Pre Upsherin/Family Photoshoot

jmom18

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 11:45 am

I’ve been looking into photographers in the Monsey area, and some of them are so overpriced. I don’t have a problem that they’re expensive but I want to get something for my money. One photographer wanted $700+ for 5 digital images, that’s it. Any recommendations for good photographers reasonably priced, or one that’s worth their price?

4thebooks

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 12:10 pm

We were very happy with Almido photos!
He was so patient, humble, and very well priced!
Went above and beyond to make sure we were happy with every single shot!

https://www.instagram.com/almidophotos/?hl=en

Blessing1

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 12:23 pm

I use kliks studio. I think they're the most decently priced & you get your money's worth of photos. (I paid under $400 for an upsherin shoot including a shoot with just the boy before the upsherin, and a family shoot after the upsherin. I got about 25 prints.)
Most photographers are close to $1K and you barely get any pictures. I don't understand it.

Last edited by Blessing1 on Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:12 pm; edited 1 time in total

pause

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 12:29 pm

You need to ask around for a girl who is just starting out. The photos won't be "works of art" that "fit your vision" and "reflect your style" but you can get gorgeous pictures for under $200.

top mom

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 12:36 pm

pause wrote:

You need to ask around for a girl who is just starting out. The photos won't be "works of art" that "fit your vision" and "reflect your style" but you can get gorgeous pictures for under $200.

Exactly.
This is what I did recently
She was just starting out, and I paid under 200 $
She wasn't as confident, and a professional photographer might find lots to criticise, but I'm very happy with the results.
I couldn't justify paying 800$

jmom18

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:44 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions! I rarely ever take pics professionally, so I would want really nice and professional pictures. I dont mind paying for it, but I want to get something for my money. Not just 5-7 digital images, or few prints that some offer…

missknowitall

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:50 pm

You pay for expertise. No one amazing is going to work that hard for nothing. It’s hours of work behind the scenes, expensive equipment and usually each picture is hand edited. That’s the going rate, if you don’t want to pay it your option is someone new who is still figuring things out.

Cookin4days

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:54 pm

missknowitall wrote:

For $700 you should be getting more than 7 digital prints

missknowitall

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:04 pm

Cookin4days wrote:

For $700 you should be getting more than 7 digital prints

What does that mean? You can’t just make such statements. There is a “cost of doing business” and there is an industry standard. In the non Jewish world it’s even more expensive. You want photographers to invest in top notch gear, pay thousands for it, also maintain it costing more money, plus pay for the software and edit to perfection, and put in all the hours of work, and you want them to walk away with $5-$10 an hour? No one is going to produce top quality work for that little. It’s not how life or business works.

Last edited by missknowitall on Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:05 pm; edited 1 time in total

Blessing1

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:04 pm

missknowitall wrote:

There's no good reason for a photographer that charges $1K a session, should only give 5-7 prints & charge $20 for each additional print.
In my experience, only the Jewish photographers charge such crazy amounts. For $1K, non jewish photographers come down to your home, bringing with them all props & scenery, for a full day session which includes a large amount of prints.

Blessing1

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:06 pm

missknowitall wrote:

What does that mean? You can’t just make such statements. There is a “cost of doing business” and there is an industry standard. In the non Jewish world it’s even more expensive. You want photographers to invest in top notch gear, pay thousands for it, also maintain it costing more money, plus pay for the software and edit to perfection, and out in all the hours of work, and you want them to walk away with $5-$10 an hour? No one is going to produce top quality work for that little. It’s not how life or business works.

This is not true in my experience. We've used quite afew non jewish photographers over the years. I also find that non jewish photographers that charge $1K, give you more than an hour long session & have more generous policies in general.
Offering just 5-7 prints for a $1K session, is just embarrassing.

Last edited by Blessing1 on Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:08 pm; edited 1 time in total

missknowitall

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:07 pm

Blessing1 wrote:

That’s just not true. In the non Jewish worker 1k is the lowest. You are free to use less qualified people and get 100 pictures that are semi decent. If you want top quality work you pay for it. No one owes it to you. And it’s horrendous that there is a demand for people to work for free. Prints cost money. You think labs hand it out for free?

Blessing1

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:10 pm

missknowitall wrote:

Not in my experience. I've used non jewish photographers that require at least 6 months in advance booking. They're top notch.
Of course prints cost money, but 5-7 prints for $1K is just laughable. (And you generally get digital files, not actual prints. So you need to pay an additional fee for good developing.)

missknowitall

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:12 pm

Blessing1 wrote:

You are misinformed. In my non Jewish group of 50,000 photographers across the US, they are horrified that there are a few people giving the impression that it’s doable. Most are new and not great at it. Some do it for fun. Anyone doing it as a full time business is charging way more.

missknowitall

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:15 pm

Blessing1 wrote:

Well yeah they all work for a year or two burn out from giving away the work for free and quit. And being booked is not a sign of being top notch. It just means people like cheap. It’s still not industry standard and there is a huge movement in the non Jewish world to educate such people about how they cause issues like these arguments.

Blessing1

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:16 pm

missknowitall wrote:

How can I be misinformed if this is my actual experience with non jewish photographers? I've used several different ones over the years & always get more for my money from non jewish photographers.

Blessing1

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:18 pm

missknowitall wrote:

One of the photographers we've used a couple of times, is in business for at least 10+ years already.
But I give up, you clearly know better then me about my own experience....

jmom18

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:25 pm

I understand editing takes time and skill. But if it’s just the editing, why can’t they just edit 5-7 images or whatever is part of their “package” and give the customer the raw images that were taken. It doesn’t cost them a cent more. And none of these expensive photographers who claim it’s the time and skill it takes to edit, allow you to have the raw images.