CLICK ON YOUR REFRESH BUTTON FOR UPDATED INFORMATION PRICING FOR 2010 Senior Photos,  Weddings, Engagements, Special Occasions, Organizations, Concerts, Car Clubs, Yachting Clubs~ Pricing

Your Personalized Photographer.    For Custom Wedding Pricing Please contact me at  nostalgia@centurytel.net   or   nostalgicmemoriesbylea@gmail.com

253-857-4756    253-255-0681 cell

Mechanical Failure:  ** I use at least two (2) separate cameras when doing photo shoots/sittings. There will always be images captured.

Photography is an art form which incorporates the use of mechanical devices, such as cameras, flash cards for saving images,  flash/light units, lenses, and other devices which periodically may malfunction.  In the remote possibility that a mechanical failure happens and photos are not captured, the photographer is dissolved of any intentional wrong doing and cannot be held liable for the failure or final result.

Compensation for the photos affected will be rectified by refund or mutual agreement, if re-shoot is not possible. 

**This statement is printed on all contracts.

Why does it seem that Professional Photographers are so expensive?
In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?

Here's why.

Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time, quality of high end equipment and the photographer's expertise and experience behind the lens. First, let's look at the actual time involved.

For a two hour portrait session: Take into consideration

- one hour of travel to and from the session
- two hours of shooting
- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive
- 3 - 4 plus hours of Photoshop time including cropping, touchup, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs
- 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, selecting/order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at clients or shipping.
- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.

You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.

For an eight hour wedding:

- An eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.

Now for the expertise.

Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a decent quality camera can now cost under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera. For instance a single lens for low light shooting cost me $1,600. but the quality is supurb!

Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself as well as all the accessories, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, lenses, flash and studio lights, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc. Every shot is wear and tear to gear.

And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.

Think of it this way - the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional for professional results and their expertise.

What about the cheap studios at the mall?

Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach, or to your event! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs = You get what you pay for.

The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.

Conclusion

 We hope that those who have taken the time to read this will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.

~Thank you for taking the time to read this.  I look forward to working with you, and in giving you the cherished images of your special captured memories, those that you desire to keep in your memory and heart for times sake .

Those that you expect and you will love now, and will reflect on in the future. A cherished heirloom that will last forever.

Capture your special moments and treasure the memories. 

Nostalgic Memories for you and for your family and friends