Who does this full time?

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Pete Cofran

If you can think of another way to educate your customer that would be good too.

What about putting up a webcam behind your editing desk with a live stream on your website so they could see you editing? :)

I think what Matthew said about photography being a more tangible end-product is what makes the difference I think, people can see what they have paid for while a video is "just" a small disk in a plastic box. For that reason they might find it normal to pay more for photography.

[Josh Laronge]

Along the lines of how long editing takes and that many customers don't realize the time involved, this is happening on the still side too. With digital photography being so easy to get decent images (not pro quality) at home or the drugstore, many don't realize the the time a pro puts into editing and polishing images. By no means is it as much time as editing video but, it can be substantial.

[Dave Blackhurst]

This applies to still and video - while you can get an "OK" result with some of todays consumer cameras, it's the "sweetening" in post that makes a lot of the difference between "OK" and something that pops.

The image quality difference between some of the sub $1k HD consumer cams and a "pro" camera or camcorder is becoming a matter of extremely small differences that 999 out of 1000 people wouldn't ever notice or give a hoot about.

What really makes the difference is operator skill and knowledge/experience (talent is handy too), a few critical additions to guarantee a well lit shot, a stable shot (or a steadicam if you're really serious), and the magic that happens in post.

Anyone can sit behind the wheel of a racecar, but there are race car drivers for a reason...

Anyone can point a camera and shoot...

So the question is, are you a guy with a camera, a photographer/videographer, or a visual artist?

[Matthew Ebenezer]

It's not what you've got, it's how you use it that counts ;)

Given the same equipment, a professional should be able to achieve a better result than an amateur every time. Unfortunately, many years of poor quality offerings has educated brides and the general public that there isn't really much difference between 'Uncle Harry' and a professional when it comes to wedding videography. Fortunately this is changing, as can be evidenced by many talented folks on this forum.

Educating our clients is the key. Sometimes the quality of our work speaks for itself but sometimes it doesn't. The equipment we use and the quality of our end-product are only parts of the equation. As professionals, everything should be leveraged to create an excellent customer experience. Our websites, our branding, our phone manner, our e-mail skills, our appearance, our dress standards, our equipment, the packaging of the final DVD, our client interaction skills, our studio space etc ... - it's all connected. Everything and anything that our clients see, hear, touch and feel when dealing with us should speak to our professionalism and passion for creating a great client experience.

Focusing on creating a great experience for our clients, rather than touting the gear we have, will hopefully put the 'Uncle Harry' issue to bed once and for all.

[Louis Maddalena]

Very well said. Now only if I could fix my studio space problem as it currently shares the room in which I sleep. (or at least until construction is finished on my house)