Free chili vs. $300 photos

Last week I was selected for a photoshoot and I was hoping to be able to purchase some good photos out of that. Today I went to view the photos with my mum. I have to say, we were a little disappointed. There were about 50 photos, which were very good photos, I’ll admit, but I guess we didn’t totally love them. Given that they were professionally done, I guess we didn’t like certain bits like the backgrounds of some and the way I looked. Of course, I looked great, as that is what the studio attempted to do, but the photos weren’t completely fantastic. I think what ultimately turned us off was the pricing of everything.

We chose eight photos which we liked and considered getting a couple printed and coated with acrylic, but it all came round to over $2000. Now that’s pretty expensive, when you think about it. We explained to the lady that we just didn’t want to pay that much. She offered us less photos at a smaller price, but it still didn’t seem worth it. When we told her we weren’t ready to pay that much at all, we only wanted to pay half a thousand maybe, she offered us just some prints. Even then it came around to about $300 a photo, which just seemed ridiculous. I asked if we could just have digital copies, and she said that was a bonus item and came with the prints, so we would have to pay the same price if we just wanted the digital copy. /hmph

In the end we just decided not to buy any. I was entitled to a free photo (worth $95) and that’s all I got. Well, we have to pick it up later on. It’s not even a large size, it’s like a freakin’ normal sized photo. My mum and I weren’t really pleased at all… just really disappointing, we were saying that we could probably do a better job ourselves what with my experience in photography and her makeup expertise. I really wouldn’t want to pay $300 for a photo. :( I feel bad mostly because the photographer was a nice guy and he did take nice photos. Then again I had every right to refuse, I wasn’t obligated to buy anything, so that was that. I suppose my mum was right about them being a little dodgy and just wanting us to pay as much as possible. I had a $100 voucher for photos, too, but when I showed that to the lady she did some calculations and still wanted us to pay $600 for three photos… argh. Just really not happy with the price. I mean, I thought my photography course was expensive, what with buying all this paper and shit. I’ve probably spent less than a thousand dollars on the course, the photo paper, the camera, and the film…

Heck, I could buy a new DSLR with $2000 instead of paying for those photos. I really am disappointed, I guess because I wasted a fair bit of time for that photoshoot and everything was just really expensive. Yeah, I may be a cheapskate, but I don’t think anyone would be very willing to pay $300 for one photo. /ehh

After that my mum and dad wanted to buy some fruit and vegetables. Around this time it was probably about time for lunch. My mum asked me to buy her a chicken wrap from Oporto as well as some chili sachets. She loves their chili. I wasn’t sure how much it cost but my mum gave me a $50 note and told me it would come to about $10.

I was really confused reading the receipt when I was waiting for the chicken wrap. I asked for six sachets of chili but I had been charged at $0.00. I was confused and wondered if somehow the lady who served me had forgotten… I kept an eye on her, and, well, she actually put the chili in the paper bag along with the wrap.

I was still really confused. Nevertheless, I popped outside and walked up the road to find my mum and tell her I hadn’t been charged for six sachets of chili. /bounce

Comments on this post

I voted for you, Georgina! You deserve to win this!

I think instead of buying all those pictures you should take the $2k and buy youself a new camera. And then with your new camera, take someone else’s pictures (three someone elses pictures) and charge them each 1/3 of the price you pay for your camera. Voila, your camera is paid for and now you can start earning money by charging other people less money to take great pictures. My husband and I were just talking about how people charge wayyy tooo much for mediocre photography. It’s so silly. What’s even sillier is that some people even PAY it. At least you and your mother were intelligent enough to take your freebie and walk away.

I too voted and I will vote every day :-)
What a ripoff like seriously. I am not really sure what else to say about it. Also considering you were quite unwell when they were taken, if you have of none prior, you could have saved yourself the trouble and rested … But hey, you got free chilli ♥

hahaha wow. i would have walked out when they said the first price. like wtf..no photo is worth that much. and hahaha chilli theiff! that only happened to me once at walmart when the guy didnt charge me for the cleanser.

