WHY IS WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY SO EXPENSIVE?

LATELY I’VE BEEN GETTING A LOT OF COUPLES ASKING ME WHY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PRICES ARE SO EXPENSIVE.

WHILE IT MAY SEEM LIKE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS LIVE AN AMAZING LIFE BY CHARGING THROUGH THE ROOF FOR

A DAY OF WORK, IT’S HARDLY THE CASE.

IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT WEDDINGS ARE A COSTLY AFFAIR.

FROM THE VENUE TO THE CATERER TO THE WEDDING FAVORS, THE TAB JUST KEEPS GETTING HIGHER, AND IT OFTEN SEEMS THAT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE CHARGING A LARGE CHUNK OF THAT TAB. BUT HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT

WHY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PRICES ARE SO HIGH? IT’S BECAUSE OF THE ASSOCIATED COSTS OF BEING A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER.

YOUR ARE PAYING FOR THE EXPERIENCE AND SECURITY OF HAVING A PROFESSIONAL THERE TO FULLY DOCUMENT EVER EMOTION OF YOUR DAY.

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS HAVE MORE SKILLS THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE. THESE PEOPLE ARE EVENT, FASHION, PORTRAIT, HEADSHOT, BEHIND THE SCENES, FOOD, BOUDOIR, FAMILY AND PRODUCT JUST TO NAME A FEW OF THE SKILLS REQUIRED.

NOT TO MENTION GOOD PEOPLE HANDLING SKILLS

BEING A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER IS AN EXPENSIVE INVESTMENT. SURE, YOU CAN FIND CHEAP WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS OUT THERE, BUT THEY’RE CHEAP BECAUSE THEY’VE POSSIBLE CUT CORNERS ON EQUIPMENT, AND INSURANCE. OR THEY’RE JUST PLAIN STUPID OR RUDE (YOU HIRED CHEAP AND STUPID?) SO LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT GOES INTO A PHOTOGRAPHER’S OVERHEAD THAT ADDS UP TO THE FINAL COST OF YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER.

LABOUR COSTS. THIS ONE IS PRETTY STANDARD ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES. A PHOTOGRAPHER’S WORK DOESN’T END WHEN YOUR WEDDING DOES. AFTER THE 8-20 HOURS THEY’VE PUT IN WORKING (ON A SATURDAY OR SUNDAY, NO LESS) AT YOUR NUPTIALS, THE PHOTOGRAPHER SPENDS HOURS AND HOURS EDITING YOUR IMAGES SO YOU GET A WIDE ARRAY OF PERFECT PHOTOGRAPHS BY WHICH TO REMEMBER YOUR DAY.

ITS NOT UNCOMMON TO WORK A FULL 3-4 DAYS EDITING A WEDDING. THEIR TIME IS EVEN MORE VALUABLE WHEN YOU FACTOR IN THE LIMITED NUMBER OF WEEKENDS IN A YEAR THERE ARE FOR A PHOTOGRAPHER TO WORK.

STAFF SALARIES. IF YOU BOOK A PHOTOGRAPHER THAT COMES WITH ASSISTANTS OR SECOND PHOTOGRAPHERS, YOUR COST IS GOING TO BE HIGHER. IN RETURN FOR GETTING MORE IMAGES FROM VARIOUS PLACES ON YOUR DAY, YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER IS GOING TO HAVE TO PAY THOSE ASSISTANTS AND EDIT THE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS.

EQUIPMENT. THE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT A PHOTOGRAPHER CARRIES AROUND IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL POINT-AND-SHOOT.

HIGH-END LENSES AND BODIES AVERAGE AROUND $3000 – $9000EACH. PHOTOGRAPHERS ALSO CARRY BACK-UP EQUIPMENT IN CASE THEIR PRIMARY EQUIPMENT FAILS, WHICH ADDS TO THE COST OF THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PRICES.

