12 days from now I'll be wrapping up my first session on the beach this year. Then going to the house to unpack :). Can't get here soon enough! For those of you heading down for beach pictures, here's a few tips on places to stay and things to do while you're there. We typically stay around Nags Head so I'm more familiar with that area.
There's a ton of realtors in the area but these two we have dealt with and suggest. You could always check to see if a partial week's stay is available, and sometimes wiith the price of hotels you may come out better that way.
http://www.hatterasrealty.com/index.htm (Rodanthe, Salvo, Waves, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, Hatteras area)
http://www.villagerealtyobx.com/OuterBanks/VacationRentals/ (Nags Head Area)
for shorter stays-
http://www.lighthouseview.com/ (Buxton)
http://www.nagsheadinn.com/
Things to do and sight seeing:
Nags Head/Kill Devil Hills/ Kitty Hawk
Wright Brothers Memorial (sorry Ohio we are first in flight) http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm
Jockey's Ridge http://www.jockeysridgestatepark.com/
Bodie Island Lighthouse. Be sure to look for the signs to Coquina Beach across the street. It's beautiful and typically not crowded with well kept changing and bathroom areas. http://www.nps.gov/caha/historyculture/bodie-island-light-station.htm
Tanger Outlets, it's not a huge one but there's a Coach factory store there for all you purse lovers! http://www.tangeroutlet.com/nagshead
We really enjoyed Jennette's Pier. It's free to get in but they do ask for a donations if you can do so. There's a cute little gift shop inside. http://www.jennettespier.net/
Just drive on the beach road from Nags Head to Kitty Hawk and check out all the beautiful homes and scenery. Can't go wrong there.
Take a little trip over to Manteo, it's not far with tons of history.
The Elizabethan Gardens are beautiful http://elizabethangardens.org/ but please for the love of photography soak yourselves in bug spray, deet, or the strongest chemical you can get your hands on before you open the car door. They have some form of evil mutant mosquitoes that put warren county bugs to shame. You wouldn't believe it until you come out swollen and itching. Happened to me last year.
Not far from the gardens is Fort Raleigh http://www.nps.gov/fora/planyourvisit/hours.htm
Catch a show with the Lost Colony http://thelostcolony.org/about-us/
My daughter loves the aquarium http://www.ncaquariums.com/roanoke-island
I'm not sure of the website but my personal favorite shopping spot is The Christmas Mouse. It's on the right not too far into Manteo and you can't miss it. The cutest trees and Christmas decorations, also a beautiful art gallery where you can purchase prints of beach scenes, jewelry, and so much more. I could really get myself in trouble shopping there.
Be sure to check out the lighthouse in Manteo. It's absolutely gorgeous around sunset and the picture here doesn't do it justice. It's a beautiful area of shops there as well. http://www.townofmanteo.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B4948728C-E11D-44B2-A6D0-9CCBBFC5C09D%7D
And this is where we like to eat:
The kids will get a kick out of the pirate theme and the food's pretty good http://www.jollyrogerobx.com/
http://southbeachgrillemp16.com/ South Beach Grille is amazing. I love that place. They have some seriously tastey Gluten Free dishes (and DESSERT!) on the menu and they're very good about working witht those of us with food allergies. It was about $70 for 4 of us, and for a night of dining out in the OBX that's not bad.
http://www.thedunesrestaurant.com/index.html Not too much in the way of gluten free as this is your traditional fried seafood place, but everyone else at the table loved it.
Great place for some home cooked breakfast and it's a pier! Kind of small so you may have to wait but the view is worth it. http://www.nagsheadpier.com/food.htm
I'll have to come back later and add more for the Hatteras area. This is our first time in Buxton! Here's what we plan on doing:
http://www.teachshole.com/ Pirate Museum at Ocracoke Island
http://www.schoonerwindfall.com/ Schooner Cruise at Ocracoke Island
Not sure I'll be climbing the lighthouse since I'm a wee bit claustrophobic but we'll definitely see it http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/climbing-the-cape-hatteras-lighthouse.htm
Can't wait to see this http://www.graveyardoftheatlantic.com/
I love a pier http://www.avonpier.com/
Go carts for Kassi in Frisco http://friscominigolfandgokarts.vpweb.com/
More when we return!
There is a common misconception that photographers are rolling in the money and charging hundreds of dollars an hour. Maybe a few rockstars, but for the huge majority of us that isn't the case. I have no clue what the cost of doing business is for an electrician, so I wouldn't expect him/her to know what mine is. An interesting difference is that I've not heard many people who would opt to have someone who is not a legal or a licensed business handle the wiring for the home they plan to live and make memories in for the rest of their lives. If they do, I guess they know they're taking a risk and will get what they pay for.
