1. Seemingly low-cost photography is offered for senior portraits, wedding photography, etc., as low as $300 or even less. It seems like the deal of a lifetime, especially when the photographer seems to check out as a reputable option and has good references.
2. After it's too late and the photography has already happened, you finally realize that no photographic prints, digital originals, online photo gallery, or even proofs were included in the price of the photography. (Please note: as long as the services offered are made clear up-front, then "Just the Photography" can offered as a valid option for those who just want the pictures to be taken, and will decide what products to order later on. However, in this case, the services included are deliberately not made clear, and so this otherwise valid option is improperly used as a tactic of deception.)
3. Finally, the true prices of prints, enlargements, etc., come out, and the unfortunate client ends up paying $3,000 or more for the photos they want. Like all evil things, the temptation of huge "bait and switch" profits has even caused some quite good photographers to succumb to the temptation of taking advantage of clients this way. In fact, it is the "good" photographers who find the most success using bait-and-switch techniques, because their pictures are fairly good, making the unhappy customer eventually give in to the paying an exorbitant "ransom" to obtain the photographs which they thought they were going to receive at a low price.

When choosing photographers it is best to heed the advice, "Watch out!" Regardless of what photographer you end up choosing, make sure that you negotiate for the digital originals to be included with your package, and that you know the full price up front.

Tip for you! The price of enlargements or prints direct from a photographer is always more than one can purchase from a store like Wal-Mart or Walgreens. In part, this is due to the higher level of quality and better colors obtained through professional printing processes.

However, there is another more primary reason for the added cost. It is not a desire for additional profits. Rather, it is the simple fact that it is very time-consuming for a serious professional photographer to find, select, and export individual photographs from a large database of close to one million images.

A professional photographer has to receive picture orders from customers consisting of a list of picture IDs. Then the busy photographer must pain-stakingly double-check, export, and create or order prints and/or enlargements for each one. Many reprints of the same photograph can be done somewhat more efficiently. Still, however, it is not unusual for the average time per photograph to cost the photographer $20 or more in lost productivity on other projects that could have been done. $5 for a single 4x6" print sounds like a lot, but in the big picture the photographer could be losing $15 on every single print. The busier and better a photographer is, and the larger their photo library becomes, the more they have to charge for prints and enlargements in order to barely break even.

It is ten thousand times more efficient for customers themselves to see the original photos first-hand and simply choose the pictures they want to enlarge or reprint, not having to deal with picture IDs or cumbersome photo management software.

Thus, you can often save money by ordering "Digital Originals" with a Limited Copyright Release rather than prints and enlargements. Then the photographer can enhance and export every photograph together in a single session taking 1 or 2 hours rather than 1 or 2 days. This enables you to save money by locating professional printing services and ordering an unlimited number of prints and enlargements without further costs being owed to the photographer.

Overall, "Digital Originals" and a "Copyright Release" can save you almost 100% compared to what you would eventually pay to another photographer. Your Best Photographer is always your best choice!