I'm an amateur at photographing weddings, and have established contact with a possible client who is interested in affordable, casual photography package for her wedding day. I have looked around at different rates and they are all very high, and I estimate that about $500 for the job (a full day of shooting, CD photo album, possible prints) would be competitive even with the cheapos out there. I've shot my sister's wedding, post-processed everything, and assembled a wedding album that the paster and his wife were both impressed by, so I have some experience with expectations, but I've never been out in the field. The woman is comfortable with that, but I still don't know what type of pricing I should bring to negotiation. Any ideas?

I know I'm gonna get burned for this somehow but I'm just seeking advice here. If you feel some intense need to hate me, go here and save me some time. Much appreciation for any input, either way.

3/1/2007 11:20:00 AM

Just look at other photographers in the area and price accordingly. What do you feel you are worth. $500 is NOT expensive... hell that's flipping cheap. I've heard of up to $5000 and though they are better it's not 5000 better to me. But I'm male lol.

Bring sample shots that you've made of people in terrains. Think about what a wedding couple would want to see so that you make them feel comfortable about your skill. $500 is very fair.

3/1/2007 11:23:13 AM

get those dollas

3/1/2007 11:26:01 AM

im paying $900 for 6 hours of photos, photo CD, and 200 4x6 prints.

thats hella cheap in the baltimore area.

3/1/2007 11:29:06 AM

I have a feeling I'm going to have to hire one of the 5,000 photographers to compensate for humandrive's gaunt cheeks.

3/1/2007 11:30:09 AM

you'll need to come up with two prices...full day before wedding, during wedding, post wedding, and reception (about 6 hours); and just wedding photos and reception (about 3 hours). you should also think about travelling fees.

3/1/2007 11:32:35 AM

a lot of photographers offer different packages based on time and the number of photographs.

....a good resource for checking out other photographers prices and packages in the area is theknot.com

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 11:39 AM. Reason : d]

3/1/2007 11:35:52 AM

^^Why would you want photos of the day before?? Or post wedding??

3/1/2007 11:56:58 AM

I recently hired a wedding photographer. The professionals generally start around $1500. $500 seems about right for an amateur.

3/1/2007 12:19:03 PM

^^i forgot a colon..."full day: before the wedding..."

and as for post wedding...um, everyone in the parties standing around for photos, they're pretty typical wedding photos

3/1/2007 12:47:51 PM

Quote :

"you'll need to come up with two prices...full day before wedding, during wedding, post wedding, and reception (about 6 hours); and just wedding photos and reception (about 3 hours). you should also think about travelling fees."

Would I visit the family on the day before the wedding and shoot the preparation for everything, or the rehearsal?

Most everything I shot before the wedding was right there on the wedding day:
I spent about ten hours shooting my sister's wedding, from the very few moments when they were cooking the feast and getting dressed (the first few moments she was in her wedding gown for the first time, for example), along with guests sitting around and talking, and some pastoral scenes around the ceremony (alter and isle, closeups of flower arrangements, rings by the candle holders, the pond and bon fire, etc). The only exception was a buck that jumped out right in front of me on a walk a few days later, which I photoshopped into the title page because she and her new hubby love deer so much.

I want to be fair in covering travelling/printing costs so I can figure that out on my own, I just don't know what kind of "salary" to give myself.

3/1/2007 1:09:45 PM

see my above post...i forgot a colon.
"before" the wedding meaning everyone getting dressed the day of...if they would want that journalistic approach to their pictures

3/1/2007 1:13:39 PM

Oh, I get it, journalistic being chronological documentation? That's how I did my sister's - started with the beginning and ended with the end. I was worried that photojournalist style would include some type of journal writing, which is also what I did for the album, talking about the ceremony, the guest list, the food, vows, songs played, etc.

Yeah, yeah, I'm a dumbass.

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 1:34 PM. Reason : .]

3/1/2007 1:30:17 PM

wow

3/1/2007 1:30:56 PM

you could do set packages, and then to a "per hour" type thing for people who want stuff the day before or if you have to go past a set time, if a reception runs late into the evening. most photographers have packages and then an "a la carte" menu where you can add on hours, albums, a bridal portrait session, etc. the idea of price per hour is especially helpful for the day before, if they want pics of the rehearsal, the dinner, any bridal pampering w/her bmaids, etc.

3/1/2007 2:47:56 PM

Jesus christ ... I'd pay $1500 easy for what you just talked about. Most people want an album to look back on... to remember every emotion starting from the night before, rehersal, the morning of, preperation, the actual wedding, all the way up until the couple leaves and maybe an hour after when people clean up and parents celebrate etc. The things that the wedding couple DIDNT get to see.

Those were some of the best pictures ever. Add in the journalistic discussion that you mentioned doing for your sister and that's a WOW package.

I think being an amateur you could offer all of that for $1000. That would include your costs (film, driving, etc) as well as your time. Lay it out in a day per day basis.

Pre-Wedding: includes rehersal, rehersal dinner
Wedding: includes from the morning of wedding, during ceremony, after ceremony pictures, wedding feast, bride and groom leaving, family, after bride and groom leave (up to 1 hour).

Then take that and discuss what they want. That package is easily worth $1000 to anyone.

Edit:
OH... don't forget to include wedding picture touchups etc. How much work POST-Wedding do you want to be doing. You could offer then a cheaper route to give them digital copies (you'll have to decrease the resolution of course). You could then figure out which ones they want to blow up to large sizes and work with them on that.

