Why haven't you booked a boudoir session yet?

I've had so many conversations lately with people who are shocked at my boudoir pricing (in a good way). I want to walk you all through why I price the way I do. I'm all about transparency. Do photographers deserve to make a living wage, absolutely! Photography is my full time income...I don't have a M-F 9-5 like many photographers do which is good and bad. When bookings are down or clients bail on a job...its bad. But this being full time opens up a world of opportunity for me, and for my clients! For every boudoir session (just as an example), I have the following work load: 30 minutes of back and forth conversation with the client regarding planning, scheduling, answering questions, etc. 1 hour of planning the shoot...poses, outfits, lighting, etc 2 hours of shooting 1 hour of culling (choosing which images to edit and which I need to pretend never existed...they're not all bangers) 3-4 hours of editing 30 minutes of uploading/sending final edits to clients 30 minutes of post production work to unlock images included in the package, follow up about additional image purchases, and finalize last payments. 15 minutes of back end tracking of the job, hours, etc 15 minutes of CRM (client relation management...aka notes/follow up info for future jobs) This comes to about 9 hours of work, sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less. Then there's the cost of my studio, the cost of websites/marketing/the page I pay for that sends clients their images/insurance/depreciation on equipment, etc. So Figure that's about $15/session worth of cost all included. That means I'm making $50/hr roughly...for 32 years of experience, a degree in photography, actual background that supports the consistent quality of work. This is equivalent to most of the trades...mechanics, electricians, plumbers, counselors, etc that have been in their field for 10+years. Now yes, there are some photographers who are charging in the thousands, I'm in groups with photographers making half a million dollars a year! Some of them are charging up to 10k per session. But honestly I could NEVER bring myself to do that. Trust me, I considered it...but the reality is that my heart won't let me. Photography isn't just income for me, its been my love since I was only 5 years old and took my first photography class! This economy is TOUGH. I'm a single mom and technically and only parent as I've raised my son with zero contact with his father for 13+ years. I know how hard times are financially. Would I love to make a half a milly a year? I mean, yeah! But more than that, I want to be reachable for my clients. I want people to say "I can save up for that" or better yet "I can afford that!". I want people to tell their friends that their experience was amazing and the bang for their buck was phenomenal! I want clients to be able to come back for another shoot and another and another! I want to bring joy...lol and pay my bills...but I'm not trying to get rich. So if you question the why...why I'm "The Home of the $500 Boudoir" while others are charging thousands...there's your why. Its a passion, its a love affair with my camera, and its respect for my clients' hard earned money. I'm sure I will get some hate from other photographers for even posting this but in the words of Eminem, we need a little controversy! ree Seriously, what are you waiting for? BOOK YOU BOUDOIR! Payment plans available!