Keep reading and I'll show you how $83/hour easily turns into $15.
Please note that the cost of doing business is different for every single custom photographer and varies widely by market and a ton of other factors that would bore you to death. The figures below are approximate and very close (though not exact, it's actually more) to my own costs. Some sell sheets, some of us order every wall portrait mounted, textured, or uv coated and that costs quite a pretty penny more- but we want you to have the best and get your money's worth :) (everything 5x7 and up is now ordered that way here). This is an example for me, personally.
The first year I undercut myself and the industry terribly and for that I apologize- I did not have the confidence to charge what I should have. The second year my skills and experience had grown quite a bit and so I upped my prices, but not enough. Please don't take that as an ego trip- I am my own worst enemy and critique every single thing I do. I see so many awesome photographer and regularly say " I wanna be them when I grow up!". Code for I still think half of what I do is not where I want it to be. This year (wooohooo year 3!) I've finally set things up to where I can be sure I will not lose money when I walk out the door, yet the accountant has suggested they still need to be a little higher. I'm not trying to get filthy rich, I'm just trying to make a decent living for myself and make sure I don't make less than minimum wage. I'd assume 99% of you would agree that's not too much to ask. My car has 180,000 miles on it if that tells you anything.
I have management experience with 2 different jewelry stores and assisted my father from time to time in a few odds and ends of running his business but I do not assume to have an MBA or be an expert. I'm just a gal who's run the numbers.
Photographers- if you are giving away a disc with sessions for $150 I don't see how you're making anywhere near minimum wage. Would you send your teenagers off to work at the local fast food place for $2 an hour? I think not. Why do that to yourself?
Here's a plain English scenario for all the people who may be wondering why we are "expensive".
Say hypothetically I charge $250 for headshots and I "work" 3 hours. Sounds like $83 an hour and now you wanna go into the photography business too. Right? Wrong.
Drive time (initial meeting and chit chat, actual shoot, going back to deliver the product, follow up call and emails)- 3.5 hours.
Packing the car, getting all the equipment together, etc...- 1 hour.
Actual shoot- 3 hours
Load memory cards, pick the best images, quick color correction, crops, minor retouch (time in photoshop minimal), rename files so they make sense, create invoice and make sure all info is on file for me for tax and contact purposes- little over 4 hours.
So we have just under 12 hours invested. We are down to $20.83 an hour.
I took the hit on the 6.75% sales tax in this particular hypothetical deal so I'll have to pay (state quarterly sales tax totally different than end of the year state and federal) making it $19.42/hour. or total of $233.12.
Gas money back and forth for an hour and a half driving- about $22
Other costs- $25. That puts you at $186.12 or $15.51 an hour.
That figure does not take into account equipment costs. Let's look at that for just a moment.
Portable backdrop kit - $150
Seamless paper roll $35
Rechargeable batteries I took with me (it is necessary to have many more than this, but for the purpose of this post let's leave it there) for flashes- $30.
This particular camera and lens combo- $1400 (and that is nowhere near top of the line. It's my D7000 with 50mm 1.8 lens which gets the job done. It ain't the "nice camera", it's the person behind it. Give someone with zero experience a $15000 camera and you will still get lower quality results than the professional with a mid range. Promise.) Equipment for weddings and other jobs- you don't even want to know what that costs. Oh, and backups of everything should something fail and at one time or another, it most certainly will.
2 flashes and lightstands with brackets- $1200
Stuff to make the flashes work -$140
Lightroom and Photoshop to process the pictures -$1000
My computer - I forgot, but it wasn't cheap.
Memory cards used here- $60 (and they can get way more expensive, I use at least 8 at each wedding. Never put all your eggs in one basket)
A small percentage of that- which I don't even know how to figure into cost per job- you have to consider wear and tear on all of those things every time you use them. They do eventually wear out with heavy use. With cameras they need to have a good cleaning once a year and you keep your fingers crossed you don't get hit with a $250 repair.
Dues to 1 professional organization- $34/month.
Website- bare minimum $30/month if you don't have weddings and/or a ton of photos to host online.
Cell phone- bare minimum $45/month and mine is cheap!
Backblaze (online backup service in case this computer crashes)- $50/year.
Domain for website - I think $25/year.
Renew privilege license to do business in the state of NC - $50 year.
I know I'm forgetting some things.
Last but certainly not least all the federal and state taxes you pay at the end of the year.
So with all of this and a final figure of just over $15/hour for a very cut and dry somewhat easy job, do you still think we're expensive? Please keep in mind this hypothetical job is based on working 12 hours and there are only 24 hours a day. We can only keep our eyelids glued open so many hours and have a less than pleasing amount of book keeping to handle as well. I hope this helps to shed some light on things.
What is going on with my font here? Weird. Sorry. See you next time folks!