A Definition, A True Story, and How All Of This Relates To The Price of
Portraiture.
Why call my portraits investments? Very
simple, when we invest money today we expect a greater return in the future.
One of my clients illustrates this point with a touching story... But
first, a note on pricing.
In a nut shell my packages and pricing are
structured to accommodate most budgets. While everyone's needs are
different, on average, my clients usually want a larger portrait for
themselves and a few smaller ones to give away as gifts. Typically they can
expect to invest around $250.00 dollars. Some will invest a little more and
others may invest a little less. We completely cover the pricing of your
needs during our pre-session consultation.
Now on to the story, paraphrasing her
words with permission.
"My sister was moving to a new area of the
country. Her family, while getting ready for the move, were organizing, sorting
and packing the their belongings. My brother in-law, while tackling the crawl
space they used as an attic, discovered a buried treasure of sorts under some
long forgotten out-of-style clothes and a hideous lamp that was once given to my
sister as a gift.
Then she went on to tell me a
little about her childhood.
"My grandmother lived on a 48 acre farm in
East Tennessee until my grandfather died in the seventies. Unable to manage by
herself, my parents, sister and I moved Mammow in with us until she too passed a
few years later. But I still remember their life on that farm. I remember
as a child taking that long drive to visit Mammow and Papaw. I remember the
quaint comforting charm that most people associate with wholesome country
living, playing in the fields with Ol Buck their Chocolate Lab. Buck would
follow Papaw everywhere unless we were there. And I remember teasing the goats,
even the "spotted" one, that would butt anyone that turned their back to it.
Once my mom almost went ballistic when I came in covered head to toe with mud
from a freshly plowed field, all-the-while my grandmother laughing at loud,
telling mom that this was payback for those times when she came in all a mess.
But most of all I remember sitting on my grandmothers lap after supper in her
rocking chair on the front porch. Gosh, I can still hear that old thing
creaking while she rocked... and the smells of the kitchen, oh and her
pies... Anyway, Mamaw would rock me in that chair and tell me her stories
of Mom or how little girls should act around boys, or just anything and
everything she felt I needed to know."
"That time alone with Mamaw seemed only like
minutes but I remember the sound of heavy steps as Papaw would walk out rushing
us to bed. The time on the porch with my Mamaw was special."
I'll never forget her
profundity with what came next, certainly one of the reasons I'm so passionate
about photography...
"Time is persistent and always gives the false
impression of abundance. That was over thirty years ago and I can still feel the
cotton dress against my face when Mamaw hugged me as we rocked!"
"I don't remember which visit or who did it,
probably my mom or dad, but someone took a picture and now I'm grateful.
The treasure my brother in-law found, carelessly tossed in the attic, was that
picture of me sitting on my Mamaw's lap, rocking on the front porch. That
picture, somehow just tossed aside for a time, is now hanging in my living room.
That once forgotten picture is now priceless".
WOW!!! What a story. I'm
blessed to hear these stories a lot, which is why I can sit here and honestly
believe that photography is an investment. I intend the portraits you
and I create to last a lifetime and beyond, and
I try my level best to make it easy for you to have
one!
RFP
is Ric Farrah Photographs. We provide Fine Art and Black and White
Photography, Wall Portraits, and digital imaging.