Wedding Photography Cost Guidelines

[cnhoffma]

I have one wedding that I've been asked to shoot and I may have another one this year too. I've shot weddings before, but always as a guest and I just give the photos to them for free. Now, I'm going to get paid and I'm just curious what are the general guidelines for charging the client.

What I want to do is set up a single fee for all of the shooting. And then just have the client pay for whatever prints they desire. No cumbersome package deals. Right now, I feel like I have a good handle on what to charge for prints, but I'm unsure what I should charge for all my time shooting, editing and posting the photos online. Also, I have my own website to share the photos so I don't need to worry about that cost.

I figure I can't charge too much since I don't bring a track record with me, but I feel that I have the right equipment and know-how to get the job done right.

Any tips or personal experiences would be great.

[c2thew]

congrats on getting the gig!

basically, utilize all three lenses you have.
1) 70-200 lens should be used for during the ceremony so you can shoot from the front as they are walking in, and then move to the back or shoot faces from the side.
2) use your wide angle if you feel like you want to diversify your shots. make sure you get an entire group shot of everyone there.
3)use your flash to your advantage. IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE YOU GEL YOUR FLASH IF THE LIGHTING IS TUNGSTEN!!!! if you don't have an orange gel, you are going to get a mix of white and yellow/orange in the background. you can buy a roscoe gel pack and render a rig for your flash.
4) use your 50mm prime as your workhorse: squeeze in the 70-200 for tight portraits

make sure you have a Shot list so you can go down what you need to shoot

[tim]

Pick an hourly rate you're happy with, tell them the minimum (maybe 4 hours maybe 8) and get at least a 50% retainer. Remember the hourly shooting rate includes the PP time, which means 2-3 hours behind the computer for every hour taking photos - make sure they're aware that the hourly rate includes this. For CD/time only packages I collect the whole payment up front but i'm more established.

I think you need a normal zoom, 17-55 F2.8 IS is the best option for the 40D IMHO.

[cnhoffma]

Thanks for the tips. I might rent a second body and/or another lens.

If I pick an hourly rate, can I just figure out how many hours I should be working and then just charge them one lump sum, i.e. Assume It'll take me 10 hours of shooting and 5 hours of PP with an hourly wage of $50 per hour (totally arbitrary numbers I'm choosing). So I can come to the client and say I'll charge $750. Is that a bad idea? (I'd like to charge more than $750 for just shooting, but I'm unsure).

[Karizmatik]

If your shooting a 6 hour wedding, you'll be doing 12-24 hours of editing, depending on the depth you want to edit and whether you need to.

So you need to charge for 24 hours of editing + 6 hours of actual photography. So if you are charging $50 / hr, at 30 hours of work, that is $1500.00 -- Which is decent if you are just starting out, IMO, others will say your crazy I'm sure, but you have to start somewhere.

Then charge additional for prints or factor in a set number of prints / pricing and add that onto the "package".

It's all personal though, it isn't a tangible thing -- Everyone is different, depending on market, location, demand, supply, skill level, etc, etc.

The # 1 thing I'd be finding out is who else in your area shoots wedding and how much do they charge for a certain package. Not so you can undercut them, but so you at least know your price ranges and what is too much and too little.

[stathunter]

Originally Posted by cnhoffma

Thanks for the tips. I might rent a second body and/or another lens.

If I pick an hourly rate, can I just figure out how many hours I should be working and then just charge them one lump sum, i.e. Assume It'll take me 10 hours of shooting and 5 hours of PP with an hourly wage of $50 per hour (totally arbitrary numbers I'm choosing). So I can come to the client and say I'll charge $750. Is that a bad idea? (I'd like to charge more than $750 for just shooting, but I'm unsure).

Chase- Yes you will need a second body - the 70-200 f/4 will not work for indoor settings - you really need a 70-200 2.8 lens.
You can shoot everything with two lenses 24-70 and 70-200 2.8 (or a 17-55 2.8 vs the 24-70)

Personally I charge a flat rate and collect 50% on signing the contract and the balance at least 4 weeks prior to the wedding.
I shoot a ton during the wedding so I have a lot of post work -- even if you are shooting a 6 hour wedding remember all the post work will kill you - remember to charge for the weeks of time following the wedding.

[tim]

Change per shooting hour, but remember it includes 2-4 hours of post per shooting hour, and tell the customer this. I typically spend 2 hours per shooting hour culling and color correcting, but i've had quite a lot of practice, it used to be double that.