Most UK portrait photographers can be divided into either of two categories: Shoot & Burn’ or ‘Full Service Photography’. You’re probably wondering what both of these categories offer and why their pricing options are so different? More importantly, you must be wondering which one is the right option for you.
If you are looking for a portrait and boudoir photographer in Worcestershire or north London portrait photographer, read this post before booking your photoshoot.
‘Shoot & Burn’ Is Exactly What it Sounds Like
Shoot & Burn photographers turn up at a shoot location and will take 100+ photos of you and your loved ones for a specified period of time. After doing so, they will burn these images onto a USB, DVD, or CD drive. These photos will end up forgotten about and stored in a drawer after a period of self-printing and sharing on social media.
Some photographers will even quickly apply a filter to make the images look like they were post processed. However this is nothing different from you applying a filter on your phone. When it comes to studio lighting, these photographers often use these setups:
- very bright diffused strobes or constant light placed all around their subjects (both sides and top). This is supposed to hide some skin imperfections by overly brightening the whole scene. Everything appears super soft and often an overall sharpness of the image is affected too.
- one small strong light on the subject’s face to brighten it up often to the point of losing any skin texture and leaving the rest of the image very dark. This is supposed to give an edgy effect but in reality you end up with very overexposed face and featureless dark tones in your image. This will not translate well in a print.
Clients of Shoot & Burn studios never enjoy photographs to the fullest, and this is mainly because their service is quite like an assembly line or service at a fast-food chain. The photographers serve a large volume of clientele and deliver only medium or low-quality photographs. These studios prefer ‘quantity over quality’ and often attract clientele with pricing strategies instead of talent.
Full-Service Photography
These portrait photographers have a different approach entirely and believe in delivering excellent customer service. They put in the extra effort by spending more time with their clients to get to know what they exactly need.
Full-service photographers produce beautiful works of art by planning and designing your photography session with the print in mind. Once they have taken your photographs, their service will only have begun. These high-end portrait studios will then individually re-touch, tweak, and design your photographs to ensure they look great on screen and on print. They also send your images to be printed in high end exclusive print labs on an archival grade paper.
At the end of it all, you will not have hundreds of low-quality pictures to enjoy once and quickly forget about. Instead, you will be provided with albums, folio boxes, wall art, or tangible prints. A printed art that you can proudly boast among your friends and family or reminisce while walking through your home.
How Big Is the Difference?
These full-service, high-end portrait studios are quite like the fine-dining experience of the photography world. Here’s what they typically offer:
Step 1: A pre-photoshoot consultation to design your makeover and what you expect from the photographs. You will often be provided with preparation guides as well as an email series with the tips and tricks. These will help you make the most of your portrait shoot.
Step 2: A makeover and fully guided professional photoshoot. A universally chic soft glam style and up to 4 hour portrait photoshoot with a variety of outfits, background, poses to ensure a variety of images.
Step 3: Portrait retouching and editing to add an extra wow-factor to your photographs. This includes professionally retouching skin imperfections, fixing saturation, vibrancy, sharpness, clarity, shadows/highlights, fill, temperature, contrast, and exposure among so much more. This is a very crucial step for every high-end photography studio.
Step 4: The studio will deliver your pictures during an in person reveal session. You will see your finished images for the first time and select your absolute favourites.
On the other hand, Shoot & Burn studios skip steps 1 and 4 only delivering straight out of camera images of your photoshoot. So, which is it going to be?
BEFORE AFTER
Renata Clarke Portraits
I am a published and award-winning portrait and boudoir photographer in Worcestershire. I believe in delivering a bespoke experience for every client. Visit my website and browse through my past works. Go ahead and contact me to chat about how you can become the star of your next photoshoot.
If you are looking for a portrait photographer in north London, get in touch with Siorna from Siorna Photography.
Renata owns a boutique portrait studio in Worcester, UK, providing high-end photography experience for everyday women and female entrepreneurs alike. She specializes in capturing upscale portraits, boudoir sessions, and personal branding photography. Her goal? Empowering women through personalized experiences and stunning fine art portraits. Renata is passionate about helping women feel confident and feminine, while also supporting business owners shape their brand identity to attract their ideal clients. Ready to chat about your custom photoshoot? Schedule your complimentary consultation today!
