Most of the time, as an inquiring customer, you’ve got to jump through a bunch of hoops and do tons of internet sleuthing to figure out the pricing of a wedding vendor. When it comes to wedding photography, the cost may vary, but there are some industry standards.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all type thing, since every company uses different techniques, workflows, resources, has varying staff sizes, etc.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t have an open, honest conversation about just what goes into the pricing. Plus, I want to help you figure out what to look for, especially if there are red flags. Let’s get started.

How much does wedding photography cost?

Who are you investing into?

Yes, investing is the right word. Your wedding photos are an important investment. It’s important to know exactly what kind of company you’re giving your hard-earned money to.

Is it a small studio with just a few photographers? Perhaps a bigger studio, maybe with 5-10 photographers? Or a large corporation that has photographers based in multiple locations?

All of those factors play into a company’s pricing. Smaller studios usually do everything themselves. From social media, marketing, booking clients, shooting the wedding day, editing the images, designing the albums, etc. Bigger studios usually outsource as many tasks as they can in order to dedicate time to other aspects of the business. Sometimes, that means outsourcing the actual photography portion in order to focus more time on marketing, etc.

Average Wedding Photography Cost

If you google “what is the average cost of a wedding photographer” or “wedding photography pricing,” chances are you’ll get an article from The Knot, WeddingWire, Brides, etc. I would steer clear of taking what they say as gospel, since it’s pretty hard to have a blanket answer to the question of wedding photography cost. What’s even worse is that sometimes most of these resources are just guestimating, often on the lower end, and then — surprise surprise — every vendor seems to have astronomical prices in comparison.

I’ll occasionally see on the aforementioned sites that the “average” price of a wedding photographer is around $2000-$4000, give or take. I can only speak for the New York City/tri-state area, but this price point could not be farther from the truth. In the NYC metro area, wedding photography costs typically begin at around $5000-$7000, ranging all the way up to $20,000 or more. Maybe wedding photography is $2000 in Dayton, Ohio, but we’re not in Dayton, Ohio. And that’s okay! But you shouldn’t be expecting to pay less than $5000 in the NYC area.

Small vs. Big Studios — Pros & Cons

This is totally a personal preference. In my years both observing the industry & being a part of it, I’ve noticed the following:

Small businesses: pros

• You know exactly who you’re working with
• You get to know your photographer more intimately and become more comfortable in front of their camera
• Since they only have so many employees/photographers, they can only take on so many weddings per year. This gives you, the client, ultimate priority.
• More direct access to your vendor – need help with your timeline? Have a technical question? You name it, you can get assistance with it.
  

Small businesses: cons

• This goes hand in hand with only taking on so many weddings per year: your date might not be available.
• Since the two or three people at the studio do everything themselves, prices may be higher in order to compensate for the sheer amount of time & effort spent on one wedding. The average amount of hours from booking to image delivery is about 40-50 hours.
• You don’t have the option to choose from one of many different photographers (for example, if you want a particular style, you’d have to go to a totally different vendor).

Big businesses: pros

• The bigger the studio, the more photographers they have, the better chances you have of your date being available.
• You have the option to choose from one of multiple photography styles for the same price (usually)
• Don’t wanna worry about having to bond or make small talk with your vendor? No problem – book and that’s pretty much it.
• Even though most tasks are outsourced, you may pay a cheaper price. Those that are being outsourced are probably getting around min. wage or a little higher).

Big businesses: cons

• There is less of a chance you will actually get to know who will be working with you on your wedding day.
• Since some things might be outsourced, it might take some extra communicating to get things just how you want them.
• Another thing with outsourcing (this is a huge red flag): hidden charges. I’ve heard of some companies charging pennies on the dollar to shoot your wedding day, then charging twice as much for you to even view your photos. No bueno.
• More weddings per year means you get less individual attention.

What goes into wedding photography cost?

Coming from someone who has been a photographer since high school, I continue to get questions on why people need to pay for photographers or other art-based careers. I used to get “compensated” with recommendations, gift cards, reviews, and overall just the bare minimum. It wasn’t very encouraging, but I pushed on.

Today, when someone questions photography pricing, I see it as the perfect opportunity to show what makes the service so valuable and necessary. Here are just a few things to consider when looking into wedding photography pricing:

• Location & travel
• Time of year
• Years of experience
• Physical studio location cost/rent
• Insurance
• Equipment maintenance
• Hours of coverage
• # of photographers
• Film (if included) purchase, development, & scanning
• Editing time

Smaller, boutique studios are usually more pricey because they only take on a few weddings a year, and they don’t outsource many business tasks. For example, a small studio takes care of everything from the inquiry response, helping with wedding planning, shooting, editing, advertising, etc.

Wedding photos are one of the only elements of your wedding day that will last beyond the day of the wedding; it’s so important that everyone is able to have a photographer present. Because of this, I’m always more than happy to work with different budgets and be as flexible as possible.

Love, Melissa’s Wedding Photography Cost

The average wedding is about 8 hours, which I have factored into my packages. From there, it is easy to customize and add items you want/take away things you don’t need.

My standard, cover-all-your-bases package starts at $6000. Included is:
8 hours of coverage
1 photographer
All images carefully selected and edited
A private online gallery
Access to prints & albums
Complimentary engagement shoot.

I have a la carte items, too, which I welcome as an addition to any package. You can add an additional photographer, rehearsal dinner coverage, a magazine or super fancy album, film, more hours of coverage, etc. The world is your oyster, babe.

IN CONCLUSION…

Know who you’re investing with; scour their about page, follow them on social media, ask questions, etc.

Make a list of pros/cons and look for red flags. Maybe schedule an appointment to go over pricing and ask all of your questions. (You can contact me to do so here)

Ask yourself: what makes their price tag so hefty? What makes their price tag so affordable? If your larger-than-life photographer isn’t going above and beyond, they are not worth it. If you’re flexible & affordable photographer isn’t proving their worth ten fold to make up for their low prices, your experience will be subpar and they are not worth it.

I hope this was helpful – I want to give clients the opportunity to go behind the curtain as much as possible in order to truly make the best decisions for their wedding day.

Something missing that you have questions about? Contact me. 🙂