What to charge for bwedding photography/b? - Successful Photographer b.../b
More and more often I am getting asked, “What should I charge for wedding photography”
The truth is I do not have a simple answer for this question as there are far to many variables to consider. Many non photographers see photography prices as being very expensive and the truth is that yes for a professional photography services especially for something like a wedding the cost is not cheap but there is a reason why. When paying for photography you are paying for more than just the time spent at the wedding or for the costs of the materials such as the album. Professional photography is an investment that will last a lifetime. So as professional photographer what should you consider when setting your packages and price list. Overheads \ Costs
Labour costs. With photography the work doesn’t end when the wedding does. After the 8 or 10 hours you have been working at the wedding, you will then have to spend many more hours working on the edits. It is not uncommon to work several full days if not a week on a single wedding. Many customers will not understand the hours a photographer has to put in and see you simply charging a large sum for a days work. If only this was the truth. The reality is that as a photographer you will put in more hours than you can imagine. Working out what you want to charge per hour simply will not work, as you will simply put in to many hours. Factor in at least a week’s work without any other earnings to get a ballpark figure based on labour.
Equipment . Your equipment is certainty not cheap right. And to top it all off as a professional you need to have the latest tech so new equipment may have to be updated every year if not more often. Then you can never forget backup equipment, which means everything, must come in twos. Then add in the price of a fast computer and editing software and your costs are already starting to shoot up. Looking at all the costs above it starts...