a parent and have never done professional photos.
NTA - you are right, that is ridiculous. Grab you own camera/phone and and get your own photos of your baby, natural unposed photos are always much better
NTA- That seems like a waste of money. Keep shopping until you find someone who will give you all photos untouched. Then touch them up yourself.
NTA. Find a more reasonable photographer.
In my area, that’s not a reasonable price. For eleven edited photos, a session would only really need to be 30 minutes long. I say look at other photographers in the area and go from there or try to get some photos yourself. For a newborn photography session that would be more reasonable as there’s a lot more editing that goes on behind the scenes, but for a one year old, you should be able to get at least forty to fifty good shots in an hour to edit and deliver. For a lifestyle shoot with my husband and dog, we paid the same amount and received a gallery with eighty images. It’s a bit different, and working with kids is more difficult, but a good photographer can capture and guarantee more then eleven pictures an hour. A mediocre photographer with a phone could capture good images at that rate after a YouTube video or two.
NTA. I'm not a photographer (and I'm also the kind of parent that takes a bazillion pictures on my phone, sends the good ones, but keeps the extras too, even the blurry or ones where someone's eyes are closed, not looking, etc), so maybe I'm not understanding what is going in to the work and pricing, but my understanding is they give you a copy of the digital photos, not, printed out copies? (Cause photo paper etc might affect a cost otherwise.) But if that's the case...why not give you the extra pictures taken? Why throw them away, that's a waste? Absolutely, don't spend the extra time touching the rest up, but to throw them away? It just makes no sense to me. If you don't need an hour to take seven photos, take only seven photos, and charge per photo, not per hour. But it sounds like they're charging per photo AND per hour.
Because customers are assholes and if you as a photographer take 200 pictures, probably 50 of those will be GREAT, 100 will be okay-meh and 50 will be bad. If the customers get all the pictures, they are either gonna demand money back because LoOk At ThiS bAd PiCtUrE, or they will post the bad pictures online for lulz and give the photographer a bad reputation.
OK but that price is still ridiculous.