Rebekah Beasley Photographs: June 2013

Some other Photographers might take this as a slam against them, but I don't do what I do for them.

I have a mission in my Photography Career and that is to give my amazing clients the exact opposite of what I was given for my wedding coverage.

I was young. Only 20 years old when I got married. Just a babe on the cusp of life. I wasn't doing photography professionally at that point yet, so I wasn't educated in prices and packages that photographers offer. I chose one and went with them.

They showed up, dressed to the nines. They had multiple meetings with me and went over every detail that I needed for the day. They are great people, but I feel jipped from what I got and still do to this day.

We got their lowest package. My parents paid for my wedding and didn't have the intention of draining their finances for my special day. That package was about $1,600. It was the budget my parents had given me and I meant to stay within that budget. They called AFTER we had booked with them and told us that that package wasn't available because of the date of my wedding. That was the off season wedding package and the next step up was $2,100. My mom felt bad and my parents said it was fine to go up.

I did a really good job getting things on clearance and off the rack for my wedding. My entire wedding cost around $9,000. It was a wonderful day. I love watching my wedding video and reliving it and seeing and hearing us make our vows. (Duane not so much lol)

My wedding day came and went.

8 MONTHS LATER...I get my copyrighted CD of my images. I found out that to get all my images, it would be $700. That was just not gonna happen. Who has the kind of money for stuff like that? Since we couldn't afford the photos, we opted for an album. We had to use wedding money for it. It ended up being $500. And since we couldn't get our cd, we decided to get some prints.

I was able to afford 3 prints. For $60, I got 3 wedding photos. That's all I have from my wedding day on my walls. Fortunately, my wonderful wonderful friend took a ton of photos for us, so luckily I have those.

So the grand total for my wedding photos:

$2,660

for:

5 hours of coverage

1 album

3 prints

If I didn't feel robbed, there would be something wrong with me. It was quite a learning experience. Especially for me as a photographer. They went to Paris before they got me my photos too. As a Photographer, I have committed to giving people their memories and not put them in financial jeopardy. My turn around time for photos MAX is 2 months. I rarely go that long. Your album is included in the prices I give you. So is the disc of all the edited images. You get a print package from me as well.

There is a difference in how you view the photos from how I view your photos. Yes, each image is individually edited by me but I am not so prideful to make you pay $20 for each image that I edit. On the other hand, each image, to my client, is a moment from their day caught in time. I wouldn't feel right charging people that much money for pixels on my end. I'm doing what I love! I AM making money from what I'm doing, but I'm also not committing highway robbery with my prices!

My goal with my business is to get you the most for your money. I am a big Dave Ramsey fan, and I feel like he would appreciate what I charge and offer. I always give military families discounts and freebies too. And I try and do one free wedding a year. I also donate my talent to my church. I feel like God is blessing what I do because I am not money driven. I just want people to get what I couldn't.

I have an Etsy shop that I use to help with any expenses I have in my business and personal life so that I can keep my prices down for my clients. I sell vintage items and also my creative work there! It's a great outlet for me to do the other things in life that I love besides photography. I love it!

I never want to show up to a meeting with a bride and have outlandish prices and get angry when they aren't happy with what they see. I want people to sit down, see what I offer and breathe in a breath of fresh air in the photography business industry.

If you are interested in seeing my session and wedding prices, check out my website under "cost.

I do what I love and I love what I do.

~Becky

What do you say about people you've been friends with for 10 years!?! I realized how long I've known these two while I was making this post. Incredible. I remember the day Sarah whispered to me while we were working the Drive Thru at Chick Fil A "I like someone...". Jon worked in the kitchen so we giggled and gabbed about Jon while Sarah watched her man make some chicken sandwiches and fell head over heels for him, married him and is now carrying their third son!! I had the honor of being in their wedding and now here is our second family session since I've started my business! I love these two and their cute kiddos! Life friends are rare and gems that you cling to, Can't wait to meet baby Timothy!

I love it when I have sessions with families at their house. That is, after all, the true essence of a family! Here's their 2nd backyard session with two boys and one on the way!