What do you base on when you engage a photographer or any service provider such as entertainers? There are many who chose pricing over quality. Many of the consumers are probably not aware that engaging cheap and inexperience photographers or entertainers may be a risk to your event. Being a photographer and a magician myself, I will elaborate more as a photographer but you can always relate this to other service providers.
You probably come across some online ads (e.g. Carousell) advertising about photography services. The description is something along this line “Why pay thousands of dollars for a photographer when you can choose us? We make sure it is the most affordable for our clients. No GIMMICKS! PM US DON’T BE SHY!!” or “I have a DSLR camera, I love taking photos. I can shoot your event at a very low rate.”….. Well, you can always engage them and often at a risk.
Having a DSLR doesn’t make you a photographer. Professional photographers are trained to look at things that will help in making a better photo. We are trained to look at basic elements and will use such elements to make the photo composition better. Of course, there are other aspects of photography methods that is essential to taking better photos. Sadly, these are often missed out by beginners. Photography is not about clicking a button, having a professional camera also doesn’t make your photo better. Just like a chef having a top of the line wok, it will help in the cooking but it doesn’t make the food taste better.
There are bridal boutiques who charge $300 for a 10 hr actual day wedding photography and I also know a guy that charges $6000 for it. I’m sure most of us have read the story about a couple who engaged a $300 photographer who gave the couple all the photos including those un-glam ones without sorting through all photos. It sometimes saddens me to see people charging so low just to earn market share. But then again, if there is a demand, there is always a supply.
At times, consumers will always ask why do the photographers charge that kind of fee? I touched on this topic briefly here. There is always a lot of hidden costs that consumers don’t see. Serious photographers spend a lot of time and effort to upgrade themselves and these are additional costs which most amateurs will not invest in. I have always tried to give value in terms of better service as opposed to lowering my fee. I’m just like any other consumers, I want cheap stuff but value is also very important to me. I wouldn’t want to pay a low price for something I cannot use.
