Pricing Question.

TRWhite

Just have a question.
First let me say that I am not a professional.

I was just finished shooting a wedding for a family member.
Which consisted of:
Rehersial, Pre Wedding, Wedding, and Reception. Complete with a wedding dvd with scanned pictures of both the bride and groom growing up, their time together and the wedding, plus a CD of all the pictures from the wedding shoot. The wedding shoot was a little over 4 hours not including the rehersal.

I was just wondering what is the average price of a wedding package?

Scott_Quier

TRWhite wrote:

Just have a question.
First let me say that I am not a professional.

I was just finished shooting a wedding for a family member.
Which consisted of:
Rehersial, Pre Wedding, Wedding, and Reception. Complete with a wedding dvd with scanned pictures of both the bride and groom growing up, their time together and the wedding, plus a CD of all the pictures from the wedding shoot. The wedding shoot was a little over 4 hours not including the rehersal.

I was just wondering what is the average price of a wedding package?

This is going to vary from one market to the next. May I respectfully suggest you research the photographers in your area as it is really the only way to get a decent answer to your qeustion. Google works wonders at this

sweet caroline

I live in Austin, Texas. Try $1200 for your package. You can always decide to give someone a discount, or raise your prices as you gain experience.

I agree that researching your market is the best way to set your prices. Find out how much people in your area are spending on weddings, and look at other photographers' websites to get an idea of their pricing and level of talent.

Caroline

chrisjlee

sweet caroline wrote:

I live in Austin, Texas. Try $1200 for your package. You can always decide to give someone a discount, or raise your prices as you gain experience.

I agree that researching your market is the best way to set your prices. Find out how much people in your area are spending on weddings, and look at other photographers' websites to get an idea of their pricing and level of talent.

Caroline

Check wpja website for cost table of some area photographers: http://www.wpja.com/wedding-photographers/texas-austin-photojournalist.htm

Pricing your own photography:
I would look at your own costs involved for this wedding. What you need to get the job done right: gas, an assistant/second shooter, equipment/depreciation costs (if you plan on doing this more than once), software costs, estimated post production time ( you have to pay yourself for the time you edit the photos. I didn't consider this when i started).

I write for a wedding photography blog check it out for more articles on wedding photography: http://weddingphotographyblog.org

david_h

chrisjlee wrote:

Check wpja website for cost table of some area photographers: http://www.wpja.com/wedding-photographers/texas-austin-photojournalist.htm

Pricing your own photography:
I would look at your own costs involved for this wedding. What you need to get the job done right: gas, an assistant/second shooter, equipment/depreciation costs (if you plan on doing this more than once), software costs, estimated post production time ( you have to pay yourself for the time you edit the photos. I didn't consider this when i started).

I write for a wedding photography blog check it out for more articles on wedding photography: http://weddingphotographyblog.org

Yes, I know people that charge less than $500 for a day of coverage and others that won't show up for less than $10,000.

What you can charge depends so much on your market, how good you are and the experience you offer.

Chris, I really like you wedding blog - I'll add to my reading list. You have some really good articles there.

WingsOfLovePhoto

I think alot depends on your confidence level. As a good amateur I did a friends daughters wedding for 750.00 this is in NY (not the city) It was an outdoor photojournalistic type of wedding. After paying my assistant and all the time I spend on post processing I made peanuts. I gave them a DVD and a copy of all the pictures and made no extra. Having learned from that and turning pro I did my next wedding for $1500.00 which only included my time and 1(20 photos) album. They have to order additional pictures at my regular prices. This mostly stemmed from my confidence level and added experience over the year. This wedding was also more informal. I think there would be more profit in a formal wedding. What do you feel you are worth??

zoomer

Start out cheap and increase as you build your experience and skill level.
I started out in January of last year doing weddings for $250. as I got better and my confidence grew I gradually raised my prices, by the end of the year I was getting $800.
Now I average about $2000. per wedding with a max of $2500. I am priced firmly in the middle for our market.

So in answer to your question, charge what you think you are worth...then if you can get somebody to pay that much...you are in business.

Good luck!