There are a number of them here in Chicago, as you would imagine. They all seem to specialize in families: maternity, babies, children, families and pets. The prices range from $200 – $400 (that I saw) and some include one print — yes, a single print (and not a big one). If you actually want to keep the digital files, you have to pay through the nose!

Now, those of us who’ve spent any time as actors are plenty used to getting in front of pro photographers and having the lens solely focused on us. Prices for professional headshots range from about $100 to over a $1000, depending on amount of “looks” (looks being times you change your clothes, makeup, location), reputation of the photographer, and where you’re located.

When headshot photographers switched to digital en masse (about 2004) it became common to provide the digital images to the client, all of them. The old reasoning behind the photog keeping the negatives was they were the only copies of their work, it allowed some control over the quality of image being printed, and it gave the photog the opportunity to make more money. This changed with digital for a few reasons — it became easy to store additional original copies and my theory is that the value of each individual shot went waaay down. Photogs didn’t need to be as careful with each click because they had unlimited clicks to choose from. Therefore, there was real loss of value in giving someone 200 digital shots on a CD vs handing over a precious 36 exposure negative. It became expected: you got your digital files. I should note this isn’t ALWAYS the case and I’ve found the photographers that insist on keeping the original digital files tend to be ones who do their own retouching… they refuse to let a print be associated with them without getting to retouch it first. They’re often old-school film retouchers. I would say the headshot photogs have to be cutting edge in technology and policy because the clientèle demands it. If you still use film and you’re taking headshots, you better be one of the best around.

I was surprised to see that family photographers so coveted their originals (digital files, whatever). I think it’s less about a philosophy and more about a backdoor way to make lots of money. They do this by helpfully posting your contact sheet online and providing an easy way to order online also — for you and your family. They know that not only are you going to end up ordering more prints than you anticipated, but Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts and Uncles may all want their prints, too.

However, for Elizabeth’s maternity, I really don’t expect to want more than one… maybe two pictures. And I highly doubt any family member is going to want an artsy belly shot for their wall. Pregnancy is a special time, but it’s special because of what comes after. The baby shots (on up) are what you’re going to want to paper your whole house with. So rather than drop $300 on essentially one 8×10 print, we’re going to try to take some of our own.

Today we were just really testing the evening lighting in one of our rooms and caught something kind of nice…

Elizabeth, Titus and Luke

Elizabeth, Titus and Luke