Somewhere along the way, we got lured in.
Fair warning- I’m going to get all nostalgic about the “days of yore” in our industry, but I promise I have a point so stick with me!
Let’s rewind to 10 years ago: the ancient year of 2000 BC.
Some photographers had websites. Some even had digital cameras. But most were happily shooting film and meeting potential clients face to face.
DSLRs were insanely expensive for a measly 3 megapixels. The debates of the day were focused on “Film vs Digital” -most in opposition of delivering 3MP images to a client. The quality just wasn’t there yet.
But things changed. Technology evolved. It got better and cheaper. Suddenly we seized the opportunity to “save money” by ditching lab costs associated with film.
Think about it… buying and processing 30-40+ rolls of film was costly!
For example:
40 rolls of pro-grade print film = $200
30 rolls of pro lab 4×6 proofing = $360
(Obviously this is general pricing, but let’s agree that the film and lab cost per wedding was in the neighborhood of about $500-$600.)
Soon every photographer sold off all their film equipment for the hope of running a faster, leaner studio with more creative results.
Enter the conundrum.
For decades photographers had very little creative control over their images. They were at the mercy of their lab. This new opportunity to handle their own images was riveting- the possibilities were literally ENDLESS.
Only problem was, very few photographers had working knowledge of Photoshop or basic image editing mechanics. To this point, a photographer was more of well… a PHOTOGRAPHER.
So they were forced to learn image editing whether they liked it or not.
What most people didn’t realize is that their lab went through extensive measures to deliver the best, most consistent proofs possible. Believe it or not, a straight print from a negative doesn’t look beautiful on its own. It needs further processing just like your Raw files.
Here’s how it worked:
Backstage there were armies of seasoned color professionals working on your images. Their job was to make the very best out of what you captured. Imagine trying to color match 30-40 individual rolls of film for consistent skin tone from beginning to end. What made things even more difficult was that these were likely printed completely out of sequence.
But they delivered anyway. Four or five days later, you could pick up a box of proofs from the lab, begin sequencing prints and stuffing the proof book. That process might take a few hours, but the color work was completely done- and done well.
However, when we all switched, labs didn’t want to touch these Raw files. It just didn’t fit into their workflow. The machines used for printing could print digital files, sure! But only JPEGs, not Raw, which defeated the purpose altogether.
So photographers were forced to learn image editing whether they liked it or not. (Yes, that was a repeat!)
My point is this: No film photographer in his right mind would ever dream of processing and printing their own color film. Yet today, photographers spend on average 20 hours doing wedding post production.
20 hours.
Now you might say, “Oh that’s not me… no way!” Well I dare you to log your hours from start to finish: download to posting on your proofing site.
The real question is, are you paying yourself for this time? What is the average price of your wedding package? Does it include this time? If not, you’re doing delusional math!
Sure your time is “free.” But it also prevents you from finding opportunities to book more events.
How many potential clients could you talk with in 20 hours? How about phone calls, meetings with other wedding vendors, promoting your work on your blog and other marketing channels?
Now am I suggesting everyone stop and send everything to us? No. What I’m suggesting is:
1) Dream about what you want to do with your studio. What are your goals? Is it to spend more time on the computer or more time with your family and friends? Maybe you want to shoot for pay and travel for fun. How about some more of that?
2) Identify the piece of your post production that consumes the most time. Use a free software timer or stopwatch. (Mac|PC) Pause when you’re on the phone, writing emails, checking your Facebook, etc. but chart each piece of your workflow. I guarantee you’ll be surprised.
3) Do the math. What amount of money do you need to take home from each wedding or portrait session to have a sustainable income? Account for ALL your costs and include the hours of time you spend on post production. Pay yourself an hourly wage as if you are an employee. Are you reaching your goal?
And then consider this: a common wedding photographer delivers an average of 700 images to the bride. Having Colorati do your Raw processing would cost about $240.
$240 could open up the opportunity to book two, three, or more events to create more than enough income to cover your costs- and that’s only by sending us ONE event.
Also consider that we process more weddings in two days than most photographers shoot in an entire year. Post production is our profession.
What do you dream about doing with your business? More post production?
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