The Cost of Wedding Photography // What Can You Afford?
Oh Hey There!
Don’t mind me, I’m about to just dive right in to something a lot of people don’t want to talk about … MONEY … ooooh, did that give you an icky feeling? I hope not, but if it did you are just like most people.
As an Oregon Wedding Photographer for the past 5 years, I have changed my pricing multiple times and while reading in a few photography groups or bridal Facebook groups lately, I felt compelled to try and educate on this topic.
First of all I want to say I applaud everyone out there planning a wedding … that shit is HARD and a lot of work! I am sure you don’t have much of a life right now … but it will be worth it!
I am hoping you have a budget to guide you in planning this thing the way you want and to keep everything reasonable for your current life season. You see, that’s just it … you are in a season of life right now and what you want to spend, can spend or wish you could spend are all different and it’s different for everyone out there AND THAT’S OK!!!! Don’t every think you can’t get great vendors regardless of if your budget is big or small. What matters most is educating yourself on the vendors you are hoping to hire and to make sure they will serve you and show up (not just physically) on your day ready to make your dreams come true without hassle.
You may have thought this blog post would say something like “you get what you pay for”, but no … that sounds a bit rude to me and I really truly believe you can get quality service & product regardless of your budget and I truly hope you get incredible images to remember your wedding day! For me personally, I love wedding days, the joy, the anxiety, the excitement, the chaos … all of it. I have always enjoyed people watching and meeting new people and striking up conversations … weddings are so great for this and hanging with my couples, calming them and making them feel like a million bucks …. PRICELESS!
Yes it is true for the most part you can expect better quality, better service, better experience the more you are willing and or able to invest in your photographer just like anything else on this planet. But you should still be able to find a rocking good photographer willing to work with your budget, just be realistic in what you are expecting for what you are willing/able to pay (ie. don’t ask for 2 photographers, 10 hours of wedding day coverage, an engagement session and rehearsal coverage for less than $1000 … I just died inside writing that but I literally pulled it out of a Facebook group post).
I am going to break down a few of MY numbers for you to help show a little from my end. My wedding day packages start at $2799 … that’s a lot of money right!?! I must be ROLLIN in vacations & designer stuff … not even close. I have been a full time photographer over 5 years and as my business grows, so do my expenses. When I calculate my prices I have a lot to consider to cover my business and it all gets calculated in to the package.
$2799 Wedding Package
25% taxes = $699!!!! boom, right out of the gate … byyeee
Equipment Fee = $200 (My equipment is top of the line and is replaced on average every 3 years. Approx. $15000 every 3 years divided by 25 weddings per year = 75 wedding which breaks down to $200 per wedding to get new equipment when needed)
Business Fee = $450 goes back in to my business account to pay for all programs, subscriptions (website, gallery host etc), hard rives, SD cards, business insurance etc. there are so many things it takes to run a legit business and make it feel pretty seamless)
Just these three items = $1450 bringing me to $1349 and I spend on average 27 hours per wedding between client communication, prepping questionnaires to get all the details, engagement session, wedding day, image download & backup, editing, formatting, uploading to online gallery etc. This all breaks down to around $50 per hour which is a pretty good wage but again, I am far from living on a yacht and rolling in cash money. I have 3 kids and I don’t even need to get in to how expensive those things are, lol.
Again, these are MY numbers and every business will do it differently. Some do photography as a side hustle (holla, that was me too for several years) and for others it’s their full time career. Some are just starting out and don’t have a lot of costs associated with their business while those who are more established have invested in education, business programs to operate, have accountants etc. No, we don’t want your arm, leg, 1st grandchild or any of that nonsense, but we do need to pay our bills and still profit … business.
But ok, ok … enough of the numbers. I want to talk about the quality of product and services and what you should keep your eye out for and what should raise red flags. Like I mentioned in the beginning, regardless of your budget you should be looking for trustworthy businesses and or individuals because at the end of the day, you are paying them and you need to know what you are paying for but also because there are no do-overs for your wedding and the last thing you need is to get stung by a poor business or individual.
Always, Always ALWAYS:
Review their work (and make sure they have examples of a similar style wedding/event) and make sure you are familiar with their style. This can be through FB,IG and or their website
Communicate clearly what you are looking for and what you expect. You may not know, and that is ok also but the photographer should be able to help guide you through this and give advice, examples and or recommendations. Here is a link to another blog about questions to ask a wedding photographer. Is there a plan if the photographer has an emergency? What if they have issues with their equipment? You’ll want to read those questions and consider what they could mean for your wedding.
Read REVIEWS and make sure they are CURRENT!
Make sure you have a GOOD FEELING about the photographer … if you are booking something last minute, you still need to take the time to make sure the photographer is a good personality fit for your day. If they are offering an insane discount to book services this could be a red flag. I am not saying anyone who gives a discount is sketchy but ask why they are giving such a large discount .. you don’t want someone who runs a poor business and is just desperate to book something (just feel it out a but instead of jumping right in). You don’t want to pay the discounted rate and then be treated like a “discounted client” or like you’re worth less than another client. Your wedding day should be important to your photographer, but a good discount can save you some serious $$$ and there are legit reasons for giving discounts.
Sign a CONTRACT and make sure you READ the contract and agree with it completely. If you don’t agree with something or have a question about it … ASK!
Need a wedding calculator? Check this one out from The Knot
Here in Oregon or the Pacific Northwest, the average wedding photographer is $2679 but of course depending on several factors, including where, when and how you tie the knot. A Saturday wedding in the middle of July in Portland, Oregon is going to cost you more than a Friday wedding in April in Independence, Oregon. FYI - you can usually get a slight discount for Friday/Sunday weddings, ask the photographers you are inquiring with if they offer any discounts!
Again, we’re not looking for your limbs or grandchildren. When shopping for a vendor, look for recommendations and be open and honest about what you are willing to pay. When searching in community groups, here are some do’s & dont’s
DON’T: “Looking for an affordable photographer”
DO: “Looking for a wedding photographer and willing to spend between $1000-$1500, please let me know what is included in pricing”
DON"‘T: “Searching for a cheap but really good photographer”
DO: “Searching for an experienced photographer with a budget of $500-$1000", how many hours can I expect for this budget?”
DON’T: “I need a wedding photographer willing to do all day coverage and provide a short video and album or $750”
DO: “Looking for wedding photography and short video and a photo album. Can I expect to get this for $750?”
Try to avoid using the word cheap or affordable because these are relative to anyone … but what is cheap to you may not be cheap to me and what is affordable to me may not being even in the ball park for you … If you want to avoid being completely overwhelmed, sit down and make a list of what you want and put them in order of importance so if you find someone you really love but potentially can’t afford, there may be things on your list you can live without in order to make it work.
For me, if I know someone absolutely LOVES my work and totally vibes with me, I am more than happy to do everything I can to try and make their budget work, but it might mean not getting the whole shebang … I have literally been hire for just formal portraits because the couple knew they wanted incredible portraits to display in their home but were willing to just use guest photos for the rest of the day.
In the end, I just want you to be careful in who you hire. It doesn’t take much for someone to be able to take online payments and have a camera on hand. This industry is filled with the good, the bad and some serious ugly and dishonesty and I just can’t even deal when I see heartbreaking posts like the following
