How much does a Wedding Photographer cost? (And why)
How much do you need to spend on your wedding photographer?
It’s a bit of a loaded question. There are a few factors that play into how much a wedding photographer charges and there are a few factors that should play into how much you should budget for your photographer. I am sure you came here for the raw numbers so I will give you that up front. I will get into the reasons why afterwards.
The average people spend on a photographer ranges between $2500 and $6000. Of course there is a ton of variance on either side of those numbers but MOST weddings will be covered by a photographer that is charging somewhere in that range.
Pros/Cons of hiring a less expensive photographer:
If you are looking to save money anywhere in your budget, it is famously advised that you do not do so with your photographer. Less expensive photographers can come with any myriad of problems.
Pros:
You may be helping someone launch their career
If photography is not a priority, it frees up your budget for something else
Cons:
The photos may fall short of your expectations
The timeline can go way off track
Inexperienced photographers often lack posing and communications skills and thats uncomfortable for everyone involved
I cannot stress enough that you should try and get the best photographer that your budget allows for. Hiring the right photographer can be the make or break in how successful your wedding day is. While your photographer is tasked with capturing your day, it is also their job to navigate your timeline and juggle the million different things that are going on around you. A good wedding photographer will help you stay on time, keep your mood up and your stress down, cover the whole day, and eventually will reliably hit their deadlines in getting the finished photos in your hands.
An important red flag to keep on the lookout for:
Styled shoots (Fake Wedding Photoshoots) are a big part of the wedding industry. It is how vendors explore and sell new ideas. At it’s core, it makes sense and I think that it can be a really positive tool to help the industry grow. Unfortunately it is often abused. I see so many wedding photographer portfolios made up entirely of styled shoot content. The issue with this is that: A. They haven’t actually shot any weddings. Or, B. They have shot weddings and they don’t have any good images from them. One way to sniff this out is to look for anything candid. Receptions are hard to fake so look for reception photos. Anyone can attend a styled shoot during perfect lighting and photograph professional models dressed in wedding attire while another professional photographer (often the one hosting it) is posing the couple for them. These photographers do exist throughout the whole spectrum of wedding photographers (Even the $10,000+ photographers)
What influences the prices set by photographers?
The basic economics: Every city is different and just as housing prices, vary, so does the economics of the wedding industry.
Seasonal volume: Not all wedding photographers are full time (their full/part time status really shouldn’t influence your decision. It is technically a seasonal job after all) Some photographers take on as many as 80+ weddings per year. That was me for a while as I was building my business. Nowadays I only take on about 30 weddings per year.
Are you booking THEM? or an Associate photographer?: It is not uncommon for some photographers to contract out weddings to other photographers to shoot on their behalf. This may or may not be a deal breaker for you. Photographers like myself, often sit on the higher end of the price point because we are not supplementing our income by contracting out to other photographers.
Equipment: Yes, I know that phones are getting “really good” but there is still a reason that my camera bag is filled with about $30,000 worth of gear when I go to a wedding. Wedding photography is really rough on equipment. I typically go through two camera bodies every two years. With each camera body costing $3,500, that is a $7,000 expense I can reliably expect. I break gear from time to time and I also need to have backups. Equipment cost is a big factor and I will also point out that, yes, having better equipment does improve the quality of the work.
Hourly rate: I personally do just full-day rates because I just prefer to cover the whole day anyways. The standard in this industry however, is that photographers charge by the hour. Different hourly rates are going to influence the cost.
Reputation/ Vendor network: If a photographer is friends with a bunch of “luxury” planners and other vendors, it is going to influence their own pricing.
Check out some of these other articles. I hope they help!
