Unless you get a thrill out of telling people you had your pictures taken by a celebrity photographer, the name tied to the person taking the picture does not add value to the purchase of photography services. Value in the photography industry is measured by the quality of the image divided by the price. Thus, a low price tied to a low quality image does not represent a high value because the quality pulls down the value measurement. Similarly, an extremely expensive price tied to a good image is not high value because the high price pulls down the value.
Since price and quality work in tandem to determine value, the determination of value in the photography industry is not always straight forward. This article suggests some three questions a consumer of photography services should consider when seeking out value in his portrait purchases.
Does the photographer tout famous people as part of his clientele? While people who photograph famous people generally do quality work, the fact that a photographer has the rich and famous as his clients does not normally mean their images are better than those who don't. It means they have connection. Since connections to the Hollywood crowd does nothing to add to the quality of a photographer's work but usually does add to the price the photographer feels he can charge, a photographer touting his famous clientele is a sign that price and profits for him and not high value for you the client is his primary focus.
Does the photographer's work resonate with you? Since people are unique the work of some photographers will resonate with a particular person more than others. This often leads to the fortunate experience of having the work of a lower priced photographer provide higher value than that of a higher priced photographer. When the work of the lower priced photographer resonates with a client, the client finds an image that for him has a high quality quotient. Since the price is lower and the quality is high the value the client receives is also high. Therefore, a person seeking high value should ignore what others say is quality and find a photographer whose work they can connect with.