Hello there and welcome to my blog! I have been meaning to start a blog for about two years now and here I am FINALLY writing my first blog post. Did I plan my first post to be about the cost of family photography? Not really. But it is topical for me to write about this today so here we are. I promise to write about something more fun next time!


I've heard some of you ask why family/newborn/maternity photography is so expensive so I thought it would be helpful for me to explain in a blog post what exactly you're paying for when you book a photo shoot.


Firstly, let's talk about time. As a client you only see your photographer working for the duration of your photo shoot but the reality is that a lot of time is spent on each photo shoot both before and after the session too. Answering your initial enquiry and responding to any questions you have from the first contact to the day of your session; invoicing and other admin tasks; sometimes doing a location recce if the session is taking place in a location that's new to me; planning and preparing a personalised plan for your session and getting my equipment ready and blankets washed etc are just some of the things I spend time on before your photo shoot. On the day of the session, there is of course the time spent on the shoot but also travel there and back. After your session, I upload and back up all your photos straight away and then over the coming weeks, I spend considerable amount of time going through your images to select the best ones and hand editing each photo. Once I've finished editing your gallery, I upload your images to the gallery sharing platform and send them over to you, after which there is usually a few more emails and invoicing to be done before the job is complete.


So considering the amount of work that goes into each photo shoot, it means I can only take a limited number of photo shoots per week/month. The majority of my time in fact is spent at my desk doing all of the above tasks (as well as marketing to make sure that people find me) and not out and about photographing people.


Secondly, just like any business, there are costs involved in running a photography business meaning that certainly not all the money you pay me goes into my pocket. There are costs for editing software and other monthly subscriptions, travel, insurance & professional services, marketing, training... The list goes on. Then there's equipment of course which is a big money hole for us photographers. Professional standard camera gear does not come cheap unfortunately and it needs to be serviced/repaired/updated every now and then too. For a full-time, professional family photographer shooting outdoors and in-home like myself, the minimum equipment is typically two cameras, a few different lenses and a high spec computer. And finally, let's not forget that photographers have to pay taxes too!


So next time you look at a photographer's pricing, please bear in mind the time that goes into each session both before and after as well as all the costs that need to be covered before the photographer gets paid. You may agree that suddenly the hourly rate may not seem that high after all.


Having said all this, I know there are photographers in London who charge less than me (and many who charge a lot more than me!). However, in my experience, those charging minimal rates for their services are usually either only just starting out and have limited experience, or for varying reasons they do not need to make much of an income from their photography business. They may have another job that pays the bills, or they simply do not need to make an income at all. As a full-time professional photographer I belong to neither of those categories and I value clients who understand that although photography is my passion, it is also my living, not a hobby.


If the cost of a photo shoot feels high, here are some suggestions on how to make it more affordable:


  • Book an extended family session and share the cost with other family members such as your parents or a sibling. My pricing covers up to 6 people per session which means that for example if you are a family of four you can bring grandparents along for no extra cost.
  • Next Christmas, birthday or Mother's Day, instead of receiving gifts you don't really want or need, ask your loved ones for a gift voucher towards a photo shoot. You can find out more about my gift vouchers here.
  • Book your session well in advance and save up towards it every month. To secure a date, you only need to pay the session fee upfront.


I hope that you've found this blog post informative and helpful. Find out more about my family, newborn and maternity photography and get in touch if you're interested in booking a session!


Pauliina is a London-based lifestyle family & newborn photographer and a mum to two boys. Find out more at https://www.prootsphotography.co.uk/ or follow @prootsphotography on Instagram.