19 Reasons why a Professional Photographer won't come cheap

Photography is not just a click of a button. A professional photographer will know the expenses that are involved in considering an assignment. Unfortunately, professional photographers are treated in a bad way and not given the respect that they really deserve here in India.

There is a famous saying these days - every monkey with a camera is a photographer and this is very much true. Create a page on social media, ask your friends to like it, upload 100 pics and you become a professional photographer. Few even get paid likes. And there are many new photographers who work for free or who undervalue their work.

What I have seen is that these so-called professional photographers do not survive for long. They attend some tutorials, buy a camera, start a business, and shut down their startup in no time. Before, you hire a professional photographer for an important day like a wedding check their website and work. Don't try to save a bit and end up getting poor-quality shots. These are very important events and they remain as memories that will last a lifetime.

Also, read - Hiring Wedding Photographer? 5 common mistakes to avoid

Why a Professional Photographer won't come cheap?

Now getting back to the main topic. Here are a few reasons why a professional photographer will charge a lot.

• Skills - When an image is captured, it is not just a click of a button. The images are made and to make this an interesting shot, the composition, lighting, focusing, quality, etc everything has to be perfect. All these are skills attained over a long period of time not overnight. Professional photographers attend training too, it is a continuous learning process.
• The images that are captured are in RAW and there is much more time involved in editing each of the images. Again, they spend a lot of time learning and updating these skills of photo and video editing.
• Album designing takes a lot of time, with multiple feedbacks and re-corrections in the design and layout.
• Printing each of the images, the cover shot, the paper quality, selection of these takes time. Even if this work is outsourced, a professional photographer has to continuously interact with the third-party company and client.
• Expensive cameras and lenses. Those f2.8 lenses are costlier than the camera body. Each of these f/2.8 lenses can cost around one to 1.5 lac rupees. Even renting a camera, will cost a lot. The rental is on daily basis (24 hours), this is the reason why even if an event is for 2 hours, it will cost more. Insurance cover (not available in India) will have to be paid and if it is not available then the risk is taken by the photographer.
• The camera service isn't cheap.
• Editing software is not cheap. Getting a licensed copy of software like Photoshop, Lightroom, Creative Cloud, etc is important for a professional photographer when he is running a business.
• Has to pay taxes for the income earned out of photography.
• Travel and accommodation costs for an event.

• Assistants - They don't do charity work. Photographers have to pay their assistants as well.
• Studio rental, office space, etc.
• Office expenses - hardware like printers, computers, storage - a lot of storage, cloud storage, backup of those important photos, etc, contracts, agreements, files, etc.
• Client/ Customer interactions before and after the event.
• They make a living out of it.
• Albums are not freebies, it will cost a lot. Even while printing an album there is so much work involved like album design, layout, album cover, paper quality, print quality, etc.
• Deliverables like albums, pen drives, DVDs, DVD cover designs, courier and shipment charges, etc.
• Time of event - Indian marriages happen even at midnight, early morning 3 AM, reception event on the same day afternoon, etc. This is overtime work and photographers are humans and not robots. Marriage happens once and staying overtime is manageable, whereas professional photographers do it on a daily or weekly basis and overtime is not something you should be expecting.
• Website maintenance, money spent on ads, promoting business, etc. A lot of time and money is spent on building a personal brand and on social media.

Even after reading all these, there are many who will still go with a photographer who has no clue how the camera works and charges less. Remember one thing. You get what you pay for. A cheap car is a cheap car and a Benz is a Benz. Don't expect Benz quality when you are ready to pay only for a cheap car. Photos and events are once in a lifetime. Opt for the best professional photographer that you can afford.

Hope you have learned something today by reading this blog post. Buy me a coffee to support my work or you can go to my store to buy some of my images. Also, do not forget to join my FriendZone by signing up for my newsletter. Consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.

Use Leading Lines to capture stunning photos

What are Leading Lines?

When it comes to nature photography, one of the most efficient methods to create a striking composition is to use leading lines. The employment of visual features to guide the viewer's attention into the scene is known as leading lines. Lines, curves, zigzag lines, form progression, and other components can be used as leading elements in an image.

