GREAT VALUE

Great value, stunning photography, excellent service–those are the attributes of Nancy Basmann Photography.  

Why is hiring an experienced, PPA* Master Certified Photographer a smart investment?  Most of you have a smart phone and many also have a compact camera. You can take your own snapshots.  But people go to a professional photographer for images that they will treasure for a long time.  You want your business-headshot, your family-portrait, your audition-image to be striking, not a mere snapshot.   But people these days often do not want to spend a lot for the product. My prices are competitive.  I give great value for stunning photography provided with excellent service.

………………………..

Think of this analogy. Say you yourself want to paint pretty pictures. You buy the supplies, maybe watch a few how-to videos, and paint on the appropriate medium. Would that practice make you an artist? No, because an artist requires years of training. That the skills of the artist do not come easy won’t surprise you. Art-works are in museums and everyone knows that the images do not come easy. But photography too is in art-museums. It had a late start. The first even photographic exhibit was in 1858, in London. The first one-person photography exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan was in 1938, of Walker Evans. As much as oils, water colors, and lithographs, photography is an art form. A photographic artist is a smart investment.

Rose DiVirgilio, DiVirgilio Benefit Resources

I treat my clients’s images as art-images.  And my work appears in art-books: the PPA Loan Collections of 2013-2018. The Collections travel the world with the President of PPA, Professional Photographers of America, as representing the best of American photography for the year, such the street-portrait captured in natural light that is shown here.  The photographic art over the years earned me the degree of Master of Photography.

The Slater Women

To better serve my clients, I invested in myself to become a PPA Certified Professional Photographer. Getting certified as a photographer is like getting a license to be an accountant or an electrician.  Plenty of people hire non-licensed electricians, but is that a smart investment?  Certification matters to you as a client because I submitted client-images to get through the process.  I submitted 15 portraits, 11 of them of clients to a panel of 5 judges to be assessed in terms of technical proficiency in lighting, posing, color and tone, and composition.  Like with most licensing, certification for photography is renewed every few years, given that the candidates have kept up with the latest ideas.  PPA renewed my certification in 2017.

I have in business for 4 years. My business carries liability insurance for your safety.  One of the few Master Certified Professional Photographers in New York State, I have the credentials that mean that with me you get stunning photography.  

I work hard and am responsive to what my clients’ wants. You will not find many photographers who will give you an hour’s free consultation on a day well before the scheduled shoot. The consultation is for my client to learn about the shoot and for me to learn what my client wants.

The shoot will be custom, for you.  My studio unlike other studios does not lock down its lights.  For each customer, I think afresh how best to light them–where the place the lights, how many lights, and how to modify the lights.  Each shoot for my clients is creative.

During the shoot, I shoot into an ipad and encourage clients as the shoot proceeds to check out the images.  How do you like the color of the background?  Should we reverse the wood chair and you lean over it?  That works well, doesn’t it?  Which do you prefer in the shots, the main light on your left or right side?  Your right? Okay, let’s do more poses that way.  A dancer will want to check her turn-out.  If her position is not quite right, we shoot again.   The shoot is a team-effort.   And there is a flat-fee.  No one is rushed for time.   This is great value for excellent service!

Pets who come to my studio much of the time is exciting fun.  First the pet visits with the master during the consultation.  The relaxed shoot is more time for toys and treats.  No surprise that the output is of happy, relaxed pets. 

Gracie Mae Pacenza

 Often fine-art, Master Photographers do not offer digital output.  With digital, the photographer virtually loses the privilege of copyright because the client has the power to send out as many duplicates as they desire. Yet, if a client tells me that they want only a small digital portrait for a business or an audition, I will gladly provide the digital-form without prejudice to the time on spend on touch-ups.  Now that’s great-value!

I nevertheless think of the final stage of the production of a photograph to be the print.    I order  the prints from out-of-town professional labs who deliver fabulous output.   There are many options for a print from which to choose, not only the sizes of prints, but also the materials and the framing. The choices make a difference in how you personally wish to present your images.  I show clients examples of different types of prints during the consultation on a day shortly after the shoot.   It’s a great value to have a photographer who can guide you through the final stage of your photographs.  

This RentBing property is on Binghamton’s narrow Washington St, but with a wide architectural lens I captured the full height of the historic building.

My architectural and real estate images so far I deliver via Dropbox and am generous with the sizes. Few photographers in the region can give the quality I deliver for architecture. The skill and practice comes from being a Master Photographer who finds normal architectural assignments really interesting. 

Prices are a measure of worth. My prices cannot be low. However, photography has become super-competitive.  I offer digital images for online business head-shots or audition images at the size of 1200 pixels on the long side.  Mind you, large physical prints make more use of my artistic skills.  My large prints in metal, acrylic, glass, canvas, or wood you will find to be great values. 

 I require, in accordance with PPA advice, that my clients sign a release at the consultation before the shoot that permits me legally to show the art-work that they commissioned at venues such as this website.  I am proud of the work I do for my clients and by way of bragging, want to show the work to the public.  

Be assured that with me you will find Great Value, Stunning Photography, Excellent Service!