Below are just a few questions that has been asked a lot by the general public as well as past clients. I will try and keep my answers short and sweet but most of all genuine. Please note that this is related to my photography business only and another photographer's view might be different.
Why do I only get a few photos instead of all the photos with my sitting fee?
You pay a nominal fee for my service to photograph you/your family/child/pet/wedding etc. As a simple thank you for trusting me and making use of my services I provide some photos (of your choice) for you FREE of charge on a disc. Those photos will be edited - meaning spots removed, white balanced fixed, tones fixed/adjusted and some minor artistic touches are added to make your photos look more than just a happy snap. That take up a lot of time.
But what if I don't want my photos edited? Why can't I get all of them on a disc?
All my photographs are shot in RAW format - that is a very plain, dull and unsharp photo which you'll hate when you see it. Shooting in RAW give me lots of room to make some sort of tweaks to make it a very appealing image. That means your photographs has already been through some sort of editing process before you even see them. So they are NOT UN-EDITED at all, but you still can't get them. The photos you see in the gallery will go through a final touch-up editing process before you receive them. This editing is what makes you fall in love with your photos. I won't ever agree to give you any form of unedited photos whatsoever. It is so much better to have a few AWESOME PHOTOS which you are super proud of than having a hundred OK photos. Editing photos after you received them is prohibited because it's not your work. You only have rights to print them.
I love editing photos - why can't I have my RAW files?
If I took your photos, they are mine forever. I can do with them whatever please me. If you want to edit some RAW files I'd suggest you get your friends to take photos of you with your camera and edit those photos. When I take a photo I take very careful consideration of all my settings, lightning and composition which means my photos are my work of art and can not be passed onto someone else. The end result is purely for your enjoyment. That is why you choose to have your photo taken by a professional. If we all had the same talent we could all have a DSLR (digital camera) and took our own photos needing no help from any one ever - considering that there are such things as tripods and self timers for those selfies.
I want all the photos of the session, but I don't want to pay for them
I want a lot of things too which I don't want to pay for but no-one's listening...I suggest you go through your gallery again - filter your favorites again and again until you can settle for the absolute minimum photos you can't live without and if there is any more than what's included in your package - just bite the bullet and pay for them or make an arrangement with me to pay it off if you can't do it right now.
Can I please please PLEASE get the photos you still have left in the gallery? You can't do anything with it anyway
NO! You can't full stop. I am proud of my work and every photo a client receive will be a high standard photo, not one with some "room for improvement". That's it.
Why does your photos have your name written all over it, I don't want my photos to have a name written on it
If you've seen them online, that'll have my name on, if you've seen it printed with my name, it means that person stole my photo of the net and printed it illegally - PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHO IT IS! If any of my clients receive their photos on a disc or via digital download it won't have my name written on any of the photos. The logo over my photos {are on my online photos only}and is to protect my work so that no-one can download it and use it as their own.
Ok, I am also speaking Afrikaans and our mutual friend referred you to me, can you please revise you packages in order to give me a better price?
Sorry, the answer is NO. I am not going to use half a camera or just half my gear or just half my willpower and effort to take and edit your photos. The amount of work for the photos I take for you as well as any other client remains the same. If you were employed by me, would you be willing to work for half the price because we speak the same language or a mutual friend referred you to me? NO? Well, I didn't think you would. Sorry if this sound harsh but if you cannot afford my package make an arrangement to pay it off. This is not a hobby, this is my work. If you think my prices are a bit rough for you, you'd be better off finding someone who'd do it free, please also be prepared to compromise on quality of your photos as well.