# Wedding Photography: What's a fair price to charge?



## zutera91 (Aug 13, 2010)

Hi all,

I'm not planning on offering any services for a while, as I'm very new to photography in general, but have had an interest since I was young. But I just wanted to ask the seasoned Vets out there what's a reasonable price range to charge for wedding photography services. Or if that's a bad question what should I be considering before offering a price.

Thanks for any insight!


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## Big Mike (Aug 13, 2010)

This is one of the most often asked questions on the topics of wedding photography....and the answer is....It Depends.  :er:

There are many, many factors that can play a part in determining your prices.  I'm sure that if you do some searching, you will be able to pull up plenty of good tips.
The quick & dirty answer way, is to check what other photographers in your area are charging, and put yourself in the same bracket.  

And probably the most important, but certainly not the easiest advice, is that you should avoid pricing yourself too low.  Just because you are inexperienced, does not mean that you have to charge a very low price.  But the hitch to that, is that you do need to be good enough and capable of shooting a 'once-in-a-life-time' event like a wedding.


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## Petraio Prime (Aug 13, 2010)

zutera91 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm not planning on offering any services for a while, as I'm very new to photography in general, but have had an interest since I was young. But I just wanted to ask the seasoned Vets out there what's a reasonable price range to charge for wedding photography services. Or if that's a bad question what should I be considering before offering a price.
> 
> Thanks for any insight!



If you're "very new to photography in general" why are you even considering this?


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## KmH (Aug 13, 2010)

Charge somewhere between $5 and $500,000.

Your profile doesn't show where on Planet Earth you are.

The Internet has been global for some time now and many of TPF's forum members are half the planet away from where ever you are.

Pricing varies geographically and successful businesses understand that their pricing is necessarily, a function of their costs: Steps To Determining Your Prices


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## Flash Harry (Aug 13, 2010)

"And probably the most important, but certainly not the easiest advice,  is that you should avoid pricing yourself too low.  Just because you are  inexperienced, does not mean that you have to charge a very low price.   But the hitch to that, is that you do need to be good enough and  capable of shooting a 'once-in-a-life-time' event like a wedding."

Add to that once you have taken their money YOU HAVE GOT TO PRODUCE THE GOODS. Its no good saying your inexperienced after making $hit of someones wedding photography, its not too long ago another poster wanted help as he'd offered a service which he could not complete, hard lines, he shouldn't have deceived those people and would get no help from me. There's a lot more work/time/expense/experience involved to being a good wedding photographer providing professional services than simply pressing the shutter button and handing over a CD of jpegs. H


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## Big Mike (Aug 13, 2010)

> If you're "very new to photography in general" why are you even considering this?





> Hi all,
> I'm not planning on offering any services for a while




Nothing wrong with planning ahead.


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## Petraio Prime (Aug 13, 2010)

Big Mike said:


> > If you're "very new to photography in general" why are you even considering this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



If I were hiring a wedding photographer, I would demand at least 15 years of experience....


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## zutera91 (Aug 14, 2010)

Petraio Prime said:


> Big Mike said:
> 
> 
> > > If you're "very new to photography in general" why are you even considering this?
> ...


 

^Wow, that's a loooong time. I hope it doesn't necessary take that long to produce good results!


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## squee (Aug 14, 2010)

If you are new to photography I would serious put the emphasis on "for awhile" at least when it comes to weddings.

I have over six years under my belt and I still don't feel ready for weddings. I planned out packages and offered the service but when a customer came and wanted me for one, I had to turn them away after really thinking about it. I couldn't live with myself knowing I fudged up someone's once-in-a-lifetime (theoretically) moment.

But if you MUST: scope out your area and see what your competitors are doing, decide how much your time is worth and remember to include the time to edit in it, and figure out how many customers you would need to pay yourself back for all of your photography expenses + have something after that.


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## JIP (Aug 14, 2010)

When you get a few seasons under your belt working for local photographers you should base your fees on what your employers charged.


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## DennyCrane (Aug 14, 2010)

That's pretty much it... work as a wedding photographer's assistant and you'll get invaluable experience, plus learn pricing, protocols, etc. The pay's usually low, but hey! You're being paid at least SOMETHING to learn and that's better than paying someone to teach you.


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## Irrok (Aug 14, 2010)

I suggest that you browse online. Look for other photographers that offer images and merchandise similar to what you can or will offer. *Make sure you are honest with yourself! *Then come in somewhere in the middle. Problem Solved!


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## Petraio Prime (Aug 16, 2010)

zutera91 said:


> Petraio Prime said:
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> 
> > Big Mike said:
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Not the point. It show a record of success and dedication to one's craft.


