Jodi Walsh Photography: September 2012

or why I have to change my prices... (if you want to skip the mushy mom stuff, feel free to jump to the bottom or you can clicking on pricing and learn the details right away) :-)

It's been a great ride so far. When I started this venture about 5 years ago, I actually didn't see it really going very far. I had a good idea of how to take pictures and I had a fair idea of how to run a business but I also had 2 small kids, one of them with some developmental issues. There were times when I thought no one would call. Times when I kicked myself for not being better, smarter, friendlier, more relaxed with clients. There are still times when simply adding 2 numbers together foils me but I keep going. I really love what I do. I love what I do so much that I'm willing to conquer my anxieties about meeting new people and my fears about not being good enough. I've faced those moments and instead of succumbing to those negative thoughts, I say "Wait! No! I am good at this! I can do this!" I love what I do.

But there is a price and I've been fortunate over the past few years to not have been hurt too much by that price. You see, I've had both of my kids home with me for much of the week. Half day preschools and half day kindergarten gave me a nice little break, some peace and quiet to do things that I wanted to do. That all changed in August.

My boy went off to first grade and my girl started kindergarten. She was going to be half day so up until about 3 weeks before the start of school, I was content knowing that I'd have my little helper with me in the morning and have the afternoon to do other things. But they decided to change her class to full day and now she's at school with her big brother from 8 until 4 when the bus brings them home. Time has just become a very precious commodity to me.

I went from being with them the majority of every day to only getting little snippets of what they're willing to share with me. I went from mid-morning story breaks and coloring breaks to an empty, quiet house. I'd be lying if I said that it didn't make me a little sad. It's a very bittersweet time.

So what does this mean for my business. Well, it means that I can't give away this precious time that I have with my kids. It means that if I'm going to leave them, I want to be compensated for that time away. It means that I'm going from part-time to full-time. It means that my pricing has got to change.

I actually haven't changed my prices over the past few years. I've recognized that with the price of gas increasing and the price of groceries increasing, a lot of people haven't been left with much in the way of extra spending money. That's been the same for our family as well. But things are getting slowly better and I believe that people will invest in beautiful images of the ones they love the most and I believe that they will build that relationship with the artist who captures those images and I want to be the artist provide those beautiful images to them.

Starting October 1st, there will be changes to my pricing, from session fees to packages and digital files. The good news is that if you are already on my schedule or had a session with me over the past couple of weeks, these changes won't affect you. The new prices will be in affect for those contacting me to book as of October 1st.

I thought I would briefly describe some of my changes here and then you can check out my website and blog for the full list of prices. The first change will be my session fee. The fee for scheduling a session on the weekend will be $150. To schedule for a weekday session, the fee will be the same $100 that it's been for the past few years. This is to reflect that my weekends with my kids have gotten more valuable.

The next change will be in my packages but the pricing of the prints won't be changed. I've redesigned my packages and created four new collections so that the prints work together as wall displays. Hopefully it will take the guess-work out of deciding how to show off your images. There will also be some other great products offered as well and I'm looking forward to sharing more info about those in my next post.

The other part of my pricing that will change is the pricing for digital images and for the digital CD. I will still offer the CD, but at my current pricing I am losing too much money to have a sustainable business. The session fee alone is not enough to keep me in business. My real profit is made through the selling of other products and that rarely happens when the CD is available at such a premium price. Believe me, I do understand wanting to have those digital files whether to print from or to just have and I want to provide that to you. Those files are important and I don't want to hold your family images hostage.

The full session on CD will no longer be $100.

There will be 3 options for purchasing digital files either as a single file, a group of 10 or the full session. A single digital file will be $125. In addition to the changes in pricing of digital files, there will no longer be size limits for printing. Previously, I asked that you print the files no larger than 8x10. Now, with the purchase of the CD, you will have the right to print the images however big you would like them and included in the purchase will be sample prints and recommendations for GOOD printing labs. Believe me, if you're investing in images, you want to avoid the usual photo places. There is a big difference in print quality.

I hope you can understand these changes. Ultimately I want to provide you with great experience as well as great images and to be as helpful as I possibly can in getting those images out of my camera, off my computer and up onto your walls because that's where they can be enjoyed the most! :-)

I love when clients become friends. I met this family a couple of years ago when they booked a session with me for the eldest daughter. She was turning 5 and they wanted to celebrate this with a special photo session (I absolutely loved that idea!). Their 3 girls were so much fun! I couldn't help but think to myself that Sadie would love these girls.

Then, last year Sadie started at a new preschool and it happened to be the same school that two of their daughters were going to. Sadie ended up being in class with their middle girl and the girls quickly became friends.

Then came baby #4 this summer.

I was so excited to have the opportunity to photograph this loving family again.

So without further ado, meet Baby C and his adoring big sisters!