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.
Insurance. You not only going to need all the gear insured you are also going to need public liability insurance to protect you should the worst happen.

Advertising. Especially when you first start out in business your going to need some serious advertising. This is going to include a website, posters, print adds and any other way you can think to get your name out there.

Materials. Many customers could not even imagine the price a modern photobook album can cost. It may seem like a good idea cutting costs here and going for a cheap album but in the long run your business will suffer. You also have to think about how much you spend on travel, food and phone calls for each wedding.
Looking at all the costs above it starts to seem impossible to make any real money from photography. Setting your price right for your target market can be a good point to start. Every single area is different and there are photographers out there that will charge a range of prices. Only you can decide what you want to charge. It is always worth considering who your main competition is and what they charge. Pick a group of 10 local photographers who have a similar style work to you work out an average from what they charge. This will give you a good starting point to work from. While undercutting everyone may make you look cheap and therefore lower standard offering better value for money may be a good way to stand out. Try giving more for the money while still keeping your profits enough to make a living.
For photographers starting out in their carrier it may be tempting top offer your services very cheap. While this my be a great way to get some business in the door it is setting your standards and may be very hard to break. It also has a damaging effect to the industry locally. To find your price factor in all the costs above, think about what you would then like to make as a profit (and be realistic) .The only true answer to the question of what you should charge is that you should charge what your target customers are willing to spend. Always offer great service, high quality and good value and you should not have to undervalue your own skills.

Sample price list.

This price list is just for reference of what A.S Photography charge for there wedding packages. This is not to say I am right as many photographers have a very different market and simple factors such as the area you live can have big affects on your price. At A.S Photography we class ourselves as great value photography, yes there are cheaper in the area and yes there are many much more expensive but we work with packages that offer the client a service they will remember and that is why we remain successful

Package 1 £700 – Includes a full days photography and a disk of all final images with a usage licence. No album is provided
Package 2 £800 – Photography for the ceremony only with a basic photobook album and disk of all final images with a usage licence.
Package 3 £1000 includes full days photography and a basic photobook album also disk of all final images with a usage licence.
Package 4 £1200 includes full days photography and a premium photobook album also disk of all final images with a usage licence.
Package 5 £1600 All the same as package 4 only with 2 extra parent albums

The packages we set are aimed to make our photography available to people in all price brackets. We do not believe in cheap photography as what we provide is high standard and quality but there is nor reason why anyone with a realistic budget should not be able to benefit from our service.
You may want to approach your business model different. Maybe you would like to shoot less weddings year but only shoot for those in the higher premium range. Or maybe you want to go the other way and shoot hundreds of low budget weddings a year, just remember if your going to have cheap prices you will have to have cheap products and often provide a cheap services.