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## Petraio Prime (Aug 16, 2010)

erose86 said:


> Petraio Prime said:
> 
> 
> > zutera91 said:
> ...



It's a high-pressure situation that calls for a great deal of self-confidence, calmness, and experience. I would not start doing weddings until I had mastered other realms of photography first. If you screw up...they'll never let you live it down. You can practice at school friends,' cousins', or other relatives' weddings if they ask you and don't expect or demand perfection. I did a few of my cousins' weddings and it was not that hard. Then I started getting referrals from them and I stopped after two. Didn't want to do that.

But basically, you don't _start _with weddings unless you are that very rare individual. What would you like at your wedding? A rank beginner? I doubt it.


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## Mike_E (Aug 16, 2010)

erose86 said:


> Petraio Prime said:
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> > zutera91 said:
> ...




Don't worry, bachelors as cantankerous as he is aren't likely to be needing the services of a Wedding Tog.    :lmao::lmao::lmao:


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## bethany138 (Mar 30, 2011)

I created a site dedicated completely to setting your photography price list. After 6 years in business I still couldn't set prices that I was absolutely confident in. I found something that helped me and I created that site to share it with others. Hope it helps!

==> Click HERE to see exactly what helped me <==


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## Rebekah5280 (May 29, 2011)

When I got married, my mother in law had told my husband that she would pay for photography as a wedding present to us.  We were delighted, because we were young and had no money!  A few weeks before the wedding, mother-in-law flaked and left us without a photographer and no money to pay for one!

The wedding went on, and we counted on our family members to capture pictures for us.  

The result = ok pictures.  

There are a lot of people out there who have very little/no money to hire wedding photographers.  If you are wanting to get into weddings, perhaps advertise yourself in that way - that you are new/havn't done wedding photography before, but are willing to do it for a low cost to get the experience.  Perhaps even - only charge if the bride and groom are happy with the pictures.  Or charge per picture that the bride and groom pick out of all the pictures you took?  

IDK, but I agree, you gotta start somewhere.   

Good luck!


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## brookeborton (May 31, 2011)

Everyone is priced according to their own expenses and salary needs, if they're doing it right.  If you price yourself based on others' prices, you have no idea whether or not your own needs will be met.  Everyone has different overhead, different investments, different salary desires... it's best to tally up your total annual expenses (from equipment to magazine subscriptions to insurance to studio rent) plus personal salary requirement, then figure out the lowest price you can charge at the minimum amount of jobs you can do per year to meet that number.


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## jgracejohns (Nov 14, 2011)

a photo is a photo...it can be changed now, cavemen. Its called photoshop and picnik! i am a beginner but can turn an ok photo to look professional. For my wedding in June im having a friend take the pics and im editing them myself! thats the way to go especially when you're the picky type! and the photos arent just what makes a wedding memorable...the long everlasting marriage is what keeps that memory young, the photos are just sticky notes!


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## MTVision (Nov 14, 2011)

jgracejohns said:
			
		

> a photo is a photo...it can be changed now, cavemen. Its called photoshop and picnik! i am a beginner but can turn an ok photo to look professional. For my wedding in June im having a friend take the pics and im editing them myself! thats the way to go especially when you're the picky type! and the photos arent just what makes a wedding memorable...the long everlasting marriage is what keeps that memory young, the photos are just sticky notes!



Photoshop and picnik shouldn't even be in the same sentence. Hope your friend knows how to take photos because editing can't fix everything. And I don't know about being able to take an OK photo an making it look professional - especially as a beginner.


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## IndigoStarsNiagara (Nov 14, 2011)

I had a very nice couple let me do their wedding knowing I had never shot a wedding. I hadn't even second shot a wedding. Their faith in me made me feel confident and their pictures were amazing. They wrote a beautiful testimonial and I have never looked back.  
Research the photographers and pricing in your area and research the hell outta wedding photos and posing. That helped me out a lot with my first wedding.  I have gone from $50 an hour to $100 an hour. That's just general. I have it broken down differently than per hour but it's easier to write down that way. 
Good luck!!  It's a hard profession to break into but with dedication and talent, it can be done.


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## BlairWright (Nov 14, 2011)

ten foot pole --> this subject


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## MLeeK (Nov 14, 2011)

And why have we resurrected a thread that is a year old to add some incredibly ignorant statements to it? 
You run with that grace. We'll watch that train wreck.


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## thereyougo! (Nov 15, 2011)

jgracejohns said:


> a photo is a photo...it can be changed now, cavemen. Its called photoshop and picnik! i am a beginner but can turn an ok photo to look professional. For my wedding in June im having a friend take the pics and im editing them myself! thats the way to go especially when you're the picky type! and the photos arent just what makes a wedding memorable...the long everlasting marriage is what keeps that memory young, the photos are just sticky notes!


