Wedding photographer price

[shoot_a_star]

Hello all:

I am going to shoot wedding in July (will post pictures) and I am not sure how much to charge them. I consider myself between amateur and pro. I had about 5 wedding shooting before.

Here are my gears:
10D, 580EX, 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS U, 28-200mm 3.5-5.6 U, Turbo battery, grip...etc. I may use Photogenic powerlights set up a small studio to shoot at the reception for the BG with their friends.

Please give me an idea. I will shoot all day long. Morning at the groom's home, church, outside in the park, at the reception. People are asking to pay me $500. :( I will give them about 200 of 4x6 pictures developed at Walmart. If you were me, how much should you charge?

Thank you for reading.
SAS

[kawter2]

if you arent satisfyied with what they are wanting to pay... then here is what you do..

Charge them a "deal" on shooting the wedding, then resell the images and pad the price to equal your expectations.

There is more than one way to skin a cat ;)

1: $1100 photographer to shoot their wedding (all inclusive)

2: $250 for you to come and shot photographer, $35 per hour to edit the pictures (6hours min) $1.50 per proof. $5 per 5x7 $25 per 8x10

You can add up to $1k easy IMO

[kawter2]

BTW IMHO i sugest you rent a lens or two

[Medic1]

$500 seems unreasonably low to me.......I make that in a 12 hour shift, and I am sure you will be working on these images much longer than 12 hrs (collectively). I find it odd that someone is only willing to put a price of $500 on something that will be memories for a lifetime....

I know a couple photographers who consider theirselves in the same class of photog as you and charge much more than that for their work......

Good Luck

[flyfisher]

$500. is to low. I agree with Eric you could charge them a package price, or you could charge them
an alacarte price either way it should not be 500.

You said that you shot five outer Weddings before what did you charge for them?

You also want to be careful as it is a big responsibility and you do not get a second chance.Bring allot of memory cards a back up body, spare flash, extra batteries ect... also you said in your
post that you were going to spend the morning at the groom's home I would try to spend some time at the Bride's as that's you can get allot of the classic shots of her getting ready. I would also suggest using a custom lab.

All of the above are just my opinion Good Luck and enjoy the day.

[robertwgross]

There is nobody in this forum who has any idea about your skill level. It's possible that you are worth $3,000 per day. It's also possible that you are only worth $300 per day. You better know where you are between those two numbers.

---Bob Gross---

[Mark_48]

Aside from what to charge, more importantly what have you got for a suitable backup to the 10D if it should decide to take a nap when you need it most? Then the issue is not what to charge, but then how do you avoid a lawsuit for failure to deliver the goods. :shock:

It's been a good number of years since I've done weddings and then it was film. I've recently semi-retired from a non-related field and having gotten the digital bug thought I'd see if doing weddings again would be something that interested me. I did take on two weddings this year and charged only $500 and still will clear a satisfactory profit after expenses. If I decide I'm serious about getting back into it and I'm satisfied with what I'm producing, the price will increase accordingly. And don't neglect putting together a contract of the services you are providing. Somewhere in this forum I think if you do a search, there was a sample wedding photography contract.

Or do a Google search for wedding photographer contract:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=wedding+photographer+contract&btnG=Google+Search

[mvonditter]

Hello all:

I am going to shoot wedding in July (will post pictures) and I am not sure how much to charge them. I consider myself between amateur and pro. I had about 5 wedding shooting before.

Here are my gears:
10D, 580EX, 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS U, 28-200mm 3.5-5.6 U, Turbo battery, grip...etc. I may use Photogenic powerlights set up a small studio to shoot at the reception for the BG with their friends.

Please give me an idea. I will shoot all day long. Morning at the groom's home, church, outside in the park, at the reception. People are asking to pay me $500. :( I will give them about 200 of 4x6 pictures developed at Walmart. If you were me, how much should you charge?

