On Location vs Studio Photograph

On Location vs Studio Photography

As photography student putting my self through art school, I worked for JC Penny Portrait studio. Their photography is shot in the studio, with preset lighting that could move up or down based on height, and turn on and off a hair light, and a directional light. The lighting had options but was quite limited and all pre set calculations; of course limiting the lighting options, kept the length of the photo sections shorter. Unfortunately, that is the assembly line side of photography and is what most Americans go to for quick and cheep photos, and sadly they are also cookie cuter and impersonal. The studio’s do try for the “precious moments” unfortunately, they fall short of the personal and unique moments. 

Other studios like Monica Cubberly-Early Custom and Design Portraiture take a bit more effort to make their clients at home and comfortable. They focus the studio on the clients making sure there are refreshments and little comforts like, plush quilts, soft music, and clean fresh smells (Cubberly-Early, 2005) . These nuances’ go a long way in capturing real smiles and true moments.

Unfortunately, for some like myself and Duenkel Portrait Art make the studio comfortable just is not enough. Duenkel Portrait Art prefer to shoot on location capture the real laugher, and places that mean something to the clients (Duenkel, 2005).  Sure sometimes being at someone’s home can be a bit of a challenge, but it pushes one creative limits and helps set pace with the ever changing trends. This dose mean one has to carry supplies to locations such as a couple lights and reflectors and a few props like tooling or claps and perhaps as sheet or two, but still less than in studio. One would also have to be pretty good with Photoshop to help polish off the finish products, but over all everyone will be much happier.

By: Mandy Chenoweth, BFA owner of Focal Point Imaging http://focalpointimaging.org and

Member of Professional Photographers of America since 2009 http://www.ppa.com

Monica Cubberly-Early Custom and Design Portraiture, http://www.monicacubberly-early.com

Cubberly-Early, Monica. The heart of the matter: How to capture the essence of your subjects.June 2005. Found March 26, 2011 at http://www.ppmag.com/articles/29/The-heart-of-the-matter-How-to-capture-the-essence-of-your-subjects.php

Duenkel Portrait Art web site http://www.duenkel.com/families/index.html

Duenkel, Fuzzy. Look homeward: The benefits of photographing anywhere but your studio. May 2005. Found March 26, 2011 at http://www.ppmag.com/articles/14/Look-homeward-The-benefits-of-photographing-anywhere-but-your-studio.php

Why Pay for a Photographer

As a photographer, the greatest competitor is the digital camera. People continuously ask “why would they need a photographer if they have a digital camera,” Followed by “Why should we pay so much for a photography session and not get to keep all the photos, when I get to keep all the ones on my camera?”.

To answer my clients, the sitting fee covers the time, talent, and equipment used to create beautiful artistic photographs. Most photographers theses days use digital cameras which allows them to take more photos with less product cost, but it takes more editing time, which is the most limited resource anyone has. For every hour in a sitting, there is an additional one to two hours of editing before photos are presented to the client. The viewings can take-up to another hour and depending on the studio’s ordering process clients can take another hour picking out and ordering photos. In other cases, clients are left to order when ever they desire, which can lead to no order placed or a larger period of time with questions and bartering of price. Still many clients ask for additional editing to finalize images which depending on request can take a couple of hours.

Sitting Fee Covers
Scheduling	30 minuets of work
Sitting	2 hours of work
Editing	4 hours of work
Viewing of edited photos	1 hour of work
Reworking final photos	2 hours of work
Ordering	1 hour of work
Delivery of deliverables	1 hour of work
Total hours of work	11 hours and 30minuets of work

Less tangible but more noticeable in the final product is talent and the time spent on experience and education. Photographers know, love, live, and breathe their work. They have earned the knowledge of posing and camera angles, struggled and perfected the lighting, and like all artist developed a style, a langue within their work. Because of a photographer’s experience and knowledge they can visualize the desired content of an image, foresee the issues and solve most of them before the editing process. Photographers also have experience working with people and know how to get the desired expression for each image. It will take less time, less shots, and less head aches then it would for an armature with a digital camera to accidently take the same picture.

The most accessible to clients is the equipment a photographer uses. Obvious a high megapixel professional camera that they keep up to date and in great condition and usually range from the low end of $1200 up to $25,000. Then there are at least three lenses ranging in price from $500 up to $10,000. Another necessity is the latest computers and editing software starting at $3,000. Additionally there is lighting, backgrounds, props, storage, and transportation. Unfortunately, none that fancy equipment matters if the photographer does not know how to use it. As a result, photographs are constantly going to seminars and conferences to stay up to date on the how-tos. One pays for a Photographer to get the best possible piece of art to capture and represent ones precious memories.

Written by: Mandy S. Chenoweth, BFA

Owner of Focal Point Imaging http://focalpointimaging.org

Member of Professional Photographers of America since 2009 ID# 5137696 http://www.ppa.com

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Photography/ci/989/N/4294538916