My Aunt nabbed me at a cousins wedding recently and complained that I never sent her the photos from the last family event as promised.
I told her I had emailed them to her son but his mailbox was full so they bounced back to me. To which she replied: “well send them to me; if my mail box is full sure the Postman will just knock at the door”.
So it’s little wonder that this same lady is bewildered with the notion that her daughters wedding album is costing exactly the same as the house & farm they bought in County Cavan back in the 50s for £3000 (Old Irish Pounds).
Around that time Frank Gavin of Dorset Street in Dublin was carving his name as a wedding photographer so I asked his son Joe for a page from his Dad’s old records to establish what a wedding album cost in the 50s. An Album with 12 prints was *£10 & 10 shillings (1953). A footnote mentioned “1 flash bulb used”. I was a bit worried when I read: “2- E’s for 15 shillings” but then I realised it was not for drugs but that the prints were numbered A to Z. The average number of shots taken on the day was between 12 & 20.
The photographer then raced home (on his bike) printed the lot and raced back to the reception in the sincere hope that he would get there before the other photographers who had also turned up at the church.
No such thing as an advance booking back then so the one who got to the reception first with the proofs made the best sale. There was simply no money left over for the other guys when they arrived with their damp prints.
To put things in perspective, I found a motor magazine from 1955 (with my birth cert), advertising a brand new VW Beetle for £499, which is roughly what we now charge for one framed 12 inch family portrait.
But it’s still hard to imagine that our grandchildren could be paying the same amount for their wedding album as we paid for our house in the 90s!
* For those of you who don’t remember: there were 12 pennies in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound.
–
Dominic Lee and his wife Mairead are the owners of Priory Studios located in Dublin, Ireland. Dominic is the primary photographer and Mairead manages the accounting and frame production. Additional staff members include: Vladimir who handles digital retouching and printing, and Linda manages the operation.
Phone: +35312880755
Email: info@priorystudios.ie
Website: http://www.priorystudios.ie
Blog: http://www.priorystudios.ie/blog/
Twitter: @priorystudios
Facebook: http://facebook.com/priorystudios
Here’s how you can share your tips, techniques and tutorials on CurrentPhotographer.com
–
*The Current Photographer website contains links to our affiliate partners. Purchasing products and services through these links helps support our efforts to bring you the quality information you love and there’s no additional cost to you.