What is the difference with a boutique run studio vs a sharing only studio? : Jackson Michigan Photo

Have you ever heard the saying boutique run studio, a luxury or full service studio and wondered what it meant? How about a sharing only studio, a shoot and burn or all inclusive studio? Does all this sound like Greek to you? I mean what does all of that even mean anyways? Does

this leave you feeling confused?

In today's blog I am going to explain the differences between these two types of photography studio business models and what that means for you, the prospective photography client.

Let's begin with a boutique studio. Boutique definition: a small company that offers highly specialized services or products. Luxury definition: an indulgence in something that provides pleasure, satisfaction, or ease.

Full service definition: providing comprehensive service of a particular kind. A lot of service in those definitions, right? A boutique or luxury studio is going to be a type of studio to provide you with services in

addition to just a capturing your session. Our studio is just this type of

studio. We strive to exceed our clients expectations by providing service

that is above and beyond what our clients might expect, we custom design

everything from the session to the end product and the reason we are capturing your session. This might be a gorgeous piece of wall art to place in the perfect spot in your home, a stunning album to keepsake the special moment at hand, a sleek folio box that contains your most favorite images or maybe you are wanting to create imagery to gift to family members or those close to you. Whatever we might be shooting for we want whatever piece that might be to be exquisite and we want every detail to be taken care of for you so that you don't have stress and worry about a thing! We aid our clients by providing the custom service to create exactly what they need, in addition, we want our clients overall experience from the design consultation, to the session, to special private reveal to be something they will remember forever!

is going to be higher pricyou with additional service, they might include perks such a professional hair and makeup in their fees and other niceties and because they work with professional photography labs to supply their clients with products they can trust to last a lifetime those to sell to their clients, those products are typically more expensive to produce, as thewoithwith better quality, the more it costs. Not everyone will prefer a boutique or will be able to afford a boutique and some will just prefer a more DIY experience. I always blog that it is unfair to base anything on price alone especially in photography because each studio may differ in the way they run and operate their business as well as the level of the photographers experience. Every photographer, every photography studio has a different style and look to their work and how they want their studio to run and all of this is represented in their overall fees that they charge. You should never compare photography based on price alone because they are many factors that are involved in pricing and they tend to not be equal. Just because Photographer Mary charges a set amount and is cheaper then Photographer Susie that doesn't mean Photographer Mary offers exactly the same value or service as Photographer Susie. Please be aware of this fact. You never want to regret making the wrong choice with g choice with choice with choice with ce with oice with ice with with e with th ith th h

Now, let's define sharing studio. Sharing definition: to distribute on the Internet. Shoot and burn definition: to shoot a photo session and to burn the session to a disc to distribute. All inclusive: to include everything. I have many photographer friends who follow this model. You book your session online, the photographer shows up to your session to photograph you, edits your session and then sends you a disc or an online gallery with the digital images and that's it. It is cut and dry. Not much extras, just perform the job and the rest is up to you.

We've defined the differences so it's up to you to decide which will work the best for your photography needs. Let's list the pros and cons to both studio types.

With a boutique studio experience you can expect more care and guidance throughout your entire experience. With a shoot and burn studio

you can expect a less personalized experience. With a boutique

they will normally plan your session with you where you can meet and get

to know the photographer prior to your session taking place, you will meet

back with the photographer after the session has taken place so that you

you can receive the photographers experience and expertise on the right sizes and products that will be the best choices for you taking into consideration your style, tastes and budget. Those product selections will be created through a professional photography lab that stands behind the work they produce guarantying craftsmanship to last a lifetime. With a shoot and burn you will be left to decide all by yourself what will work best for you once you receive your digital images via disc or digital download. You will be left to figure out sizes yourself, you will not have the ability to purchase products with quality and craftsmanship because you will be purchasing products for your session through only consumer labs which use cheaper inks and materials that may not withstand years of use and you may blindly purchase products online vs. having the ability to touch see and feel products in person at a boutique studio to purchase with ease and confidence knowing exactly what your are purchasing.

So which is best for you? Which do you prefer? Of course, just like with any business, product or services they each come at a cost. A boutique

is going to be higher priced. Why? A boutique studio is going to spend more time with you as a client providing you with additional service, they might include perks such a professional hair and makeup in their fees and other niceties and because they work with professional photography labs to supply their clients with products they can trust to last a lifetime those to sell to their clients those products are typically more expensive to produce, the better quality, the more it costs. Not everyone will prefer a boutique or will be able to afford a boutique and some will just prefer a more DIY experience. I always blog that it is unfair to base anything on price alone especially in photography because each studio may differ in the way they run and operate their business as well and each level of experience the photographer has will also impact what your images will look like. Every photographer, every photography studio has a different style and look to their work and how they want their studio to run and all of this is represented in their overall fees that they charge. You should never compare photography based on price alone because they are many factors that are involved in pricing and they tend to not be equal. Just because Photographer Mary charges a set amount and is cheaper then Photographer Susie doesn't mean Photographer Mary offers exactly the same value or service as Photographer Susie. Please be aware of this fact. You never want to regret making the wrong choice with

a photographer especially if this is a life changing moment in your life such as your wedding or the birth of your baby.

In the end, the choice is in your hands. Only you can decide if service and quality is important to you. Only you can decide which business model you prefer and will be most comfortable with. Regardless of either choice, my hope is that this blog helped you to be a more educated consumer so that you make the choice that is right for you.