This is a blog post that I have put off writing because I wanted to word it just right and to be as tactful and professional as possible, yet I knew that it was going to be a huge risk. Clients were potentially going to be disappointed, confused, or possibly angry. With my golden retriever personality, this is very, very hard for me. Bear with me as this post will be more lengthy with not nearly as many pictures. 🙂

The bottom line is that session prices are going up, and honestly, quite dramatically. This deeply saddens me because I know this means that this is going to stretch quite a few of you financially or . . . uggh . . . quite possibly you may no longer be able to afford a session. I want desperately for everyone to be able to have great pictures of their family. This is why I do what I do.

That being said, as I’ve grown Twelve Stones Photography over the past several years, I’ve made a lot of sacrifices in the name of “building the business.” Any entrepreneur knows that this is necessary. However, there has come a point as we’ve been examining our family situation and evaluating finances where we knew we needed to make some adjustments in our pricing structure. One thing I truly believe in is allowing clients to have a CD of their edited images. Regardless of whether or not you make any prints from it, you should be able to have ALL the images to look at whenever you want. Period. It is nearly unheard of for the CD to be included in a photographer’s session fee. Many charge hundreds of dollars for it or simply don’t offer it. I would much rather charge a flat upfront fee that includes the CD than slap you with hidden or extra charges later, like astronomical print prices or ridiculous minimum print order requirements. I intentionally keep my print prices low to allow you access to professional prints at an affordable cost, leaving me with little to no profit on them.

You may be asking: What’s the big deal with getting the CD? Why does it cost so much? What you’re paying for is time. The time that each session requires is much more than just the hour or two we spend together taking the photos. There’s travel time to/from the shoot location, many hours re-touching and editing your photos on the computer, placing print orders, delivering prints, packaging and mailing CDs, and the list goes on. You get the point. This is custom photography – something you certainly won’t get at JC Penney or Picture People. Therefore, to freely and inexpensively give away these images is not an accurate reflection of the countless hours I’ve poured into perfecting your precious photos.

So, what’s the new plan? Standard sessions will now be $400. You still get all the same great things, plus some:

• a CD of at least 25 edited, high-resolution images in color and black and white
• an online gallery for viewing and ordering available for 30 days
• the option to order low-cost, high-quality fine art prints (including mounting, canvases, gallery wraps, etc)
• prints delivered to your door
• a $25 print credit

As a thank you to those of you who have been loyal clients, and who may have been planning sessions for this fall/Christmas and not budgeted for a higher fee, I would like to offer you your next session at the previous rate. This session will need to be booked by December 31, 2010 and completed by March 1, 2011. Also, if you are a new client and have already secured a date with me for this fall, your session will be locked in at the previous rate.

I sincerely hope that many of you will be able to still visit me for your family photos once a year! If you decide that this new price is simply not an option for you, I will be offering one mini session each month at a rate of $250, which includes a shorter session, fewer edited images on CD, and a smaller print credit.

You all mean so much to me. Thank you not only for your business but for your friendship as well.

Much love,

Amy