To the commercial photographer who brought up gear – our wedding photographer had a profoto 7B, 2 Nikon D3s and an array of prime lenses. I’d say he had over $25,000 of stuff kicking around at our wedding and reception, not to mention his assistant’s equally pro-level equipment.

We had tons of guests milling about, and shot in crowded public places and his gear underwent a lot of strain and abuse and there was certainly risk of theft.

He worked incredibly hard. My wife and I were impressed. They were incredibly creative, with no art director telling him what to do, and pressure from all sides, demands of family, time constraints, and inclement weather.

The end result was amazing and innovative, and we loved it. I am so happy we splurged.

They shot 90+GB of raw in 12 hours, several thousand captures. It would take me 6 months to shoot that volume.

I’d always looked down at wedding photographers making nearly triple my day rate, but not anymore.

It’s more than triple the work, and that’s just on the day of the shoot.

If you think a professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur….

The bottom line is that a wedding is a once off, high stress, unrepeatable event. If the photographer screw’s up, they are screwing up possibly the most important day of a couple’s life, and that is why you should make sure you get the right photographer, with the right experience. But of course, that comes at a price.

There is a reason for this….

Weddings and brides are very pedantic and attentive to detail about their weddings, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many….

For that reason, brides spend months and months of their free time gathering quotes, scheduling interviews, researching and liasing with their service providors.

As lovely as brides are, this is on the basis of working hours what must be refered to as a high maintenance client in terms of time.

Photographers will often have up to 4 or 5 consultations with the wedding couple, 10 to 15 phone calls and sometimes up to 50 emails or more…

Any dentist, lawyer, or accountant that I know would charge time for consultations to make sure they are being paid for their time or expertise….

Weddings are not a matter of showing up and hoping for the best unless you are dealing with an amateur photographer…..

This is why weddings seem to be more costly but the reality is that they are simply more work….

Only wedding providors understand this fact, so if you are not in the industry your opinion is based on limited knowledge.

Wedding providors are probably quite disheartened to see the media or the public jump to conclusions and will most likely have to resort to releasing some studies and surveys to try to convey the reality.

Also the public often is mislead into thinking they are paying for photographic paper or album materials when most of what they are paying for is the time it takes to create develop and design professional photography…..

If you can ask 3k to 20k and people will pay your price you would be stupid not to ask for the big dollars. Rich couples need wedding photographers too, if you told them it was only going to cost them $500 they would think something is wrong..

I realize that some clients do not understand how photography rates are calculated (i.e. no one really makes $300/hr etc.). This article explains the costs well. I saw an ad once where the woman wanted to pay $300 for her wedding photographer and $350-$450 or more, for her wedding cake. She was dead serious. Hmm, so cost matters only when hiring a photographer not the caterer? Pictures=forever. Food=till next bowel movement.

Also, a few weeks ago, I begin to wonder about something else…

For some clients, weddings seem to be a battle between instant gratification and delayed gratification. Unfortunately there are some people more concerned with impressing others, oneupmanship, and being ‘known’ for their wedding that things that do not create instant pleasure are not valued. Instant gratification or attention of the guests are met by food, decorations, dj, dress, and even the cake. Professional photographs and videography of the ceremony represents delayed gratification. Guests cannot admire (or be jealous) of quality photographs the day of the ceremony. Furthermore, I wonder how much the high divorce rate plays into this. Are people actually expecting to be married forever and thus have quality wedding photography to cherish forever? Is the marriage itself beyond the wedding day even being considered? I just find myself thinking about the motivations behind the actions quite often.

This is not to say that all people who cannot afford quality wedding photography are simply ignorant to the rates or have gratification issues but I think both play heavily into the constant debate over rates.

Aspen Wedding Photography

Finally, VISA credit cards did a survey just a year or two ago of brides after their wedding. The survey questioned how the brides felt about what they’d spent – in hindsight. The results – the vast majority of brides felt they overspent on virtually everything except two areas – photography and decorations. So say what you will about what wedding photographers charge. Most couples are pleased and wouldn’t spend less if they had it to do over again.