Thank you for reading.
SAS

There are a myriad of factors to consider. Depending on how good the original shots are try this on for size. 300 frames at 30 minutes each post production. That’s 150 hours. 15 minutes each is 75 hours. Adds up fast, doesn’t it. :confused: At $50 per hour you are already looking at $3750 minimum. Add to that the actual shoot, lets say 10 hours and you have another $500. Equipment charge should be about 10% of what it actually cost you. In your case lets say that’s $200. So now we are at $4450. That does not include any kind of prints yet. Get the idea? Most of us tend to dramatically under charge.:cry: Don't under sell yourself, it will come back and bite you in the future.

[kawter2]

There are a myriad of factors to consider. Depending on how good the original shots are try this on for size. 300 frames at 30 minutes each post production. That’s 150 hours. 15 minutes each is 75 hours. Adds up fast, doesn’t it. :confused: At $50 per hour you are already looking at $3750 minimum. Add to that the actual shoot, lets say 10 hours and you have another $500. Equipment charge should be about 10% of what it actually cost you. In your case lets say that’s $200. So now we are at $4450. That does not include any kind of prints yet. Get the idea? Most of us tend to dramatically under charge.:cry: Don't under sell yourself, it will come back and bite you in the future.

bottom line if you have already booked the wedding, you are only going to be worth what they want to pay.. you can justify everything but that will only really work for future events.. If it is booked and they only want to pay $500, good luck getting more, IMO selling them more is your best option

[mvonditter]

bottom line if you have already booked the wedding, you are only going to be worth what they want to pay.. you can justify everything but that will only really work for future events.. If it is booked and they only want to pay $500, good luck getting more, IMO selling them more is your best option

You are of course, correct.:) It's interesting though, just how often we don't think about the amount of time we put in just because we like what we do.:lol: A really fast way to go out of business.:cry:

[Wazza]

There are a myriad of factors to consider. Depending on how good the original shots are try this on for size. 300 frames at 30 minutes each post production. That’s 150 hours. 15 minutes each is 75 hours. Adds up fast, doesn’t it. :confused: At $50 per hour you are already looking at $3750 minimum. Add to that the actual shoot, lets say 10 hours and you have another $500. Equipment charge should be about 10% of what it actually cost you. In your case lets say that’s $200. So now we are at $4450. That does not include any kind of prints yet. Get the idea? Most of us tend to dramatically under charge.:cry: Don't under sell yourself, it will come back and bite you in the future.

Heck, I would love to one day earn that much.
Would you honestly put in 30min post production into each image?

What if you were shooting a wedding every fortnight say. That gives you 2 weeks to produce 150 hours of post production... 10 hours a day. I never thought of it that way.

Shucks, lol, I once spent about 5 hours on 100 21st photos, which is obviously just quick adjustments, and then upload to the print store I use.

[Harry Settle]

There was an article I recently read at smartshooter.com a little while back on photography pricing. I don't remember which writer did it, but, IMHO, it was pretty refreshing. His philosophy on customer service was "CUSTOMER SERVICE". He charges a reasonable fee to do the shoot (a hefty reasonable) then it's all about what the customer wants: time, number of shots taken, poses and no packages. After the shoot, the customer starts picking pictures and the cost of the pictures is comes off the price paid for the shoot. I don't remember all of the details and I can't find the article any more, but it was a really neat attitude towards customer service.

[robertwgross]

Would you honestly put in 30min post production into each image?


That was the same question that stuck in my head.

I figure that for each hour of a wedding shoot, on-site, I will spend about 3-4 hours at the computer. So, for a typical wedding of four hours total, that means an additional 12-16 hours at the computer. So, I figure 15-20 hours in all for the set price.

Of course, how much time it actually takes depends on what you intend to deliver.

---Bob Gross---

[mvonditter]

Heck, I would love to one day earn that much.
Would you honestly put in 30min post production into each image?

What if you were shooting a wedding every fortnight say. That gives you 2 weeks to produce 150 hours of post production... 10 hours a day. I never thought of it that way.

Shucks, lol, I once spent about 5 hours on 100 21st photos, which is obviously just quick adjustments, and then upload to the print store I use.

