Things I Refuse to Skimp On as a Photographer
I might ruffle some feathers, but there are some things as a photographer I refuse to skimp on…
Dual memory cards. This is a non-negotiable! I constantly see posts on social media from photographers panicking because their card is corrupted. There should ALWAYS be a second card recording the same images in the same file type. This has been standard in the industry for over a decade. Beyond memory cards, having multiple backup drives and cloud backup for my computer is just as important. I’ve experienced a card failure and even deleted the wrong folder from my computer once, but nothing was lost because it was backed up. While these practices don’t cover the rare camera write failure or a fiery car crash, they will prevent loss in the vast majority of scenarios.
My calendar. I have never double-booked a client or missed a session, because everything goes into both my calendar and in my project management system. I review my schedule and set reminders as needed. Also, when you book me, the session time is reserved for you and no one else. There’s a horrifying new trend where photographers intentionally book multiple clients for the same day/time, and then fake an emergency and either cancel completely or send a random substitute photographer to cover the jobs they don’t want to do.
Password-protecting online galleries. This is another one where I’m seeing posts on social media from panicked photographers when they found out unauthorized individuals were accessing their clients’ online galleries. Photos are so personal and shouldn’t be accessible to anyone and everyone. Gallery sites have a password option for a reason! I was shocked to hear a lot of people do not set passwords.
Backup cameras/equipment. Stuff malfunctions. Equipment can break. I don’t need to cancel on a client or end a session early as a result. I always have a second camera, multiple lenses, and multiple lights along with me for every job. On a few occasions I even needed to use my backup! While I might charge more than someone without backup equipment, is that gamble worth a lower price?
Now, I am human. I recognize that even good photographers could experience an outlying catastrophe or unusual circumstance. Unanticipated things have happened to otherwise great photographers/business owners, and nobody is 100% immune from a problem. And in my first couple of years in business, I didn’t have all of these bases covered, because I didn’t know better and also couldn’t afford as much extra equipment. But as an established professional photographer, taking basic precautions is part of taking business seriously, and it’s part of what makes up my pricing.