Ok guys, hear me out. How many times have you been browsing a Facebook group and saw a comment that went something like this:
“I am searching for a wedding photographer who doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.”
Sounds familiar right? Because I know I have seen plenty of these comments. Maybe you’ve even written that comment yourself! If you have, I’m not here to shame you. I’m here to give you guys some insight on why wedding photography costs what it does and how it’s actually nowhere close to costing an arm and a leg!
In the photography world we see comments about not wanting to pay “an arm and a leg” over and over again. Truthfully, it can get a bit frustrating seeing these comments because each photographer has a different price point for a different reason and we set our prices for real reasons, not “just because”. But just for a moment, let’s humor the cost of an arm and a leg. If you google the cost of an arm and a leg in the United States, the average going rate is actually around $500,000. Crazy right!?
So wedding photography is actually super affordable compared to an arm and a leg!
In all seriousness, I know that wedding photography packages can seem expensive at first. Especially when you may think that photographers make thousands of dollars for showing up and shooting a wedding for 8 hours. However, that truly is not the case. I know for myself and most photographers out there, our wedding photography prices are based off of our business costs, overhead expenses, growth projection, and cost of living. It’s also based on the amount of time that goes into photographing a wedding, which is much more than 6-8 hours.
To start with our time, we need to charge a wage for the amount of hours we are working. While we do have the time spent at the wedding, that’s actually a small slice of the pie! We have to account for the time spent responding to inquiries and emails. Taking phone calls or in person meetings. Creating timelines or questionnaires for our couples. Prepping our gear for your wedding, and then the wedding itself. After the wedding is where the heavy lifting really comes in! That’s when we are spending hours backing up your photos, editing them, exporting them to our hard drives, and importing them to your gallery.
When you add all of that time up, it accounts for MUCH more than an 8 hour wedding day.
On top of our own time, wedding photographers are also businesses just like any other! We have expenses and some even have employees. For example, I have to pay monthly for my website hosting platform, editing software, client management system, etc. I also have people behind the scenes that I pay to help keep my business running smoothly! Of course any business also has to pay taxes and any business owner has bills to pay and must make a liveable wage. Wedding photography is no exception. We are also paying for other things you may not think of, such as education to help make ourselves the best photographers we can be and having our camera bodies and lenses professionally cleaned. All of these things I have mentioned, and more, are taken into account when we price ourselves as wedding photographers.
I don’t say all of this to make anyone feel bad, but instead to help educate what really goes into a wedding photography business and why it doesn’t make sense to ask for a photographer who doesn’t cost “an arm and a leg”. With all of this being said, I completely understand that most every bride and groom has a budget and needs to find someone who fits that budget. So I have a few tips to help you find a photographer who is right for you and in your budget!
First, if you do head to Facebook in search of a photographer, here is a post I would recommend typing up:
“Hello, my fiance and I are getting married at (venue location) on (wedding date). We are looking for a wedding photographer and our budget is up to (list your budget here). Please leave us recommendations or websites of your favorite photographer!”
The post above is helpful for a number of reasons! First and foremost, you’ve listed your budget and now can get recommendations for a photographer who fits in your budget. Photographers themselves will probably comment on that post with their website and packages so you can check them out!
Which leads me to my second tip. Thoroughly check out wedding photographers websites! Most photographers will have their packages listed clearly on one of their website pages, including myself. They will often lay out what you need to know. Like how many hours and photos are included, if an engagement session is included, and how much it is! This is a great way for you to know ahead of time what you may be looking at with the package you pick. If the photographer doesn’t have their packages listed, just contact them and ask them to send you them!
These simple tips will help you feel less frustrated about finding a photographer that fits within your budget and will help you know what to expect from your photographer! I have my packages listed on my website and am happy to chat about which one may fit best for you. Contact me today and we can discuss your own wedding day!
-Liz