Like I said, even 15 minutes per shot is 75 Hours. Using your numbers, it's about 3 minutes per. And that is, as you said, just quick adjustments. That's my whole point though, we don't realize just how much time we actually spend on our passion. If I did this for a living I'd be broke. The hard numbers say that realistically a 500+ frame shoot is worth $10k or more. Now obviously that’s just numbers, but think about it. If you had to make a living on this sort of thing, you have to look at it as a business. Interestingly, I have never had someone balk at those numbers that runs a business.



Am I starting a trend here?;)

[boomerang]

Post some of your last wedding shots and we can help with where you should price point in relation to talent.

[Maureen Souza]

For $500 bucks, I think you are selling yourself short.

[blue_max]

If the aim is to build up a business, then gaining valuable experience and sample shots may be worth doing for free even. As you develop and gain a portfolio of work, you should be able to dictate the fees, confident that the work is worth it.

I am a great believer in letting the work speak for itself. Perhaps offering a sale or return basis may be the way to go. Charge a set fee for your time and take orders for your prints (as has been suggested).

You always have the option to say you can't do the wedding justice for that fee and would rather not do it. I don't think that the client should dictate the fee (what do they know), but you could tell them what you are prepared to do for their budget. Showing what they would get for the fee and bolt on a few extras and tempt them to up it (brides/grooms home could be a separate fee).

Good luck (and hopefully enjoy it).

Graham

[condyk]

If the aim is to build up a business, then gaining valuable experience and sample shots may be worth doing for free even. As you develop and gain a portfolio of work, you should be able to dictate the fees, confident that the work is worth it.



Graham is spot on there ... and those of us who are self employed know that 9/10 times you have to bite the bullet early on to get some experience and references. So, WE are paying the client for that 'reference service', i.e. if you were shooting my wedding then be sure I want to talk to 2-3 of your ex clients. But make sure that if you offer a discount that the client knows that it's in exchange for a possible reference and that they then don't discuss pricing with the new client.

As a client I will also know what the broad going rate is in my locality. I will have chosen 2-3 possible photographers and so know their broad pricing strategy. You need to know that too as you're in a competitive business. If you pitch at similar levels to the competition then it's whether I like you, appreciate any value added services, and I like your portfolio: this is stuff you have control over.

It's perhaps good to offer a range of options at different price points too and then the client can choose the price they want to pay and know what they're going to get. The idea of 'can you do my wedding for $500?' turns me cold. You need to know exactly what you will do for that and so does the client, otherwise, there's going to a problem down the road somewhere.

Personally, I wouldn't consider shooting a wedding unless I had 110% confidence in my skills: managing the people there, and the technical and creative aspects of the job, had the exact gear I needed and also had backups.

Good planning is key I imagine to ensure that you get maximum quality shots of the required kind while spending minimal time and resources on it.

[tombryan]

I've been shooting weddings for almost 7 years now and charge $1200 for a 7 hour coverage. I give no product for $1200 other than a wedding website and a proof portfolio magazine. So for $1200 they get 7 hours of coverage with lots of candids, a wedding webite with all their proofs and ordering options, and a professionally printed proof portfolio magazine printed on photo paper and spiral bound. No pictures.

They can get picture proofs (which really they aren't proofs) for $200 per 100 proofs.

If they want a package that includes picture proofs, the package starts at $2,300, but also comes with a Wedding Album Cover and pages.

The Silver: $800

Wedding Coverage Only (up to 4 hrs.)

Proof CD

Wedding Website



The Gold: $1,200

Up to 7 hrs Of Coverage

Proof CD and Wedding Website (Approx. 300 images.)

Proof Portfolio Magazine



The Platinum: $2,300

Up to 7 hrs Of Coverage

300 Photo Proofs

12 page Wedding Album Cover (pages and mats included)





The Treasure Box: $3,200

Up to 8 hrs. Of Coverage

400 Photo Proofs

15 page Studio Designed Album



The Ultimate: $4,200

Up to 10 hrs. Of Coverage

450 Photo Proofs

18 page Studio Designed Wedding Album

2 Parents Albums with 20-4x5 photos per album





I'm not the cheapest guy in the area by no means, but I'm no where near the more expensive photogs either.

