Print Quality

I notice that some photographers can get a reasonable price for their
services and some are struggling and charge "reasonable prices" i.e. budget
prices in order to get the business.


My question to those that can get $150 for a portrait setting -
how much do you pay for your 7 x 5 prints?


And the same question to those photographers that can only get $50 for a
sitting,
how much do you pay for your 7 x 5 prints?


J

I notice that some photographers can get a reasonable price for their
services and some are struggling and charge "reasonable prices" i.e.
budget
prices in order to get the business.


My question to those that can get $150 for a portrait setting -
how much do you pay for your 7 x 5 prints?


And the same question to those photographers that can only get $50 for a
sitting,
how much do you pay for your 7 x 5 prints?


The chances are, the expensive print and the cheap print cost the same,
especially in these days of digital where the photog can retouch and custom
print the file for a lab/service center to feed it to a machine.

but in the old film days, the ideal was to get it on film, so you don't have
to crop beyond standard cards, so you didn't have to burn and dodge. with
styling, make up and a bit of soft focus your retouching bill wasn't a
surprise. So the middle class photog and the semi volume studio probably
paid the same 2.50 for a 5x7, or 4 bucks for a unit, 2 5x7's on a sheet.

but lets look at a $400 8x10. Just from the lab procedures, a custom print
(though why bother cause the guy with this much control of the image usually
doesn't need it) is mounted on a quality board, but first there is neg
retouching, usually with a outside specialist who can micro-retouch so
someone doesn't have to fix up the blobs on the print. the print is
mounted and a finisher, who doesn't have to fix the retoucher's problems, or
in fact does have to, but will knock off the spectral shiny forehead, eye
glass rims tip of the nose, then sharpen and brighten the eyes, dry the
corners, and darken the lashes, and finally put in an almost white catch
light and kill the others, maybe clean off a few stray hairs. give if a
sealing coat of lacquer.

cost, $90 to 150.

this reply is echoed to the z-prophoto mailing list at yahoogroups.com

In article ,
Jack says...

I notice that some photographers can get a reasonable
price for their services and some are struggling and
charge "reasonable prices" i.e. budget prices in order
to get the business.

That is related to photographic skills and/or mercantile
skills in various combinations.

Some are able to sell the last crap for gold, some won't
even be able to give gold away for free because people
don't have trust in them.

My question to those that can get $150 for a portrait
setting - how much do you pay for your 7 x 5 prints?


And the same question to those photographers that can
only get $50 for a sitting, how much do you pay for
your 7 x 5 prints?

Why would a lab give prints to them for different prices?
Same lab effort, same price.

--
Michael Quack

http://www.photoquack.de/glamour/1.htm
http://www.photoquack.de/fashion/1.htm