Voted for you! I pretty much gave up that contest. FOOOO. O_O

Anyways, wow over $2,000?! Are they out of their mind? That seriously is a ripoff. Your mom was right to be very suspicious of them. At least you guys didn’t have to pay first and then got crap quality.

I’m not even half as good as you are (or anyone else for that matter) but I wouldn’t ever dream of doing that to people. Glad you guys decided not to pay.

And hooray for free chili! ✌️

I voted for you! If you win, we could hang out :D

$300 for a photo is absolutely ridiculous! I mean, the shoot itself should be the expensive part because that’s what takes time and skill. Unedited digital versions should be free,

Oh yeah, there was a trend going on here with people doing the same thing! They went to a free photoshoot and then they could buy ridicoulisly expensive photos if they wanted to! I’m glad you decided not to go with any. I hope the one you got was a good one, at least. And it’s not that expensive to make it bigger, so do that :-)

I clicked for you, I completely support a trip to New York. Welcome to my area of expertise!

I had a photoshoot done last year in Beijing, and it cost about Y1000 (1USD/1AUD = 6.5Y I think in case you are curious enough to do that math). Nevertheless I think it was a complete ripoff, though I can’t really compare it to $300 for one photo. But I know what you mean, because in order to be digital copies of my photos I actually had to pay too. It’s way ridiculous. I picked out the ones I didn’t hate but my grandma just had to buy them all. I can’t remember how much they cost but nowhere near $300, but still, paying for digital copies?????

Ha, it’s like your day turned around when you got free chili.

Those pictures must be pretty damn special at prices like that :O You’re not a cheapskate for refusing to pay so much for pictures, you’re smart :D (Y) You should do the photo shoot yourselves. I’ll bet it could even be better. Cool, you got six complementary sachets of chili. Suck on that, $100 pictures. Money, money, money :O

Hey Georgina! Long time no talk! :P

I voted for you, I’m not sure what it is, but it would be awesome if you won a trip to New York! I live about an hour from NYC, so it’s not as special for me, but if I reverse it and imagine going to Australia that would just be a once in a life time chance, so I see how amazing this trip would be!!! :D

I’ve never been to a photo shoot before. But I’d imagine the prices would be very similar to yours. Wow $300 for one picture is WAY overpriced. Good decision on not buying it! My mom would be sooo mad if I bought it.

My mom doesn’t even buy school pictures that’s how cheap we are. XD

Oh my goodness. They tried to make you pay that much?!?! That’s absolutely ridiculous. The guy who did my senior photos didn’t charge us that much for 30 photos that we loved, and he is known professionally and is absolutely amazing. Never pay for anything you don’t love or won’t use often, especially not that much. But, you already knew that :P

I’m extremely frugal too, but it’s so much better to be frugal than spend a ton on random materialistic things–I can’t believe you got some delicious food for free :D I’m super jealous.

I really don’t know anyone who would pay that much unless they were rich or were looking for a professional picture to show to modeling/acting agencies. Even at that, most times people in the entertainment business already have connections or aspiring photographers to take a picture for free or a very small fee, not thousands of dollars. In the end it DID seem sketchy, but at least they didn’t badger or pester you continuously to buy one of their packages. Then THAT would be unprofessional.

voted for you (Y) hope you’ll win.

Well that’s one expensive photo, hope it is worth it :D

I voted, hope you win :D

300 for one photo, I’m speechless. The photo studio was ripping you off, it’s great that you and your mum didn’t fell for their scam and walked away with what you were entitled to. I think the reason some people pay these ridiculous fees because they seriously think photography is such a heavy labour. Also, most might be starstruck after being chosen for a photoshootq, but most aren’t you :D

👏 a trip to NY~ ♥ (and then I remember that I’ve never been there and it’s one of my dream place to go to.. 😢 )
anyways, I vote for ya already :D
ugh, if it were my mother (who just lovessss being narcissistic by telling me to almost take photo anywhere anytime 😒 ) I think she would buy the photos even though they’re damn expensive… though maybe she’d just buy ONE out of the total, or maybe she won’t buy them since she can be damn stingy… :P
but $300 for a photo…. D: and I have to agree with the option of buying DSLR with $2000… /hmph
hahahaa free chili~ maybe it’s your lucky day to experience free chili day there 8D haha..

