Why does Custom Photography cost so much?

This is a very good question. This industry has a lot of "backyard photographers", they are the ones who think they can make a few quick bucks and start shooting weddings, they charge very low and usually burn out very quickly. These type of photographers bring the industry down as they don't produce a quality product. Also, there are a lot of "Supermarket Photographers" out there as well who suck you in with a $10 photo shoot offer only to charge heavily for prints. I came across this very well written article explaining the cost of "Custom Portraiture". It is well worth the read! Have a look at the article on this blog