Photography Is An Investment | Whitney Beth Photography | SLC Family Photography
 

I love having my blogging platform so that I can use it as a tool for education and keeping you all in the know. I never would've thought that I'd be a "blogger" when I started my business nearly eight years ago, yet here we are. I've poured my heart and soul into some of these posts and I've used this space as a way to grow closer to clients. It's because of all the work I've put in, that I feel like I can be myself and that I can use my words to express my thoughts - however frank they may be. Which takes us to today's post; Photography is an investment. Whether you choose to see it as an investment for the future or a monetary investment in the present. It's still an investment. 

Investing in photographs is unique to each individual. We all have different priorities. For example, despite taking 5 years of piano, I'm lucky if I can pluck out a recognizable tune one handed. Having a piano in my home was always a nice thought, but not a priority. I'd like to think that my kids would take piano lessons and be able to outplay me, but I had no desire to go out and purchase a piano for our home. However, when the occasion arose that a family friend was giving away a well loved upright, I jumped at the chance to potentially have music playing in our house. You see, I liked the idea of having a piano and being able to reteach myself and have my boys learn, but I didn't want to spend the money needed to buy a piano - even used! Having a piano is an investment, both in itself as well as for the future (in the hopes that Jones may be able to play something outside of middle C.) But it wasn't my priority - and that's ok!

Same thing with pictures. I will be the first to admit that I'm not the cheapest photographer out there. I offer a lot more things than other photographers - like providing prints with my packages, meeting with you in person before and after the shoot and even designing gallery walls. And in doing so, I have to charge accordingly for my time, talent and materials. It all comes down to priority and what you are willing to invest in. My well loved upright could probably use a tune up, and has definitely seen better days, but hey, it works! Finding a photographer that fits in your family's budget for the time being is great - you may be only getting digitals that may or may not get printed, but at least you got pictures done!

Investing in a photographer like me that offers you a full service experience is a luxury and investment. But this investment will last longer than storing your photos on Facebook. (Remember my blog post on how Facebook is not a photo storage?) All of my prints and products that I offer are made with archival quality materials. That means that these babies will last! (You can catch up with how durable my prints are by reading my post about why archival matters.)

But why does that matter?

What's it to you?

Think of your children being able to physically touch their baby pictures. Of being able to show your wedding album to a future daughter in law. Think how magical and sentimental it will be to show your grandchildren what life was like when their parents were their age. How everyone dressed and what the latest hairstyle was. 

By ordering photographs through me you are investing in your memories and your story to make sure it is readily available for your future and all the posterity to come. 

Some people may not think that investing their money into my photography is worth it - and that's ok! We are all different and we all value different things. The important thing is to figure out where you stand and how much photographs mean to you. In the event of an emergency the number one thing people grab from their homes are their pictures. It is their story and their legacy. Investing in something as priceless as memories is something I don't have to think twice about. It's why I tend to splurge on my own pictures. Because while I don't prioritize having a piano, I will always prioritize my photographs.