Most of the time, and in my experience helping people with weddings they have desires for photo's. Most photographers don't meet those desires and they are willing to pay to get them.

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 3:15 PM. Reason : !]

3/1/2007 3:12:34 PM

Quote :

"most photographers have packages and then an "a la carte" menu where you can add on hours, albums, a bridal portrait session, etc."

Yeah, I've been doing research pretty much ever since I started this thread and I think that's the best way to go. I'm going to try and write out a contract (it might seem unnecessary for my rate but some wedding photogs have made that a huge issue, no matter the rate), and before I do I'm going to consult with them to find out what they absolutely have to have, just to start with. As long as I cover their ground as top priority, I feel safe improvising for the rest of the session. I've never written a contract before, but this was helpful.

See, I can't charge $1500, or even $500 come to think of it, because the higher the price, the higher the risk of letting them down. If I charge $400 or $300, it's not like I'm asking them to let me get away with doing a poor job, but more a way to ensure a positive reaction to the end product when I overdeliver. I see this more as a way to get a good reference, even if I'm not making a lot of money.

I'm very familiar with how to catch the magic moments (I work with insects, remember, if anything is more difficult to shoot than an awkward bride, it's a hungry dragonfly), and with photoshopping as well (edited out cigarettes, zits, cold nipples, outlets visible behind the transparent veil in the dressing room, etc). When I did my research last time, I just studied wedding photography end-products for months and months, and interviewed women who had been married for over thirty years to get an idea of what they'd like to change about their wedding album. This time around, I'm trying to sort out a lot of the financial aspects. The picture I was most proud of, although it wasn't the most attractive, was just a quick head-shot of my sister seconds after the ceremony when she was flooded by relatives. I was able to capture that look of incredulity and ecstasy while everyone's heads were surrounding her in a human wreath. It's just a matter of keeping your radar up and running, along with the camera (and several backup battery packs, lol).

It's going to be out on the beach, so I foresee an overnight stay which will play into the costs. Ideally, I'll give myself $15/hr and tack on fees to whatever I have to pay myself. I am probably looking at getting a job after graduation to pay for a nicer camera - I'll definately want to save up for a DSLR before the wedding in October.

One thing I wasn't sure about was how to design a proof book so they can order which photos they want - I imagine I'd just have a number for each photo and match that up on my computer and backup CD. I would probably want to charge them for that as well, if there's going to be as many pics as with my sister (I did about 350 with her and ended up using a meager 98 in the photo album).

3/1/2007 3:55:17 PM

Two of my aunts did the photography for my older sisters wedding. You can see them here: http://www.bjbowen.net/gallerywedd_Speller.htm

We were astounded at the pictures they were able to take. Obviously we didn't order every single one for the album, but what was nice is that people can still go back and buy individual shots they may have liked. This is nice for grandparents and people like that who may not want every picture, but just a few.

3/1/2007 3:59:57 PM

So you would suggest just uploading the prints to a website for selection, and then running them off only once? That would definately save them some money.

Lol, I took one exactly like this only the brother-in-law was staring on in shock like he had no idea his bro could be so vulgar. It totally made the picture.

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 4:13 PM. Reason : .]

3/1/2007 4:02:17 PM

That's what my aunt did. That way, she didn't waste time printing things that weren't going to be chosen, and you can get a lot more purchases from other relatives as well. However, I would advise using some kind of formatting like she did as well, so that people don't just print them off on a photo printer, they have to go through you.

3/1/2007 4:05:37 PM

Could you PM me her contact information? I like her setup. Did she use a PayPal Merchant Account? They allow you to tack on their shopping cart system up on your website, it's very useful.

3/1/2007 4:08:40 PM

PM sent, let me know if you need anything else!

3/1/2007 4:17:20 PM

Did not really read through the whole thread except the first post, but my wife and I got married in Raleigh and when all was said and done, we spent about $3000-3500 for our photographer. This includes everything plus a really bad ass DVD.

If you can do a nice job for $500, then I wish we had hired you because the other places in Raleigh charge $texas.




[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 5:53 PM. Reason : sd]

3/1/2007 5:52:58 PM

What kind of camera/lenses/lighting equipment would you shoot this with?

3/1/2007 6:32:30 PM

Quote :

"I am probably looking at getting a job after graduation to pay for a nicer camera - I'll definately want to save up for a DSLR before the wedding in October."

3/1/2007 6:34:35 PM

this thread scares the bejesus out of me

3/1/2007 6:40:30 PM

i'm on the hunt for a wedding photographer, but it will probably be later this year or next spring. I'd love to see some of your work/ portfolio.

Let me know if you really get into it, i'd rather support a fellow grad than some random person.

3/1/2007 7:14:09 PM

Quote :

""I am probably looking at getting a job after graduation to pay for a nicer camera - I'll definately want to save up for a DSLR before the wedding in October.""

That doesn't answer my question. You can't do much with just a DSLR. You will probably need lenses (yes, plural) and lighting equipment (AT LEAST a flash or two and sync cords) to shoot a wedding, not just a camera body.

3/1/2007 8:11:23 PM

don't forget a good collection of memory cards, spare batteries for EVERYTHING, a BACKUP OF EVERY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT YOU PLAN ON BRINGING.

oh yeah, the eye for it also.

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 10:10 PM. Reason : ]

3/1/2007 10:10:32 PM

Thanks for answering my questions everybody, I've got enough to go on to start negotions.

3/1/2007 10:17:40 PM

Except the skill or equipment?

3/1/2007 11:44:17 PM

That's not nice.

3/2/2007 11:01:35 AM