Investments and Relationships

Not too long ago, the trend of calling pricing ‘investment’ became a thing in photography. I get it, and I agree that paying for photographs should be an investment, rather than just an expenditure. A few years ago, I spent my time cutting my teeth in the photo industry. Weddings, portraits, some smaller commercial things, you get it. At the end of that period, I decided that those were not the types of photography I wanted to do. Not because they were beneath me, but the way these types of photography were done (run and gun, faceless, sterile, etc) were not me- I wanted to do more. Or, rather, differently- I wanted my relationship with clients to be more.

The best relationship I built during that time was with a landscape architect who had his hands in many projects. We shared many of the same common interests, and just generally dug being around each other. I ended up shooting some of his projects, some of his side projects, getting to know his family, and forced him to endure hiking the Grand Canyon with me! Our shoots took hours, although the shooting part was really only about 1/3 of the time spent. The relationship built was worth more than a check could cover, and is one of those things where I would drop anything to go do a shoot for him or his family today. And that’s what I want with you.

I get that we are all different, with different wants and needs. The point that I’m trying to get at is this- I think there is a better way to do things. The relationship between a photographer and client should be seen as an investment, and money shouldn’t get in the way. My price for shooting your wedding, family portraits, event, etc. etc.? I don’t know. We’ll figure it out over a beer or a cup of coffee. If we meet up and like where we are both going, I’m not going to waste our time or relationship worrying about money. 

Maybe your business is starting up and your margins are stretched- I want to shoot your project. Your band needs exposure, and you’ve got a bunch of lint in your pockets- call me up. You have an awesome event planned, and blew the wad on the food- I’m your guy. You desperately want to learn to develop your own film- that’s me. Not because I’m thinking of the payoff at the end of the day- I’m just stoked to get to hang out with a risk taker for a day or two. I think you get the idea. For whatever reason, I have been blessed enough in life that I make money elsewhere. If what you are reading makes sense, then you get a sense of who I am as a photographer. And if that jibes with where you are, hit me up, and let’s invest.