I voted for you! :) I hope you win!

I can’t believe how much they were charging for photos! You know my entire wedding photography didn’t cost that much! I admit, I did have a friend do it for me but he still didn’t charge me anywhere near that amount! What an absolute rip off! I am not surprised you and your mum decided to only use the free ones they offered you – I would have done exactly the same thing!

Oh I wish you hadn’t mentioned Oporto! They don’t have it where I live and whenever I travel around Australia I always make a point of having it! Now its all I can think about! haha!

Thank you! :)

Haha, I wish that when I get married I could do my own wedding photography. I always thought it would be nice getting someone I know to do all that for me because they would be willing to do it for a cheaper price. Oh well, long time until I’m going to have a wedding anyway. XD

Oh that’s a bummer! I am not obsessed with Oporto or anything but it is indeed delicious. I live not really in the city but in the suburbs, and there is still Oporto around.

I voted for you! :D
Now I want to get an about.me profile lol… it looks so cool! I’m looking at all these random ones now lol.

Holy crap that’s expensive! You didn’t happen to go to Studio 2000, did you?! My sister and I got called up by them a few years back, because a friend of ours had put our phone number down to be called up and asked to have a free photoshoot lol (that’s how they suck people in, upon recs from your friends whether you want them or not!). So we said “yeah alright” and we went and had our make up and hair done. And then had the shoot. There were some pretty awesome photos. But the price… we were shocked. In the end, we bought a photo each (it’s quite small) for $200. And you know what? The one I picked wasn’t even my favourite. I blame the stupid woman who was with us lol. She was like “OH YES THAT’S AN AWESOME ONE” so I felt weird saying I liked a different one lol. How pathetic was I :P haha. I’m never going there again!!!!!

Haha nope, we went to Cosmopolitan Studio Photography. They’re good, just not amazing. I definitely don’t like the prices, some studios have it done for a small price. The lady said to me that I was beautiful and all my photos were just fantastic. Well of course… she was trying to get us to buy. It’s just, no way would we pay that much. (It’s cheaper overseas, too.) If I were you I would have just chosen the other one. Those guys know the tricks to make money! /poo

that’s really expensive. i recommend you to do that in Asian countries which a cheaper after the conversion. my last real photoshoot was six years ago! haha. now, my cousin has a DSLR so it’s really convenient if we wanted to high quality photo! :)

free chili? awesome. i love eating spicy stuff. :P

Haha, I feel like this little person who just thrives on angst and all that emotional stuff. But wow, you’re friend is well, I guess more emotional than I am :X If I’m allowed to say that….no offence to your friend? @_@

Gosh, this girl is like everything I hate bottled up in one. She’s also really arrogant and argh I just want to slap her on the face!!!

Wow, it must suck to get rumours spread about you :/ I can’t imagine what it was like, especially in high school where people just believe what the general crowd is saying out of fear of being ostracised.

I think people are smart enough, but she just has two sides. One side for sucking up to people, the other to make sure people’s lives are shit. The former is the one she shows to everyone. It’s a pretty transparent mask if you know her.

Ahh, I hope all this healthy eating helps! And fibre is absolutely good for you! And oranges help with digestion too, haha!

WOW $300 a photograph?!?!? THATS INSANE! Why are they even that expensive?!?

—

Wowww photo studios are such rip-offs! I can’t believe they think anyone would actually pay $300 just for a photo, than could easily be recreated at a cheaper price. That’s so dodge. :|

I’ve never had a photoshoot before though, so I would have no idea how much they would cost! But in China, I’m guessing it’s really cheap because a lot of my friends have had them and they come back with like 40 pics haha!

