I hate talking about money. Hate hate hate it. But unfortunately it has to be done if I want to one day become a full time, self employed professional photographer.
Pricing is really hard to figure out, I think. Maybe it’s because I’m a photographer myself, but I would expect to pay between £1,000-£2,000 for a wedding photographer (one of my favourite photographers charges £2,500). Their prices reflect their work, experience and testimonies.
I know I’m nowhere near their level of talent and wouldn’t ever dream of being able to charge that much for my work. However, when I first started I set my prices as low as I could possibly go, as well as putting an offer on, to help me gain clients and build up my portfolio. I’ve been lucky enough to do three weddings, countless family shoots & a couple of pre wedding shoots already. Having only been doing this properly for four months, I’m pretty impressed with the work load I’ve been able to drum up. But now I've gained some more experience, I think I'm ready to start charging how much I think is reasonable for my work.
With photography, I think some people don't realise just how many hours go into a shoot. For a wedding, for example, I'm there shooting for about 10 hours. On top of this, I spend many hours editing the photos. There's also have insurance, equipment and travel to take into consideration. So it isn't just the one day you're paying your photographer for, it's a lot more.
In 2018, my prices will be going up slightly and I plan on doing just the one package, instead of the three I offer now. It will make explaining pricing a lot easier!
For £495, any clients will get:
fully insured & experienced photographer
pre wedding shoot
a full day of wedding photography, from the bride getting ready up until the first dance (approx. 10 hours)
all high res images fully edited
a password protected online gallery for you to download, print & share images as you wish
all edited images put onto a USB stick
(I’ve tried to be as reasonable as I can with pricing and will still occasionally putting on offers & discounts. 25% deposit will still be requested at the time of booking to secure your date & payment plans will also still be available.)