If you want to have a photoshoot with a professional photographer, it will be expensive. Professional photographers charge a lot of money, undoubtedly, but there are reasons for it.
Time
Even a 1-hour photoshoot takes a lot of time. For this photoshoot the photographer has to travel, prepare the equipment and set them up, ensure that lighting and everything are alright. All this takes a lot of time. The work doesn’t end after taking the photos. The photographer has to take a backup of the photos, edit them and then print them. So, a 1-hour photoshoot is 3 to 4 hours of work for the photographer.
Equipment
Camera lenses and other photography equipment are expensive. The photographer has to invest a lot of money in the equipment. They also need to upgrade the equipment from time to time. That’s why they charge a high rate for their services.
Skills
The photographers have to practice for many years to be good at photography. They have to work hard for it. They have to work under a mentor and sharpen their skills. This takes a lot of effort and time.
Premium services
Professional photographers need to maintain a website which can be expensive. They have memberships in Flickr and other sites where they have to pay membership fees. Maintaining all these are expensive.
Assistants
A professional photographer has one or more assistants, and he needs to pay them. So, the fees of the assistants are included in the photography package.
Prints and softcopy
The photographers need to spend a lot of time editing the pictures using various software. They have to print those pictures and create an album for the clients. So, a photographer not only clicks on the camera. They have to do a lot of extra things for which their high price is justified.
From Visually.