Yes this is a very common scam and its pretty digusting. $1800 is very steep for the actual shoot, usual studios market these "expensive" photoshoots for cheap or free but then will charge an insane markup on prints, usually refusing to provide high resolution / digital copies at all.
This is more typical in the "studio" model, as a general rule you want to ask what you will be delivered, $2k+ would generally get you a relatively good freelance photographer who would aim to give you around 10-15 image full size for you to print as is.
Photographers are almost never going to give you unedited photos or a huge batches of photos, between 5 and 20 is about usual.
Yes this is a very common scam and its pretty digusting. $1800 is very steep for the actual shoot, usual studios market these "expensive" photoshoots for cheap or free but then will charge an insane markup on prints, usually refusing to provide high resolution / digital copies at all.
This is more typical in the "studio" model, as a general rule you want to ask what you will be delivered, $2k+ would generally get you a relatively good freelance photographer who would aim to give you around 10-15 image full size for you to print as is.
Photographers are almost never going to give you unedited photos or a huge batches of photos, between 5 and 20 is about usual.