Ooh, Oporto is nice! I can’t believe they didn’t charge your mum! Grrr, I always get charged for sauce >(

voted! OMG! 300$ for one photo? /ehh i hope you will win >.< if i were on your place i will use that money to buy something. haha! anyways, i tagged you :)

THAT. IS RIDICULOUS! $300 for ONE stinking picture? Hell no! You guys were not being cheapskates… that is just a bad business! Maybe they do get some people willing to pay that much, but I don’t see how they make money by charging that much a photo… I would think most people would just go “fuck that” and walk away. Sorry you had such a bad experience with that! Photoshoots in general are usually fun though :) Back where John and I are from in Wisconsin they do “vintage photos” like with the other costumes and background and stuff… SO much fun! And their prices are pretty expensive when you think how much you pay for prints at Wal Mart, but for professional-looking photos, they are reasonably cheap. maybe like $50 for a package of 3-4 pictures? I don’t remember for sure.

Voted /eee

My boyfriend ans his family went through the same thing with a photographer. He asked like 350 a pop! Ridiculous. Especially when none of them look truly perfect to you. I really don’t get where photographers get off charging that much to begin with. Who on earth would want to spend THAT much on one lousy little picture. I sure wouldn’t… there’s no way I’d spend one month worth of rent on a photograph 😒

I voted for you. ^^ I’ve been kind of silently stalking your blog for some time. It’s a lovely site with a lovely name.

I think you did a very smart thing. $300 for one photo? That’s insane. I remember I took my senior photos for high school and I got the cheapest package and it was like $100. At least you weren’t obligated to buy any photos or anything. That would have sucked a lot. lol, Yay for free chili! That must have been totally awesome. I love when things like that happen.

That is pretty damn ridiculous! I wouldn’t even pay more than $100 for a photo even if it was me in it. There’s a lot we can buy at that amount, It’s good that you refused. You’d get an awful load of regret if you bought it at that price. Hearing that makes me a little bit disappointed as well. Geez. Nothing’s cheap nowadays. ;/

I work at McDonalds and I love it when I give out loads of condiments without charge. I dunno, it feels satisfying to hear someone just almost literally loved me at that moment I gave them out. xD Of course, people do ask for more. o__O

—

I hear you. This love/hate relationship with tumblr has been with me for years, and will be for years to come. ATM I just love how I can just update it through my phone. It’s pretty convenient since I won’t be able to use the computer as much as I had been in the coming days. @_@

i voted for you, i hope you get your trip to FREAKING NEW YORK!! wow that’s amazing, i would absolutely LOVE to go there one day, it’s definitely on my list of cities-i-have-to-visit-before-i-die!! (london was my first priority, but now that i’ve had that experience, new york is next!!!)

i think 2000 is a bit TOO expensive, because you could’ve just buy your own camera and take your own, just as good, photos! 300 for a photos which is really big, is about normal prize i guess, but if it’s just a small one i wouldn’t either have payed that much!! photographers are expensive these days, but i think that’s because of all the expensive equipment (?) they’re using. still, it doesn’t give them any reason to be irrational with their prices.
i would rather spend nothing on chili than about 2000 on photos, that’s a way better deal!! :D

yes ron pope is amazing, have you heard “if you were a stone” from whatever it takes? (of course you have, haha) it’s awww, it’s love to my ears!! i’m glad you found his music just as good as i do <333333

Let me start off with the chili story, ha ha ha! I’m like that too. If it is a small thing and they have not charged me then I will walk away otherwise I will tell them they made a mistake and blah blah blah. At KFC they once gave me an extra burger yum. If I was given a loooot of extra change then I’d give it back.

Oh goodness, those photo prices are insane. I’m not sure what the conversion rate is here for me to properly understand the value but I’m pretty sure 300-anything is a lot of cash for one photo. Glad you did not waste your money on something you were not entirely happy with.

Before anything else, I just voted for you on about.me. I really hope you win this one! ;)

Reading your blog post just made me go 💥 Imagine paying for a thousand bucks just for photo prints? Ain’t that quite.. CRAZY? I could buy myself a thousand prints already. =))