An old painter sips coffee at a cafe and watches the foot traffic pass busily while he waits for his breakfast. A lady sitting with her friends at a different table recognizes him and humbly approaches. She tells him she loves his work and that he’s so talented and would he be willing to draw her something pretty please. The old painter smiles and tells the lady he’d be happy to, and the lady gives him the napkin she brought from her table. He takes a charcoal pencil from his jacket pocket, thoughtfully strokes his chin, and gets to work. After only a couple circuits of green to yellow to red of the nearby traffic light, he sets his pencil down and hands the napkin to the lady. The drawing is rough but beautiful–soulful–and so reminiscent of the old painter’s style that no one would question its authenticity. As she gazes at it, the painter tells her that $1,000 seems a reasonable price, and that he’ll take a check or wait for her to go get cash. His breakfast isn’t even ready yet, after all. Shocked from her reverie, her face now painted with incredulity, she tells the painter that it’s an absurd price since it’s couldn’t have taken longer than two minutes. The old painter smiles understandingly and says “of course it did. It took 60 years.”

Then I imagine she throws the napkin onto the ground and goes to back to her friends and calls the painter a jerk or something like that.

Anyway, you get the idea right? I’m not comparing myself to a famous painter; I’m only saying that part of what I am including in my pricing is my experience.

I seriously know what I’m doing, because I have eight years worth of mistakes and successes to guide me. I know how to make people comfortable and how to get the shots that I want. I don’t stress out when something inevitably goes wrong. I know that having fun and being myself is just about the most important thing. I’m comfortable shooting in the rain or the snow, inside or outside. I understand how light works, how my gear works, how people work, and how to makes those things cooperate.

These are not things I learned from reading articles or going to school for photography (I went to school for English, and then for business). These are things I learned by doing. Legwork baby. I’m proud of what I know and what I can do and the art I produce. Maybe more proud than anything else. And so that’s why you need to trust me that my prices are correct, and hiring me to shoot your wedding would be cheap at twice the price.