I probably get asked this at least once a week, and I always find myself wanting to give a full, honest answer but I usually just give a quick response and change the subject. I don’t know why I do that, maybe because I feel like I would be put on the defensive and have to justify every little thing. But it’s a valid question, and something every bride and groom should understand. Well before my professional photography days when I was an elementary school teacher, I had no idea why wedding photography was so expensive. When my wife and I were looking for a photographer for our wedding, we couldn’t believe how crazy the prices were. I thought anything over $1,000 was too expensive, and the idea of paying someone over $100 per hour to shoot my 8 hour wedding day was ludicrous. It wasn’t until when I became a wedding photographer that I understood why it was so expensive.
So for my first wedding blog post, I want to share my reasoning as to why my prices are the way they are. I have seen wedding photographers who charge as low as $250 and others who charge as high as $5,000. I would say I’m somewhere in the middle. When we were searching for a photographer, I had it in the back of my mind that I was paying someone over $1500 for just one day. To me, they were earning easy money. Well, I learned that it’s definitely not true. I can honestly say that I spend anywhere between 60-100 hours from the moment I book with a client to the moment I give them the final product. I take anywhere between 1,500-2,000 shots during a full wedding day, and it would take me at least two days just to go over and look at all of them, then cut down to the ones I will edit. Oh, and don’t get me started on editing. That process would take several days after that. On average, I probably spend about 10 minutes on each picture, but there are a few where I would spend a lot more. For example, I wanted to give this couple a really fun picture of their bridal party, so I worked on this one for about 10 hours.
Equipment-wise, I carry about $13,000 worth of gear to every wedding, and on certain high profile weddings, that figure could be around $20,000. The equipment alone should justify in some part why wedding photography prices are they way they are. Of course, I didn’t just decide one morning, “Oh, I want to be a wedding photographer. Let me get a camera!” I went to school and learned the ins and outs of film and digital photography. I built my equipment up over time while learning from mentors and professionals in the field, and I did so with as much dedication and passion as anyone else in their professional fields. I mastered the technical aspects of photography while at the same time finding my artistic voice and strengthening it. So I wasn’t just some schmuck who had the money to buy camera gear and started calling myself a professional one day. I paid my dues and worked hard to where I am today.
If you add it all together (time, equipment, schooling, insurance, assistant fees, travel fees, taxes, software, shipping, experience, artistic touch, etc.), it’s no wonder why professional photographers charge as much as they do. Choosing a wedding photographer is an incredibly daunting task, and I think all couples should ask as many questions as they could to help narrow down their search, including why their prices are they way they are.
Jimmy Bui
Latest posts by Jimmy Bui (see all)
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- Jessica + Sean // Bel Air Bay Club Wedding - June 16, 2017