Welcome to 2013 and you will notice a lot of things will be changing with Sweekit Photography… hopefully all good! I kept debating… do I give you a long heartfelt blog post or just nothing at all and my heart always says just pour it out… so here it goes!

As you may have noticed from the picture, my family will be changing this upcoming year and it will be growing by one!! My husband and I couldn’t be more excited to have another baby in the family! I am due August 1st, but will be having the baby the week before… so end of July! I can deliver exactly a week early but that is on my birthday (July 25th) so I am thinking July 27th will be the perfect day… well that is, if the baby doesn’t decide to come earlier! At that time, our son Mason will be 3 ½, and our daughter will have just turned 2. Basically 3 kids under the age of 4… which means I am going to be a very busy Mommy :)

 

I initially started photography as a hobby because I just loved taking pictures. Even has a little kid I grew up with a camera in my hand! After having our son… my husband was deployed, I lived by myself… the only thing I would do was take pictures of him and it eventually grew into something much more. I cannot explain how much each of you means to me, having walked through my path and helped develop my photography business. I can honestly say that from the bottom of my heart. I consider many of my clients as friends and I love running into people at the zoo, shopping, town festivals, and people come up to me now because they recognize me from my photography. It is like all my dreams are coming true!

 

Here is where it gets difficult. I have always been the super reasonable photographer that everybody can come to and that is what I still want to be. The problem is… if I factor in all my expenses, the props I buy, my time editing (away from my family), traveling, taxes… I am paying all of you to allow me to take your pictures. Yes, it is true. I am writing this out because it is like a dawning moment for me that I am actually

not making any money at all, when I thought I would making a little extra money to do some fun things as a family.

 

I just want to write it all out for myself and create a little understanding for everybody. As of right now, my newborn session is $150 and a normal session is $75 (newborns take at least twice the time… reasoning for a higher price). Here are a few expenses that I have to factor in:

 

$75 – Session

- $15 – Travel/Gas

- $20 – Baby Sitting Cost (going to be more with 3 kids…)

- $20 – Camera & Lens replacement fund

- $20 – Props and gear

- $15 – Insurance

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-$15… and that doesn’t include my taxes, internet and computer expenses, or TIME! If you wanted to factor in time… a typical session will take me give or take 4 hours and if I paid myself $20/hr…. well you get the point and I don’t think I need to type anymore out L After realizing this, I am super sad because my kids and family are missing out on precious time with me, while I am paying my clients to have me to take their pictures.

 

Now do you all understand why professional photographers cost much more than your ‘friend’ that takes pictures for pleasure. My losing money isn’t the point I want to make though… because I can’t stress enough, that photography is MY TRUE LOVE!! It is what makes me happy… so no I am not quitting but for the price that I am losing time spending with my kids, I have no choice to make my time taking pictures worth it to me and my family. Not only do I do photography, but I also work a full-time job during the day, which many of you may not realize. My time with my kids is very limited and they are only little once. This next year, Mason will already start preschool and it just seems like they are growing up before my eyes L

And also with the new baby joining our family this July, I do not want photography taking over my life… as I have to put what is most important to me in front of me.

 

All of us photographers set our pricing based on our knowledge, experience, and investments. I hope you have all seen a growth in my photography skills, as I am still trying to learn as much as possible and soak up everything I can. I have attended workshops and I have taken webinars, I have invested in better cameras and lenses to create sharper imagines so everything looks wonderful on your walls at home. I want to create artwork. I want to create a talking piece in your home when you have visitors.

 

I hope you all understand that my price increases in 2013 is not something that I want to do, but it is something I have to do for myself and my family. I hope that you all can appreciate that I am trying to be the best Mommy/Wife I can be to my family, but they are the ones that will be with me forever. I hope you all read this through the goodness of my heart. All my clients have been bar-none… the best customers any photographer could ever ask for! I appreciate each and every one of you and I hope you all will continue your journey with me through 2013! I have a lot of ideas and I think I am on track for yet another successful

year!

 

By now you are probably wondering what I am going to do with my prices… so here it goes! Please NOTE: These prices DO NOT affect my babies that are on the 'Grow with me plan' that was offered in 2012 and existing appointments already set up.

 

Standard Session- $125/hr

Newborn Session- $225

 

Prints

$250- Disk of Proofs

$30- Individual Digital File

$10- 4x6

$15- 5x7

$25- 8x10

$45- 11x14

$75- 16x20

$85- 16x24

$115- 20x24

$140- 24x30

 

Canvases

$150- 16x20

$190- 20x24

$240- 24x30

$350- 30x40

I will also be strictly sticking to my schedule of only having 1-2 sessions a week and I will be taking one weekend off a month to spend with my family (and probably catch up from the month haha!!). Well there you have it and I hope it all makes perfect sense. I can’t wait to see you all in 2013 (as I am practically booked through June so if you would like to be on my calendar in the meantime, please contact me with a particular date or timeframe and I would love to get you on my calendar!

 

Again, from the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you! My clients are the best above all and I couldn't be happier! Much love and happiness through 2013!