Why is there such a big price difference between Photographers?

I have been asked why there is such a big difference in pricing between photographers. You will often see packages of $60-$80 for 10 photos on a disc. As with everything, you do get what you pay for. These packages usually involve a 15 minute photo session, back to back with other people in the same location to make the photographers travel worth while. With my packages, the photo session is at a location of your choice and especially for you. I spend as long as it takes (usually an hour to an hour and a half) to get a good amount of variety in the photos as well as to get those little people feeling really comfortable and at ease. 


Others charge a relatively cheap session fee but it does not include any photos and those purchases can add up quite significantly and can come as quite a surprise. With my packages, the costs are disclosed upfront with no surprises.

The second part of the equation is around editing. In general, photographers who offer very cheap deals, shoot their photos in JPEG and you get 10 photos straight out of the camera, good or bad. Photographers who charge more, generally shoot in Raw. Without getting too technical, a JPEG has been 'processed' by the camera, where as a Raw image contains all of the information from the photo and is processed on the computer by the photographer. It loses a lot less detail and can be perfected with the human eye while maintaining it's high quality. In general, I spend between 3 and 6 hours editing the photos after my sessions to get them just right.   


The moral of the story is that there is a place for all kinds of photography to meet every budget.