Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

Actually pricing commercial photography is currently a hot issue in Suriname. Portrait photographers have for a long time had competition from the chain store studio, or the photolab with a "studio". As anywhere else the advent of cheap print services and the rise and availabilty of digital cameras are reason for people to believe that the true cost of photography should expressed in "cents rather than dollars". The discussion has started in the Surinamese Photographers Organization, SUFOV, (http://www.sufov.com) recently and I am a strong advocate of organizing to give professional photographers a chance of living and guaranteeing clients the very best photography they can get. After all, as Pamela and Shawn Richter put it nicely on their website a pair of scissors only costs US$ 1.50, but people gladly pay a professional hairstylist US$ XX.00 for a good haircut!! The whole article can be read here. If you are a photographer, make sure you take a read, it might help you explain your pricing next time to a client, if you are a client, also make sure you read it, you might feel a lot better when paying a professional photographer the next time.