I make my entire living from wedding photography, having given up a full-time, $500-per-week admin job to do it. I started out “moonlighting” on weekends (as I was learning) and charging $700-$1000 – which was great at the time – it seemed like a lot of money. And if it were to go on being “pocket money” – it was. It supplemented a secure, day-to-day income. But its downside was that it could only grow so far before I either go on working two jobs forever, forget about photography, or take the plunge into full-time photography and hope like hell that the $$$ balance out.

I don’t shoot weddings because it’s (supposedly) easy money, but because I am passionate about weddings and photography and love doing it.

That said, there are drawbacks. Saturday/Sunday weddings mean I miss out on a lot of family/friends/me time. I work a full five days during the week, editing the 3000 photos I take per wedding, answering emails, meeting clients, charging and checking equipment, creating proof books. The other day I calculated that I spend 40-50 hours per wedding from start to finish. I don’t really have the time to pursue additional avenues of income, such as portraits and commercial, but also I have real interest in it.

I can really only shoot up to 40 weddings a year. If I had one wedding per weekend, I could shoot up to 52 – if I drive myself into the ground in the process, and avoid having any semblance of a social life. (Up to) 40 (more like 30-40) is more feasible, and even then it often involves shooting multiple weddings on a weekend, because there’s always down season in winter.

I currently charge $2000 for a wedding, for digital negatives and a proof book. I have to raise my prices soon because I am simply not earning enough to justify the enormous time and energy I pour into this career that I love.

…40 weddings @ $2000 = $80,000
…Less the $25,000-$30,000 worth of expenses I have per year (second shooter/assistant wages, advertising, proof books, software, training/seminars, backup, antivirus, computer maintenance, car parking, petrol, mobile expenses, internet expenses, insurance, website, etc)
…Less the $10,000 loan I have to repay for purchasing reliable, top-quality camera equipment and lenses (and backup system) to do the job well
…Less tax (about 25%)
…Leaves me with $30,000 take-home salary – to support my family and my mortgage. This is $76 per week more than what I was earning as an admin clerk.

I work at home – can’t afford a studio, probably not ever – and can’t afford an assistant to alleviate the admin tasks that might free up my time enough to do additional photography work.

Some might say “well just be an admin clerk.” But I love my job, and I make the sacrifice. But to hear others accuse wedding photographers of overcharging just because it’s a wedding – well, it’s unfair.

Weddings are ridiculously stressful, high-pressure and a once-only chance of getting it right. Screw it up and you’ve potentially destroyed your reputation and your career. Get it right and it can be enormously fulfilling. But to get it right involves energy, effort, training, investment and hard work.

That’s why I charge so much, anyway.

The photographer who compared editorial/fashion photography to weddings doesn’t seem to understand the full picture. I was an editorial photographer for 12 years before doing weddings (weddings for ten years now).

Editorial/fashion photographers won’t be spending tens of thousands of pounds on advertising. A full page ad in a wedding magazine varies from about £1200 in a small regional publication, to over £3000 in some of the high end bridal magazines. A wedding photographer can easily spend £15,000 a year on marketing and advertising.

Editorial photographers don’t have other overheads like albums (they can easily cost several hundred pounds each). Don’t even get me started on some of the other expenses we have to pay (VAT, insurance, running a car, office, staff etc).

Wedding photographers are expensive because everything required to be a wedding photographer is expensive. Overheads are easily 50% of what a photographer charges. Then you have to factor in that most wedding photographers will cover about 35 to 50 weddings a year, from which they must make their entire living (presuming that like me they only photograph weddings).

My prices are from £1650 to £3000 inc VAT, is that a huge amount for what I produce? I don’t think so.

None of this crap happens when you’re shooting for a magazine. None of this happens when you’re shooting a natural disaster. None of it even happens when you’re shooting a Bar Mitzvah. It’s unique to the wedding.

That’s why.

First of all… I own and operate a home based business with the intent of providing affordable photography of any event. I also incorporated a video service within my photo. My wife is my business partner, and my main photographer & editor. I do the videography, running the business, and sealing the deals with the distributors, photo labs, and of course our clients.

