During all years I was a studio owner and even during my freelance time the one of most common questions I was asked was “Why are you guys charge so much?”
Weddings is an expensive project. The venue, the food, DJ or band, the dress, the decorations, the invitations… This list can go on and on.
I will try here to break down the photography cost from a photographer’s perspective so you can understand all the work that goes on behind the scenes.
The photographers fee based on three major factors: Talent and Experience, Time spent for complete the wedding project and Expenses such as gear, business and etc.
Time
The amount of time a wedding photographer spends on a wedding is one of the 3 main factors why photographers charge for their services. Time spent can be broken down into four categories: client meetings, the wedding day, and the editing.
Some people say that “client meetings” should not be missioned here because without that the client would not hire photographer. That is true, but I’m not talking about one or two meetings to get to agreement and sign the contract. I’m talking about all those meeting before a wedding, when you discussing locations and schedule and meetings after the wedding to discuss options for the albums and album design. I personally had a situations when I met with brides more then 4-5 times within few month before a wedding and 4-5 times after. And what about all the phone calls that can takes hours overall?
Next, the wedding day… Average wedding takes about 10 hours. Sometimes 6-7, sometimes 14-15. But in most situations, it’s 9-11. If there is a second photographer involved, that person has to be paid as well. So we are having equivalent of 20 hours of work when your 10-hour wedding day covered by two photographers.
I didn’t count driving time that can’t take few hours also. Travel time has to be incorporated into a photographer’s cost of doing business.
Finally, editing is the most time-consuming aspect of a wedding. Your photographer could take thousands of photos to avoid missing a particular moment, capturing emotions and making sure that your parents have eyes open at the formal photos. After all, we’r ending up with about 1200-1500 images. Unfortunately, there is no camera or no software available today will not bring you the right density and colors. That means, all of the photos you receiving must be color corrected. The photographer can sometimes apply a specific editor preset to multiple photos at once, but then they will go through each picture individually to manually adjust them one by one to give the photo the perfect final look.
And what about Balck&Whites and specific looks and tweaks?
Bottom line, expect this process to take another 16-40 hours depends on individual situation.
If we’re counting hours, at the very minimum, your photographer has spent 30 hours of their time on the various aspects of one wedding. This doesn’t even include the time needed to create a wedding album.
You might be wondering why it may take few weeks to deliver you the photos after your wedding.
Remember, beside your wedding, your photographer has other weddings to photograph and edit, more client meetings, they may also have different types of photo shoots to attend and their own family life and duties.
Expenses
This category has to be divided to two sections: Gear and Business expenses.
Let’s start with Gear.
Honestly, you don’t want your photographer to come with one entry level camera and cheap kit lens. It doesn’t even sound professional, right?
Professional photographers invest in top of the line equipment for their businesses. This list includes but not limited to cameras, lenses, memory cards, batteries, lighting, computer software, tripods, flight stands, light modifiers and more.
A wedding photographer has to have at least two camera bodies to work with and an absolute minimum of 3 lenses for various situations. In a good case scenario it will help to reduce the amount of time needed for switching between lenses – especially at crucial moments like the first kiss or exchange of the rings. This way photographer has a back up if the worst case scenario happens and the camera stops working. Few flashes are also necessary, especially for the in-door photo session or when the venue is very dark.
Top of the line and well maintained equipment is absolutely must for wedding photographer. By that been said, only maintenance of existing cameras and lenses can cost few thousand of dollars. As an example, I paid $520 only for clean, check and adjustment of my Nikon D850 camera. And it was just for one camera. As an another example, I have to change my cameras every 2 years.
The cost of all these items together run into tens of thousands of dollars.
The second section is “Business Expenses”.
Being a professional photographer requires more than just a camera and accessories. A photography business requires the website and hosting, an insurance, computers, software, accounting, phone services, utilities and basic business supplies. Employees, advertising and marketing can add substantially to the costs of running a business. All of these required expenses to run photography business, but, unfortunately, it doesn’t grow on trees.
Talent and Experience
I guess, I should start this article with this factor. This is the number one reason wedding photography costs so much. You hire a wedding photographer based on the look, quality and reliability. Usually, it takes a yearsto develop the shooting style and technique, as well as to find the perfect way of image editing, to find the best way to interact with each to bring out the best feel and expression. This takes both natural talent and high dedication to practice until they reach the perfection. A good photographer is always research new poses to try and better methods to get the results they’re looking for. They will check what kind of a new gear and technology is the best to give you the ultimate level of quality.
Also, you don’t want the person with no experience to photograph you wedding, even if this photographer is the most talented in the world.
The ability to work under pressure, to adjust to different situations and to work fast in a very limited time frame usually comes with years of experience.
You are paying for talent and experience. Not only for talent and not only for experience, but for Combination of both.
This is a day that you can’t recreate if something goes wrong. You want to pay for the assurance that the person photographing your big day knows how to handle any sort of lighting, any setbacks or time delays, and knows how to smoothly handle different personalities and subjects.
Finally, remember that unlike a normal 9-5 job, a wedding photographer’s working hours and income are not regular. Most weddings happen on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and the majority are during the summer. How many weekends are there in a year let alone in summer?
Unless the photographer is in great demand, it is unlikely they will have a wedding booked every weekend of the season. You will find that a lot of freelance photographers have a day job on top of photographing wedding.
FINAL THOUGHT
So, why is wedding photography expensive?
The answer is simple; wedding photographers invest a lot of time and money developing their skills. They invest in their business to provide a reliable wedding photography service. And they do this because they are passionate about photography and your wedding.
They take great pride in their work. Most will go above and beyond to capture moments in the most artistic, creative and meaningful way.
Considering all this, can you really place a monetary value on your memories?
Most newcomers are equally passionate and skilled. But they may lack the necessary experience and knowledge to cope with the pressures of photographing a wedding. Will they know what to look out for? Are they able to anticipate when certain moments will happen? Can they communicate with guests of all different personalities? Do they know which piece of their equipment to use in different situations? But most importantly, will they know how to capture everything in the best way to reflect the mood of each given moment?
Next time you receive a quote and think it’s a bit high, take all the above into consideration, before making a decision.
Ask the photographer key questions and find out more about them and base your decision on that.
In the end, it is your wedding day, and you should go with what you feel is right for you.
Remember, hiring a photographer is not a purchase, it’s an investment. As with any kind of investment, you get what you pay for!
If you’re struggling with the budget, try cutting back on other parts of the wedding. Not the photography. When the honeymoon’s over, your photographs are all you’ll have left to remind you of your special day.
Not the food, not the flowers and not the music. Only the photos!
You need to ask yourself “How important are memories of your wedding to you and your family?”
I wrote this article in the hope that it will give you a better understanding of why wedding photographers charge what they do.
I hope it helps you make an informed decision about your choice of photographer.
