Exposing the Over Developed Portrait Market

A wise man once said, he could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves. It's true, marketers have perfected the art of developing demand through a perceived need. It seems this point is not lost on the portrait industry.

There's a portrait to cover all life's milestones. We have portrait sessions for each new school year, senior pictures, prom pictures, college graduation pictures, engagement pictures, wedding photos, belly pics, baby photographs and then family portraits. Repeat process. Oh and don't forget puppy pictures.

If paying a professional money the snap the shutter says I care, what does it mean if I don't buy into it? Since when is a normal photo taken by mom and dad not good enough? Instead, we're made to feel guilty if we don't shell out the cash to do what you or I could easily do our selves for a fraction of the cost. Sure, the result wouldn't be taken through a soft filtered lens, airbrushed in editing and printed off after special effects, but is all that really needed?

I propose we take it back to the days when grandma would take a picture with a camera you had to manually wind. The family would pose in the heat on the porch of the farm house with awkward smiles on their faces. However, in order to make this plan work there would have to be large spaces between all members of the family, except the two kissing cousins in the front and grandma has to take five shots because she's not sure the camera worked on all the trials. The final result, a poorly framed blurry shot. On second thought, maybe many of us should leave it to the professionals.