However, this is not a full time employment for us. I work full time doing something not associated with my business or photography. The money I earn from this job supports my family and operates my business.

Because of this, I am able to keep my overhead costs down.. not to mention it gives my wife something to do.

I thought about charging my clients a lot for portraits, seeing that other photographers were doing likewise. But I couldn’t justify the meaning of it. These photographs (pros to ams) were making thousands off one event. What I learned from their experience is this:

Overhead Costs : This is the source to anyone running a business faces. This is the reason your rates are high. These costs are items such as rent of a studi (if you have one), insurance on equipmnet, equipment rentals-repairs-replacements, subscriptions, fees, maintenance, housekeeping, transprotation, location, blah blah blah…

Advertising Costs : My personal view is that a good photographer shouldn’t have to advertise… ever. But for some that do are either one of two things… broke or ‘in demand’. A struggleing professional will advertise to get new clients, for example. A popular professional (well known in the trade and/or area) will get more based on who’s willing to pay. If you had a choice to spend 3k on only one photographer and your choices were (a) a veteran pro of 20+yrs that could you nane you just about every citizen in town… or (2) a pro that moved into a new area from elsewhere, didn’t know anyone, had no recent or local references, but had the latest in gidgets and gazmoos that looked advanced for our time..?

Its a hard decision to tell you the truth. Some will argue the difference between film and digital. Either form is considered art. How you apply that art makes your impression. The veteran pro may not be in the digital age (most are not willing to learn the new gear) but his past thousand weddings show a prime example of true life photography. The new guy in town has the latest in gear and can produce digital art in a matter of moments, not to mention that previewing these art can be acheived at a quicker rate.

So what I learned: Both styles (film vs. digital) are both considered art. The VALUE of the work is what represents your rate. I started my business many years ago, slowly builind one client at a time using the new digital art procedures. But I’m not Pro #2 as mentioned above, however I can be. The most important aspect of these rates professionals (or ‘average joe’) charge is the fact of cost of living. I charge fractions of the going rate because I have a funding supply that supports the business. The ones that charge a lot rely on this income to support not only their business, but perhaps their life and family. Its not so much about the importance of the price to charge, but at what VALUE your going to give the client. If you’re on your own, do it full time, produce your own work, and are a leader/mentor to those around you… then you should be rewarding yourself.

But if you work a second (or third) job to support everything AND you still charge the same as others… SHAME ON YOU. Your not dedicating yourself to the appreciation of supply art… your taking advantage of the situation.

With my wife and I, we provide the best for our clients, from top album names (Rennaissance, TAP, etc..) to outsourcing our prints to professional photo labs… we charge list price on most items. The only take we recieve in retyrn is the labor. But we’ve seen so-called photographers charge and mislead their clients into thinking their getting a great VALUE.

And to get back about advertising… your work IS your own advertisment. How you perform and your items presented builds your network of “word of mouth” adverts. Thats how you gain respect. Thats how you become popular. And that’s when you can justify your right to charge a bit more for your service. Think about it in terms of the blue collar work force. Would you expect to see a mailroom clerk making a CEO salary? Of course not. You have to work your way to the top for that. But would you deserve that CEO position if you had ‘bought’ your way up? Absoultely not, and your trust and respect from others would eventually dwindle away. But if you raise right, you increase your network, and you build your bond with others.

Did I make it clear? Thank you for reading my opinion.

Vomit. Amateur photos are just as precious. I’ve got plenty of crappy disposable camera shots from vacations that mean just as much to me– if not more– than formal, insanely expensive wedding pics. Dropping several grand or more for one ceremony is whack. You can easily “capture the moment” and the “making of your family” for far less.

Late
-Zawl

I’ve found that people may have sticker shock up front, but if you do your job well, people become very clear and understanding by the end, even appreciative of the vast amount of effort that you are putting into a wedding.

Cheers!

Photography is an art. If you find an artist he is worth every cent. Be critical of their past work, and not just what they put up for show. Make sure they have had success with weddings in the past, and not just photographing dogs and dog shows. Scratch below the surface. There are noisy showmen out there posing as photographers.