TB

[PhotosGuy]

If it is booked and they only want to pay $500, good luck getting more, IMO selling them more is your best option Better mark up the reprints a LOT!

[Hellashot]

Hello all:
I will give them about 200 of 4x6 pictures developed at Walmart. If you were me, how much should you charge?
SAS

Oh boy, my wedding photographer had my pictures developed at Walmart! lol The people probably want these photos to last a long time. If you're going to want to do more weddings, you should invest in a home printer so you can have control over everything, including the estimated life of the print.

[mvonditter]

I've been shooting weddings for almost 7 years now and charge $1200 for a 7 hour coverage. I give no product for $1200 other than a wedding website and a proof portfolio magazine. So for $1200 they get 7 hours of coverage with lots of candids, a wedding webite with all their proofs and ordering options, and a professionally printed proof portfolio magazine printed on photo paper and spiral bound. No pictures.

They can get picture proofs (which really they aren't proofs) for $200 per 100 proofs.

If they want a package that includes picture proofs, the package starts at $2,300, but also comes with a Wedding Album Cover and pages.

The Silver:$800

Wedding Coverage Only (up to 4 hrs.)

Proof CD

Wedding Website



The Gold: $1,200

Up to 7 hrs Of Coverage

Proof CD and Wedding Website (Approx. 300 images.)

Proof Portfolio Magazine



The Platinum: $2,300

Up to 7 hrs Of Coverage

300 Photo Proofs

12 page Wedding Album Cover (pages and mats included)





The Treasure Box: $3,200

Up to 8 hrs. Of Coverage

400 Photo Proofs

15 page Studio Designed Album



The Ultimate: $4,200

Up to 10 hrs. Of Coverage

450 Photo Proofs

18 page Studio Designed Wedding Album

2 Parents Albums with 20-4x5 photos per album





I'm not the cheapest guy in the area by no means, but I'm no where near the more expensive photogs either.

TB

Looks a lot like the numbers I came up with.:)

[Rokkorfan]

300 frames at 30 minutes each post production. That’s 150 hours. 15 minutes each is 75 hours. Adds up fast, doesn’t it. :confused:

Wow! I shoot weddings for a job and I expect I spend about 20 seconds per image on average in RAW processing. Anyone that spends more than a minute on RAW processing for this type of shoot is overprocessing, or needs to look at their original captures (and determine why they are that far out).

Sure if it is going in the album or on the wall it gets more attention, but for proofs, forget it.

Re. your query:

As a part-timer you can't expect to get anywhere near what a pro would charge. That's OK, you can still make some cash and get some experience. I would ask for a bit more, say $650, and make that for digital delivery of full-res images on CD, no proofs, and save yourself the cash you would spend on the proofs.

[robertwgross]

Wow! I shoot weddings for a job and I expect I spend about 20 seconds per image on average in RAW processing. Anyone that spends more than a minute on RAW processing for this type of shoot is overprocessing, or needs to look at their original captures (and determine why they are that far out).

Well, there is RAW processing, which sometimes requires some manual tweaking, and then there are other editing tasks. If you are shooting with precision, there is very little manual tweaking of the exposure necessary. However, the other editing tasks can really soak up a lot of time. Applying the Waldo-filter can take forever. In some cases, there must be some cropping. It takes a while to weed out the weak shots and to put the final choices into some kind of proof arrangement for the client to view. Burning the image files to CD-R takes time.

---Bob Gross---

[mvonditter]

Well, there is RAW processing, which sometimes requires some manual tweaking, and then there are other editing tasks. If you are shooting with precision, there is very little manual tweaking of the exposure necessary. However, the other editing tasks can really soak up a lot of time. Applying the Waldo-filter can take forever. In some cases, there must be some cropping. It takes a while to weed out the weak shots and to put the final choices into some kind of proof arrangement for the client to view. Burning the image files to CD-R takes time.

---Bob Gross---

And then someone spills something on the Brides dress, mother doesn’t like her double chin, etc. etc. I agree, proof don’t take much time, the final product, can take what seems like, forever.;)