Imagine this: You're finally engaged and ready to find your photographer. After hours of browsing, you find the perfect match! You love this person's editing style, the way they frame their shots is perfection, and you want them to tell your story. Now, it's time to look at pricing.
WHOA. WHY is wedding photography so expensive?!
I wondered the same thing when planning my own wedding and before I was a photographer. In my mind, I thought, "This person gets paid THAT much for a day's work and pressing a few buttons?" I could not have been more wrong. I want to break down a few things for you to help explain why wedding photography seems to be so expensive and to provide a better understanding of the industry.
1.) Equipment is EXPENSIVE. I can only speak for myself in this instance since every photographer's arsenal is not the same. I have two camera bodies which are about $2,000.00 each. Both contain a dual camera slot as to back up those photos we are capturing of your day. Most wedding photographers will have at least two cameras because we'd never want to risk losing anything on your day due to faulty equipment. I have a main camera and a backup camera with me at all times. I also have several lenses. Just one of my lenses alone was $1900. My arsenal of lenses ranges from $125-$1900 and I have six. Batteries are about $80 and I have three per camera right now. Memory cards are about $45/ea and I will use a minimum of four at each wedding. Off Camera Flash varies in price, but starts at about $400 for a simple setup. I have a desktop computer which was over $2000 and a laptop which was about $1200. There are other items like tripods, weather guards, underwater casing, etc. that a lot of people use as well. Those items aren't as high in dollar value as others listed above, but all of these things add up and take away from the bottom line. Note: Some of these pieces of equipment are not one-time purchases. For example: DSLR cameras have a shutter count and once that count gets higher and higher, the shutter is closer to no longer being viable. Replacing the camera once that count gets higher is important. Memory cards have the ability to fail which compromises the photos on it, so replacing them often is very important. Technology is always changing, so my equipment will need to be replaced and upgraded.
2.) There are operating costs. Our job isn't done when we've left your wedding. As a matter of fact it began months before your wedding. Initial phone calls, meetings, going over contracts and questionnaires. There are so many things that go into not only editing your photos, but also running the business. Here are a few of my most basic operating costs and things most photographers need:
Adobe Photoshop + Lightroom - $10/month
Phone - $70/month
Internet - $30/month
Online gallery - $40/month Credit Card Processing - 3% of total balance
Photo Storage - $20/month
Advertising - $75/month (minimum)
Postage - $30/month (average)
Gas - $75/month
That's $350, not including credit card processing fees. There are other items I personally pay for such as ongoing education, workshops, webinars, The things listed above are the most basic needs.
3.) We are legal, tax-paying businesses. Professional photographers charge professional prices because we are real businesses. That means that about 1/3 of the price tag you see goes toward paying taxes and insurance. Why is it important to use a legal, tax-paying photographer? There are SO many reasons you should only hire legal photographers, but one of the biggest is that photography is an unregulated industry. That means that there are no rules, regulations, licenses, education requirements, or standards for being able to offer photography services and anyone can purchase a camera and advertise. Because of this, I have seen MANY instances where someone purchases a camera, decides they want to be a wedding photographer without experience, accepts a deposit, realizes how difficult it is to be a photographer so they quit, and then they leave the wedding couple high and dry, never speaking to them again. I've also seen instances where the photographer does show up to take wedding photos and subsequently never delivers them, or they deliver unprintable/unusable photos. Hiring a professional photographer who is operating a legal business is important because it shows the person is serious about this business. They have done their research, have experience, and are in it for the long haul. The likelihood that they would leave you high and dry on one of the most important days of your life is slim to none. So let's stop here and use some real life figures.
Say someone is offering $1200 for 8 hours of wedding coverage. Say they're just starting and do two weddings per month at that price. That's $2400 for the month. 1/3 of that goes to taxes and insurance if they're a legal business ($792),
Now, let's take out their operating costs ($350) Now the credit card processing fee ($72)
That leaves them with a profit of $1186 after two weddings.
They were at the wedding for 8 (That is a small number of hours. That would strictly be ceremony and part of the reception. Most brides would like getting ready shots and first look shots and coverage to the end of the day...that is 12-15 hours minimum.) hours and let's say it takes them 15 hours to edit a wedding ( a poll among photographers between a small and large wedding, this is the average). That's a total of 56 hours of labor between shooting and editing the wedding. Now they need to design your thank you cards and albums and that could take another 6 hours. We than have at least another 2 hours for consults and design revisions. Than conservatively another 2 hours on ordering, receiving and checking your product for quality and delivering the product. So we are now up to a total of 76 hours for two weddings. That would be $15.60 per hour.
This figure is not taking into consideration the hours they spent with you prior to the wedding such as the initial consultation, preparing proposals, going over the contract, coming up with the timeline and questionnaires to meet your expectations, and the prepping and packing of the of the gear . Lets tack on 5 hours to that figure to be conservative, so we are now at 81 hours total.
That would be $14.64 per hour.
** The state minimum wage ( so yes if you were flipping burgers at a local fast food joint) is $15.00. So this professional that you are trusting with your most precious memories is earning just BELOW minimum wage!
Now if we deduct the cost of prints, thank you cards, and albums that could be included in your packages you are now at a minimum of $400.00...you see where this is going.
Now ask them to throw in a second shooter for the day...not even possible!
- I didn't include any equipment in the calculation above to keep things simple, but if this person needed to purchase new equipment, they wouldn't be able to afford to at these rates. Pricing this way makes it difficult for someone to survive doing photography as anything other than a "side gig" or as supplementary income.
So here are some things to consider:
-The photographs that you get are the only thing thing you will have that outlast your day, that is besides your spouse! The food will be eaten, the music will never be replayed, the venue will not be revisited by you and your guests in this manner ever. The only documentation you will have are your photographs to relive that one day!
-The photographer is often the only person you will have contact with before and after your day is over in any great length. Once the wedding and reception is done, you will not speak to the caterer, Maitre d, the DJ, the florist, the bridal dress place, the place that designed your invitations/ favors.
-Generally the photographer spends the entire day with you. The rest of the vendors are with you only a few short hours for different parts of your day. They are often hungry, dehydrated, have not sat down for hours, are afraid to use the restroom for fear of not capturing a moment. They get home and immediately back up your images and if they can will try to get a sneak peek to you that evening. During the course of the day they are deflecting potential problems, making sure you are hydrated and fed, making sure you look your best all while having the best day of your life.
We are not charging an arm and a leg. We are in some cases barely charging a price to live comfortably based upon the preparation that goes into your day and the final product.
Please feel free to head to my pricing page to select a wedding package that suits your needs