WHY do DIGITAL files COST SO MUCH?

Why Do Digital Files Cost So Much? 

Most clients these days ask straight up in their first enquiry for the price of images on disc, full-size and hi-res, so they can print them or post them online.

Well, I do believe in giving the customer what they want. Which is why, like many other professional photographers we have to charge for the digital files just like we would for prints…..

"BUT WHY??? They're just files on a disc aren't they? There's not much expense in burning some files to a disc????"

This is what many people may think (at first) but sorry, the answer is NO .. They aren't just files easily burnt to a disc. They are the finished artworks that you paid to have taken professionally.


SO Why are digital images so expensive?

With so many questions about pricing in relation to digital files, I thought this might be a good time to explain how digital files are priced.  

Here goes ….

Most printed products can now be purchased online or at a local store i.e prints, books, stands, cards, canvases etc.  So, when a client buys a digital image, it's very rare that they will buy anything else from me. The photography session ceases once a client buys the digital images.  

For example, I used to sell a bunch of prints or photo books after a photography session, but now people want to do it all themselves to save money… Thinking that if they buy the digital files on a disc it will save them money.. Well YES it will but you do have to pay for those files too in the same way you would have if you purchased prints… (a photographer has to make their money somewhere)

Let's look at what I charge..

To start:

$200 session fee.. This covers travel, equipment, personal correspondence, skill and expertise and time in editing, creating online gallery etc etc that creates the 20-30 professional images that you love and want. Although you may only see me for 1-2 hours your not paying me $100 an hour, your paying for those 2 hours plus for the hours that go into the post production stage that make your images into a work of art. This could be another 4 hours at least.

Now lets take that $200 divide it into 6 hours that's $33 an hour (average wage for a professional) What would you say is a fair hourly rate? I'm not uncle Frank with a nice camera either - I'm a professional service, the same as you would have to pay for a professional hair cut, trades person, doctor (ok i'm not a doctor but you get the idea)

Now you want the digital files right. So if i say $500 for 30 images people have a heart attack. Please don't … I need you to keep reading..

Lets break that price down too.

My print prices are $25 for an 8" x 10" print. That reasonable!! Most photographers charge much more - google around and you'll see. 

Also my images aren't printed at office works. They are printed at a professional lab that prints superior quality, so that what I'm looking at on my calibrated iMac screen after hours of editing, is exactly what you see in a print - i.e perfection… not bodgy colours and crappy contrast etc… see here for more detail on this.

So lets say people wanted to purchase all their 30 images at 5" x 7" for $10 each for themselves. That's $300.

Then add in four  8"x10" enlargements for the relatives that's $100.

And one larger wall print for the lounge room another $100. That's a total of $500.

and there I would have made some money from the shoot (back in the day this would be the norm)- It is a business…

Now lets look at the digital price…. 

30 images for $500 … WHY??? 

Well $500 divided by 30 is $16 each... That's less than the $25 print 8" x10" BUT you can make your own copies - as many times as your want and yes for $1.50 at Officeworks if you want… This means you have a high res copy of the "artwork" (professionally edited images - not snapshots) to create as many prints and products online, offline and as many times as you want… SO for $500 it IS much cheaper… IT's not as expensive as you think.. when you think about it.

Need more convincing :

Let's say a client wanted to buy digital images so she could make her own photo book.  Well, I sell photo books.  So it needs to be understood that I need to charge at least as much as I would for a photo book, especially when you consider that you can use the images for so much more (prints, slide show, post online, "Thank You" cards, etc.)

Even more convincing :

Imagine going to a restaurant and asking for all the ingredients to make 30  gourmet burgers, already cooked, because you wanted to put the burgers together yourself.  Would you expect to pay less than the normal burger price?  Now, imagine they gave you the ingredients to make 30  gourmet burgers as well as hundreds of other types of burgers.  Less than the cost of 30 burgers, or more?

I started by saying that digital images aren't actually that expensive for what you get so let me put that into perspective.  If you were to buy twenty 8x10 prints from me it would cost more than buying 20 digital images.  With the digital images you can do anything you want.  That's a great deal !!!

*Below is an example of just one image from a newborn shoot before and after editing - Nothing wrong with the image on the left, after I've done some editing, you can see that it gives the picture that dreamy perfected look. (reduced redness, clarity, colour, contrast, light)…

Bottom line is... the pricetag looks pricey. But when you realise the ESSENCE of photography is ART AND BUSINESS… I'm not making a fortune. I'm TRYING to make a living. HUGE difference. :)