Check out a brief slideshow of the Southeast Region’s Trump Network Event.
April 9, 2011

Photography & Time Donated by Maria Joyner Photography

Lisa Pranaitis & Joey Bunton

May 1, 2010

Las Vegas, NV

The mysticism of Sebastiao Salgado’s work introduced me to the beauty in documentary while the brutal honesty of Larry Clark and Eugene Richards screamed raw emotion. I have drawn from their use of available light, mist, and fascination with isolated lifestyles. Yet I shift the documentary away from portraiture and focus more on the habitation and environment; creating ambiguous imagery that celebrates beauty in desolation. Trained in the Modernist school of photography, a mixing of Cartier-Bresson’s street documentary and Weston’s careful attention to shape, form, and texture is embedded in my brain. There is a sublime harmony and open-endedness to Minimalist sculpture, painting, and architecture that I seek in my own work. The creation of the photo-book, utilizing digital techniques to recreate antiquated processes (albumen), and site-specific installation capture my interests as well. Intellectually I am drawn to collecting and curating imagery, furthering studies in photographic history, and exploring “origins of change”.

The current direction of my photography revolves around beauty in desolation. I am interested in locations and lifestyles that preserve a simpler way of life although the surroundings change. This study has two distinct directions: figurative documentation, exhibited in A Wonderful Life series 1, and literal, exhibited in The Wonderful Life series 2. Literal documentation tends to lend itself to photo-books, tell a more direct story, and be a snapshot of time; while figurative documentation lends itself to processed-based prints, site-specific photo installations, tells a metaphorical story that only the viewer can experience, and have a timeless quality. For example, in A Wonderful Life series 1, I am far more interested in conveying emotion- through the tonality, rough edge, and site-specificity of the images- rather than information. On the other hand, The Wonderful Life series 2 focuses on telling the story of a single location; a location that has preserved same ambiance for the past 25 years although the backdrop has been drastically altered. As a location that I return to several times a year, this work is an ongoing environmental exploration that will expand and grow through the photo-book.

Maria Joyner

http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=48218&id=143395542353188

Enjoy!

Maria Joyner

This article has been very well received by the photography community, and is published in the December 2009 edition of Professional Photographer Magazine by an undisclosed author.

In this digital age where everyone has cameras, scanners, and home “photo printers,” we hear this all the time: How do professional (or personal) photographers charge $X for an 8×10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drugstore? Simply put, the customer is not just paying for the actual photograph; they’re paying for time and expertise.

The average one-hour portrait session

First, let’s look at the actual work involved:

* Travel to the session
* Setup, preparation, talking to the client, etc.
* Shoot the photos
* Travel from the session
* Load images onto a computer
* Back up the files on an external drive
* 2 – 4 hours of Adobe® Photoshop® time, including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, and backing up edited photographs. Proof photos are also ordered.
* 2 – 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment, and ship.
* Possibly meet clients at the studio to review photos and place order. Meeting and travel time average 2 hours.

You can see how a one-hour session easily turns into an eight-hour day or more from start to finish. So when you see a personal photographer charging a $200 session fee for a one-hour photo shoot, the client is NOT paying them $200 per hour.

The eight-hour wedding

A wedding photographer typically meets with the bride and groom several times before and after the wedding. And it’s not uncommon to end up with 1,000 – 2,000 photos, much more than a portrait session. Many photographers spend 40-60 hours working on one eight-hour wedding if you look at the time that is truly involved. Again, when a wedding photographer charges $4,000 for eight hours of coverage, clients are NOT paying them $500 an hour!

(Don’t forget that the photographer runs the wedding day to some extent. A comfortable, confident wedding photographer can make a wedding day go more smoothly.)

The expertise and cost of doing business

Shooting professional photography is a skill acquired through years of experience. Even though a DSLR now costs under $1,000, taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

Most personal photographers take years to go from buying their first camera to making money with photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera, there is a mountain of other equipment and software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website, etc. And don’t forget backdrops, props, rent, utilities, insurance, etc!

In addition to the financial investment, photographers actually have to have people skills to make subjects comfortable in front of the camera. Posing people to look their best is a skill by itself. You could argue that posing is a more important skill than actually knowing how to use the camera. A poorly exposed photo can be saved, but a badly posed photo cannot.

The chain store photo studio

Chain stores do have their place. For a very cheap price you can run in, shoot some quick photos, and be done with it. But you get what you pay for.

Consider the time and effort that a personal photographer puts into photographs, compared to a chain store. Store sessions last just a few minutes, while a personal photographer takes the time to get to know the people, makes them comfortable, makes them laugh. If a baby is crying at a chain store, they often don’t have the time (or the patience) to wait because everyone is in a hurry.

The truth is that many chain store studios lose money. In fact, Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios in 2007 because of the financial drain. What the chain stores bank on is a client coming in for quick, cheap photos…and while there, spending $200 on other items. They are there to get you in the door.

The real deal

Professional, personal photographers are just that—professionals. No different than a mechanic, dentist, doctor, or electrician. But a personal photographer often becomes a friend, someone who documents a family for generations with professional, personal photographs of cherished memories.

Maybe we need to help clients look at it this way: A pair of scissors costs $1.50 at the drugstore. Still, most people will gladly pay a lot more to hire a professional hair dresser to cut their hair.

The added attention and quality that a personal photographer gives is worth every penny.

Conclusion

We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs, created by a Personal Photographer are so expensive.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Maria Joyner, owner Maria Joyner Photography and Opportunity & Success LLC

mjj@mariajoyner.com