Have you ever had that moment when the lights went ON? I guess most would say a lightbulb went off, and idea, something hit you as fact and you were standing there, with your mouth open wide with this unusual look on your face… yeah “that” look!

I’ve been in the photography Industry for 11 years now, and I’ve seen a lot and recently I’ve been caught up in the more is better, internet is amazing, email, blog, post, Facebook, Twitter, do more, type more and then it hit me…

Let me tell you this small story…

My daughter and partner Raquel was looking for a pre-school for her son, for the purpose of this post I’ll narrow it down to two.

Goddard school which was very impressive, state of the art, structured and gets a big WOW when you walk in the door. I mean, it’s expensive (like a house payment, almost) and hires only the best teachers. It’s beautiful! The conversation centered on how good they were and most conversation was directed at the parents.

Now something that has happened in our industry is that more is better, the more you pay for an item means you are getting the best. I’ve heard some marketing folks and I’ve even heard some very well know togs say the same. Even down to buying an energy bar when put to the test of a $2 bar or one for .99 he bought the $2 bar, because if it costs more, it has to be better. Advertisers have really got into our heads with that one. Best is best, that is plain and simple. Cost has nothing to do with it.

Let’s move on….

Next on our list

West County Pre-School not as state of the art, pretty building, clean, kind people, great personalities and they met Ami (my grandson) at the door with a hello Ami, they knew he was 4 and they interacted with Ami. My daughter said she did not care if they just looked at his file before he walked in the door… THAT impressed her. The decision was tough.. West County was not as expensive, but they seemed to care more about the child then how great they were.. then a note came in the mail, a hand written thanks for coming by to check us out notecard! That cinched it for me. They cared about Ami, they cared enough to know about him and they cared enough to spend a few moments to send out a personal notecard.

So if expensive is better I guess Goddard would be the way to go, but if you want someone that cares, someone that is personally interested and yes, you get to save some money I’d say I’d want my grandson with people that care about what they are there to do… teach my grandson.

So I thought about all the buzz around me and I wondered if maybe we as photographers are missing something… personality.

Expensive is not always better, trust me that is a given in my industry, but I do have to say.. I strongly suggest you NOT hire a $500 photographer for the most important events in your life… please! It’s not worth that gamble at all and there are so many reasons I say that, that will have to be another post.

There is a fine line between what it costs and what is best. Meeting with people and knowing it’s about the service they provide and how they are going to serve you best is also important. In an age when the internet is moving so fast around us, it’s time to slow down.. take a deep breath, sit down with a cup of tea (or coffee) and meet the people that are going to cover your most special days or subjects.

Maybe it’s time to stop typing as much and get back to talking (yes, I said that) and developing our writing skills (I know mine are lost somewhere in the internet abyss). IT’s time to stop being plastic and start to get back to being real.

Let’s get real… expensive is not always better, but cheap is just that!