HL Concepts is not a chain studio
I’d encourage you to check out this website:
We’ve all been to a chain studio (myself included). For me, photography is such a special, personalized experience; I want a photographer who relates to me, cares about my family & wants to know more about me other than do I prefer 8×10s or 11×14s.
If you need to compare HL Concepts to a “chain studio” :
- At HL Concepts, sessions are by appointment only and not scheduled back-to-back…
- I don’t allow order pick-ups during your session…
- I don’t allow my personal or business interruptions during your session…
- I don’t take on as much volume as chains because I want to get to know my clients!
- for every hour I’m behind the camera, I’m behind the scenes for that same client for the average of 7 hours!
Sure, you will pay more with HL Concepts, but that’s for logical reasons:
- pay insurance, equipment & cover other overheads (even in-home studios have quite a bit of overhead)
- go to training, seminars, etc. to learn about the latest & greatest in the pro-photography world
- chain studios can get their products in bulk, so their mark-up will be naturally lower
- chain studios may pick inferior products to sell because they cost less, but won’t last as long (I pick the best I can find, so you can enjoy it and be proud of it for a long time)
- chain studios don’t have a long-term staff who are paid enough to “make a living”*
- Minimum wage in Colorado is now $7.02/hour - don’t believe me?
- Check it out here: http://www.coworkforce.com/lab/MinimumWageFactSheet.pdf
- *”make a living”
- pay yourself a salary that’s more than minimum wage
Needless to say, going to a chain studio is way different than going to a private photographer.
Maybe you already knew all this, and still don’t have a problem with chain studios.
Hopefully this will help you place higher value on private studio experiences. 
