Post 26

Greetings! It's been a while, hasn't it? This is largely due to my fiance and I being in Florida for the past week and a half. The photos from the trip can be seen here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/danpomykalski/sets/72157632539604640/

When I read about my favorite photographers, or read interviews with photographers, a common question that I see is, "what is your favorite part about photography."

I use to hide from this question. I wouldn't even address it, because there are so many wonderful things about photography that I love, it's hard to pick just one. It wasn't until I had to interview a professor for one of my classes that I was able to come up with an answer. Well, actually two answers.

Working for myself (taking photos of what I want and when I want) and working for a client (taking photos of what they want when they want) are more different than one may think. Usually, photographers do commercial photography in order to pay the bills, which is what I do. However, most photographers don't enjoy the commercial aspect of it for various reasons. Yes, I enjoy doing photography for myself, but people are right, and there's a reason photographers turn to commercial photography; photographing the things you like usually don't pay well. I can't say I've made much money selling photos I've taken on the street, at this point. But, I enjoy commercial photography as well. Maybe not as much as shooting for myself, but pretty close. My favorite part about photography is capturing those moments that make, even me, say "wow," once I pull them up on my computer screen, and then showing the world what I've accomplished. One of my favorite parts about commercial photography is handing over the photos to my client, and hearing how satisfied with the work I've done. Knowing that my client is happy, and that I was able to provide good enough images that the client feels as though their money didn't go to waste is almost more rewarding than capturing those shots that make me say "wow" for myself.

Post 25

It seems to me that one of the biggest complaints people have about photographers when they hire them, is paying for things they don't need. I think this problem arises when photographers charge people X amount of dollars for X amount of time and photos. I know I wouldn't want to pay for something I don't need. What if I only needed five photos, and an hour of time, but the photographer only has a package that is two hours of time and includes 10 photos, but the price is four times as much? No, thank you.

This is why I have decided to change the way I charge for sessions. I use to be the same way, and charge X amount of dollars for X amount of time. Instead, I will now determine what my client's budget is, how many photos they actually need, estimate the amount of time it will take, and then charge them accordingly, regardless of how much time it will actually take. This way, the clients receives exactly what they need at a price that works within their budget. Yes, this will take more time on both parts, but I think my clients will be happier with this format.