What Professional Photography Actually Costs

1. Updates: What’s going on with my different ventures…

   1. I️ just dropped new prints and you can bundle and save!! Bundle any mix of prints and save: Buy 3+ save 20% / 5+ save 30% / 10+ save 40% / 15+ save 50%

   2. My Artist Intensive one day event in Alabama is filling up fast! Snag your spot here.

2. What I’m Reading - Read this in a day on Sunday!

3. Wearing & Wanting -

   1. I️ love a summer dress!

   2. $20 basic tee with a little somethign extra

   3. J.Crew but giving Doên (under $100)

4. Sales Report

   1. Frame is having a great denim sale - PS an extra 30% is applied at checkout. Love these

   2. Blue Mercury’s Summer sale is on! Im’ stocking up on this while it’s on sale!

   3. Solid and Striped is having a 4th of July sale if you need to finally get new bathing suits (like me)

   4. Athleta is also having a huge sale and I️ need shorts (these are $33)

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Dear Creatives,

Last year I made a decision that felt indulgent at the time and turned out to be one of the smartest moves in my business. I invested in professional photography for two collections, the Reading Girls library shoot and the After Midnights figures shoot.

I want to be upfront that this was not a massive budget, but I think a lot of artists assume professional photography is either completely out of reach or barely worth it compared to just snapping something on your phone in decent light. I used to think the same thing. Then I actually did it and watched what happened to my business.

Why the photos mattered more than the photos

Here is the thing I didn’t realize about investing in quality photography, it is not really about getting a nicer picture of your art, it is about giving your work context for your audience. Photography tells a story and a reason for someone to feel something before they even fully process what they are looking at.

The library shoot did not just show my Reading Girls paintings. It put them in the hands of a woman lost in a room of books, and might just have made you nostalgic for something that despite existing, isn’t something we do that often — explore our local library. It told you who this collection was for right away. Buyers did not just see a painting. They saw themselves, or someone they wanted to be, or a specific person in their life right away. How do I know that? They told me. “OMG I need a reading girl,” or “my niece is such a reading girl,” and “my mom is a reading girl!”

The After Midnights shoot did something different but used the same principle. Through heart shaped sunglasses, a martini glass, and playing cards fanned out on a vintage table, it was unhinged in the best way and it told you immediately this collection had a completely different energy. Glamorous, a little chaotic, fun without apologizing for it. This collection was for the woman chic enough to order a dirty martini, but playful enough to not let it stop her from running the pool table. The buyer of these figures wants something chic, but that also says something about themselves in a way that isn't too serious.

Neither shoot was really about the art hanging flat on a white wall. I can shoot that on my iPhone for free. Both were about pulling the work off the page and giving it a world to live in.

What actually happened

Both collections sold out within two months (or less) of launch (which is my goal and you can read about it here).

The real shift was bigger than any single collection selling well. I found I could charge more because the presentation around the work signaled that the work itself was worth more. My brand started getting taken more seriously, by collectors, by other artists, by people considering working with me. And maybe most practically, I now have a library of images I am still using almost a year later. Website, Substack, newsletters, social content, gallery applications, press requests, one photoshoot, used over and over across nearly every part of my business.

There was also something less measurable that mattered just as much. Having those photos made me genuinely more confident putting the work out into the world and buyers could feel that confidence too. It is hard to quantify but easy to notice in hindsight. When you believe in the presentation of your own work, people believe in the work itself a little more too.

I was so convinced by what happened last year that I have already invested in a new shoot at my recent show in Atlanta, and I have another one scheduled in July for a brand new collection.

I know not everyone is ready to book a photoshoot this month, and that is more than fine, because below I’m sharing my favorite tip for better photos and an AI tip that fixes one of the most common photography problems artists run into. Plus, I’m sharing the exact numbers from both shoots, what I actually spent, and the rules I follow now so every shoot earns its keep.