Photography

I'm a hobbyist photographer and a parent. In my local area, there are quite a few different Santa photo options (and I haven't even looked into hiring a professional photographer for a whole personal session). Many of the public Santa's include a free photo these days, and I believe there's even one or two that allow you to take your own picture as well. There are a few that still charge $10-20 for a print, with the option to buy additional prints. And I'm sure there are probably photographers offering Santa mini sessions that they put together themselves (at higher prices) as well.

Anyways, I personally would not want to pay more than $10-20 for Santa photos. Many of them aren't amazing photos to begin with, tend to be rushed, and half the time you can't even get the kids to smile. These photos are shared around christmastime and maybe used on a Christmas card, and that's it. Although if I was really interested in having a whole photo session where we'd spend more time with a photographer (like family or senior sessions), I do think that would be worth more- I just really don't need all of that.

I'm just saying that when I think of Santa photos of my kids from the past, there's no way I'd look at those images and think they are worth $50+ lol. And we typically spent more time waiting in line than actually having photos taken. So I'm not really surprised that other parents aren't wanting to spend tons of money. That's not necessarily to say that your time, skill, and equipment are not valuable- but there's really only so much most people are willing to spend on these things.

And as a hobbyist photographer myself, I have just started to take our Santa photos most years anyway. My father-in-law likes dressing up as Santa, so boom. Easy.