IN CASE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER IS LIVING IN THE JURASSIC PERIOD AND HASN’T SWITCHED OVER TO DIGITAL (THERE ARE A FEW OUT THERE, SOMEWHERE), YOU ALSO HAVE TO FACTOR IN THE COST OF FILM.

GOOD WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS EASILY CAN BRING OVER $30,000 WORTH OF EQUIPMENT TO SHOOT YOUR WEDDING, WE DO! ADD IN THE PRICES OF COMPUTERS AND EDITING PROGRAMS LIKE PHOTOSHOP ( YOU DID BUY IT RIGHT?) AND COSTS BEGIN TO SKYROCKET.

INSURANCE. BECAUSE CAMERAS AND EQUIPMENT COST SO MUCH, PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE SMART TO INSURE THEM. JUST IN CASE YOUR DRUNK (WHO YOUR MOM INSISTED ON INVITING) COUSIN JIMMY DECIDES HE WANTS TO SPRAY CHAMPAGNE ALL OVER THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER’S EQUIPMENT FOR A JOKE.

ADVERTISING. IN THAT SAME VEIN, PHOTOGRAPHERS ALSO HAVE TO SPEND MONEY ON OTHER TYPES OF ADVERTISING SUCH AS ADS IN THE NEWSPAPER, BUSINESS CARDS, BROCHURES AND OF OF COURSE THERE IS MR GOOGLE. BASICALLY HOW YOU FOUND THEM.

PHOTO EXTRAS. IF YOU KNEW HOW MUCH ALBUMS COST YOU’D HAVE A HEART ATTACK. ALBUMS ARE EXTRAORDINARILY EXPENSIVE AND ARE OFTEN ADDED INTO THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PRICES. DON’T FORGET THE TIME IT TAKES TO DESIGN THEM AS WELL.

EDUCATION. THE MORE EDUCATED A PHOTOGRAPHER IS, THE BETTER TECHNIQUES AND SPECIALISATIONS WILL BE USED WHILE SHOOTING A WEDDING. AS EVERYTHING ELSE, THAT EDUCATION COMES AT A COST THROUGH INSTRUCTORS, COLLEGE DEGREES, EXTRA CLASSES AND SEMINARS, ETC. INTANGIBLES SUCH AS EXPERTISE AREN’T EASY TO MEASURE MONETARILY, ALTHOUGH WE TRY!

TRAVEL. THIS ONE CAN EASILY BE A DECIDING FACTOR IF THE PHOTOGRAPHER ONLY BREAKS EVEN ON A WEDDING. SOME LOCATIONS HAVE VERY EXPENSIVE ACCOMMODATION AND FLIGHTS. NOT THAT WE MIND TRAVELING TO AN ISLAND LOCATION TO SHOOT YOUR DAY. PERSONALLY I RARELY ADD ADDITIONAL TRAVEL COSTS TO MY QUOTES UNLESS ITS GOING TO COST ME MORE TO GET THERE.

SO WHILE YOU MAY BE ASKING, “WHY DOES PHOTOGRAPHER X COST SO MUCH MORE THAN PHOTOGRAPHER Y?” THE ANSWER MIGHT BE: PHOTOGRAPHER X HAS SPENT MORE MONEY DEVELOPING HIS OR HER BUSINESS INTO A FULL-FLEDGED PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICE, WHICH ENDS UP COSTING MORE MONEY THAN AN INEXPERIENCED PHOTOGRAPHER WHO MOONLIGHTS PART TIME ON THE WEEKEND. THEN AGAIN THERE ARE THOSE OF US WHO TRY HARD TO BALANCE THE COST TO YOU WITH THE VOLUME OF WEDDINGS WE BOOK. A $9000 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER MAY ONLY BOOK TWO WEDDINGS A MONTH, WHEREAS A SIMILAR PACKAGE WITH ME COSTS $1599 AND I BOOK 6 A MONTH.

….AND THOSE AUDI’S WE DRIVE UP TO YOUR WEDDING IN JUST DON’T PAY FOR THEMSELVES NOW DO THEY? 🙂

IMAGE SOURCE – ISTOCK