

Here is an excellent description of the event by Carol Klenke, President, Greater Triangle NC Chapter of ISES:
"The first weekend in February is the date for our chapter's annual fundraiser, the Triangle Wine Experience Gala. I am grateful to so many of you for donating products, expertise and time to help with the continued success our clients at Frankie Lemmon have come to expect. Not only is this our chapter fundraiser but it is also their fundraiser allowing them to operate their school for disabled children, right here in Raleigh."
"The Triangle Wine Experience 2010, Hollywood & Vine! What an amazing night! We transformed an empty warehouse off Discovery Drive into 2 great hot spots. Upon entering the warehouse through a raised tent into a "Speakeasy", the guests were treated to 7 of the Triangle's hottest caterers preparing delicious appetizers and 42 of the country's leading wine makers were on site to offer tastings of their wines. All of this was set in a room dressed in reds and blacks with gobos and red accents. Hot hot hot! Once it was time for the live Auction to begin our guests entered into the second phase of the evening, Hollywood Glamour!!! 54 tables were dressed and decorated with beautiful linens, candles and candelabras topped with floral arrangements. 18' black velour pipe and drape dressed the walls and a classic Hollywood themed back drop dressed the stage where Marvelous Mark once again was on site to dazzle the guests until long after midnight!"
Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?
This article has been very well received by the photography community, and is published in the December 2009 edition of Professional Photographer Magazine.
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 8x10 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 now some DSLR's cost 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.
Shawn, Pamela and Gavin Richter - cofphoto@aol.com
Our website - Caught on Film Photography
Our photography forum - Learning Digital Photography Together



























The very cool and modern cake was by Swank Cake Designs and the seating chart, table numbers and favors were provided by Maria Scheel. I think have a harpist at any event just makes the atmosphere elegant. The harpist is the very talented Laura Byrne and the whole look was orchestrated by Kara with A Southern Soirre. It was such a fun experience to see the work of so many amazing people. Here are a few of my favorites and then you will see how it all turned out in the actual magazine spread!






Here are few rare shots of me 'in action' taken by my assistant Jill. Usually at weddings we are working so fast that it is almost impossible to think of taking an action shot, but on a shoot like this we are able to take it a little easier and enjoy the creative process! Dear Lisa, Thank you for the beautiful pictures in the recent issue of "Weddings" magazine! You are such an artist, a truly gifted photographer, your pictures are magnificent. It is such a pleasure to work with you anytime, especially at wedding ceremonies. I know I will see you soon at a wedding in 2010. : ) Thanks again for your beautiful work! Laura S. Byrne Harpist (02. 9.10 @ 07:39 PM)
I love the way it turned out!

These photos were taken in Wilmington with much milder temperatures on a pleasantly warm day in late November. We decided to create our own 'snowfall' on the steps of the courthouse. My mom and assistant Jill each had a bag of snow that they threw at our lovely bride. Elena was the perfect person to represent our 'winter bride' because she is gorgeous and also from Russia. This girl understands cold! The lovely dress is and Enzoani from A Carolina Wedding. The moment I saw this dress, I knew I wanted to accessorize it with a black sash. I decided to go for a glamorous 'Imperial Russian' feel once I saw the incredible necklace that Jan with Amuse Artisanal Finery offered to let us borrow. The color of that necklace with smoky sapphires became our inspiration. The make up was expertly done by the talented Amy Kennison of Mac and the lovely bouquet was designed by Salt Harbor Designs. We shot on location at one of my favorite locations- The City Club.


























Lisa...she is stunning and your photography is amazing as always. Sure do miss you... Hope Raleigh is treating you well. Love everything about these pictures... You are one talented young lady! (01.31.10 @ 05:09 PM)
Just stunning Lisa! Amazing pictures! (01.31.10 @ 10:18 PM)





MrBarns said: Hey very nice blog!!....I'm an instant fan, I have bookmarked you and I'll be checking back on a regular....See ya (02. 7.10 @ 02:04 AM)
christy said: BEAUTIFUL wedding! great job! (02.15.10 @ 12:35 PM)