That is one of the biggest load of nonsense that I have read on here and that's saying something. Can photoshop or picnik create the atmosphere of a well captured well exposed shot? Not by itself. A photo isn't just a photo. It's capturing a moment in time and this is why it's even more crucial in wedding photography. Good luck with your wedding photos. I fear you'll need it!

To the OP, being a wedding photographer is about so much more than taking photos. You're an organiser, comedian, babysitter, motivator and photographer all rolled into one. It's not for the feint hearted. I wouldn't do it. I take photos at friends and relatives weddings but am not THE photographer. I of course make ones I like available to the couple and give them as a gift.


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## IndigoStarsNiagara (Nov 15, 2011)

That is one of the biggest load of nonsense that I have read on here and that's saying something. Can photoshop or picnik create the atmosphere of a well captured well exposed shot? Not by itself. A photo isn't just a photo. It's capturing a moment in time and this is why it's even more crucial in wedding photography. Good luck with your wedding photos. I fear you'll need it!



I totally agree with you on this, you are not just a photographer.  I am proud to say that I don't do much on Photoshop so when I take a picture to capture the moment, that's what I do. Sometimes I will have to tweak a level here and there and remove a zit, but that's it.  I learned on film, so getting it right on the first shot is what I strive for.  Good luck!


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## IndigoStarsNiagara (Nov 15, 2011)

Sorry Thereyougo!  I didn't make your part of the post in blue.


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## 12sndsgood (Nov 15, 2011)

jgracejohns said:


> a photo is a photo...it can be changed now, cavemen. Its called photoshop and picnik! i am a beginner but can turn an ok photo to look professional. For my wedding in June im having a friend take the pics and im editing them myself! thats the way to go especially when you're the picky type! and the photos arent just what makes a wedding memorable...the long everlasting marriage is what keeps that memory young, the photos are just sticky notes!



how do you fix blurry? how do you fix half a person out of the frame. if you start with crap your liable to end up with crap.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Nov 15, 2011)

If you have to ask what you should charge then perhaps employ the non-professional, non-experienced, non-licensed, non-insured fee.  

(free)


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## jake337 (Nov 15, 2011)

zutera91 said:


> Petraio Prime said:
> 
> 
> > Big Mike said:
> ...



Maybe not that long to produce good results.  

But to be able to produce continuously great results at any time, at any place, in every/any demanding situation that pushes the limits of your skills and knowledge of photography, art and business sense.


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## jake337 (Nov 15, 2011)

jgracejohns said:


> a photo is a photo...it can be changed now, cavemen. Its called photoshop and picnik! i am a beginner but can turn an ok photo to look professional. For my wedding in June im having a friend take the pics and im editing them myself! thats the way to go especially when you're the picky type! and the photos arent just what makes a wedding memorable...the long everlasting marriage is what keeps that memory young, the photos are just sticky notes!



I'm sure you can make crap, look like crap, with more crap smoothed over the top very well.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Nov 15, 2011)

jgracejohns said:


> a photo is a photo...it can be changed now, cavemen. Its called photoshop and picnik! i am a beginner but can turn an ok photo to look professional. For my wedding in June im having a friend take the pics and im editing them myself! thats the way to go especially when you're the picky type! and the photos arent just what makes a wedding memorable...the long everlasting marriage is what keeps that memory young, the photos are just sticky notes!



I trust your wifie-poo will look better than your chopped wedding pics.


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## c.cloudwalker (Nov 15, 2011)

$50. should do it.


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## bentcountershaft (Nov 15, 2011)

Took me a few moments to realize this was a zombie thread.  I thought Petraio Prime was back for a moment.


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## c.cloudwalker (Nov 15, 2011)

bentcountershaft said:


> Took me a few moments to realize this was a zombie thread.  I thought Petraio Prime was back for a moment.



I had the same heart-attack moment... :lmao:


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## cgipson1 (Dec 28, 2011)

jjty said:


> i think it really depends...  for new i think $500-$700 is ok.



Pesos, maybe!


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## Bitter Jeweler (Dec 28, 2011)

Gotta love spammers digging up old threads. 


:roll:


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## MLeeK (Dec 29, 2011)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> Gotta love spammers digging up old threads.
> 
> 
> :roll:



Ya know, I really hate when people are trying to get their SEO up and start slapping their website up all over the sites. This guy has been doing it here for two days now. You'd think they'd diversify or something???


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## Bitter Jeweler (Dec 29, 2011)

And he's gone! Thank you Easter Bunny! :thumbup:


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