Why are leading lines important?

The most compelling images have leading lines that run from foreground to background, driving the viewer's attention into the picture. You're actually teasing the viewer's imagination. Consider yourself the viewer of a picture as you capture it. How you may examine the image and travel across it. It's wonderful to have something at the end of these lines as a subject.

Types of Leading lines

To utilize lines effectively, it is necessary to first grasp the various types of leading lines and how they should be applied. These lines fall into several types, some of which are as follows:

Horizontal Lines

Horizontal lines appear frequently in nature and landscape photography. Horizontal lines are commonly utilized when shooting with a wide-angle lens since they typically span over the whole width of the image.

Curved lines

Curved lines, on the whole, appear more natural than straight lines. Leading lines are most commonly employed in nature pictures to emphasize key points. This is ideal for nature photography.

Vertical lines

Vertical lines are used to convey authority and hierarchy. They attract attention up and down the frame and may be utilized to express status in your photograph. Vertical lines are frequently used in fashion and street photography.

Converging lines

If you have converging lines in your frame, it's ideal to place the subject of the photograph on the axis of these lines. Converging lines are particularly efficient in drawing attention to the point of convergence and may be a powerful compositional feature in your images.

Diagonal lines

Diagonal lines are used to convey movement and change. Diagonal lines are used to highlight distance and frequently trail from foreground to background. If you have a big depth of field, play with diagonal lines to enhance the sensation of depth in your image.

Intersecting Lines

Intersecting lines may be both beneficial and detrimental. On the one hand, if you're not cautious, they may entirely derail a shot's flow. However, when used correctly in a composition, you may frame objects purposely in fascinating ways to increase tension in an image or add an element of misunderstanding.

How to Use Leading Lines in Photography?

Learning how to utilize leading lines properly will assist you in creating dynamic and dramatic photographs that showcase your chosen subject matter. Using the approaches listed below can help you polish your photography abilities and increase the quality of your final product:

Search any natural lines

Scan the region where you'll be filming for natural and man-made features that might be used to generate powerful leading lines. As you can see in the above image, the trails formed by the livestock in this region from their grazing ground to the hut.

Identify your focal point

Your environment may be brimming with possible leading lines, but it is up to you to decide which ones would best suit your subject matter. You may be shooting along train tracks or a hiking trail, but unless you can align these lines with the focal point of your shot, they will just confuse the viewer.

Position yourself

Once you've decided which leading lines to add, position your camera such that the lines bring your attention to the image's main point. Take your time, but keep in mind that if you're utilizing shadows as leading lines, you'll need to account for their movement over time.

Have a subject

It's great to have anything as a subject at the end of these lines. When you have these lines that guide the human eye, there will be something lacking if there is no subject at the end of these lines.

Role of wide angle lens

A wide-angle lens allows you to record a large picture, allowing you to place leading lines towards the bottom of the frame and then let them flow into the photo, gradually drifting farther and farther away until they disappear. In contrast, in a telephoto composition, the leading lines often begin near to the subject and end abruptly. It's less lively, fascinating, and three-dimensional. For this reason, many landscape photographers use ultra-wide focus lengths. They frequently discover a leading line, highlight it with a wide-angle lens, and create a strikingly deep composition.

Image captured using Nikon D610 + Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G lens

Take many pictures

When it comes to editing your photographs and selecting your preferred shots, it's always vital to give yourself alternatives. Vary your camera angles and settings to cover all of your bases.

Conclusion

To summarise, leading lines work best for any type of picture, however, I've been focused on nature photography. These lines are important compositional components that guide our attention across an image. They can be used to convey a tale, emphasize a point, or link two items. So, wherever you go, start thinking about leading lines. Experiment with discovering guiding lines in the midst of the daily bustle.

Hope you enjoyed reading this blog post on photography tips. Buy me a coffee to support my work or you can go to my store to buy some of my images. Also, do not forget to join my FriendZone by signing up for my newsletter. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more content of this kind.