Wedding Pricing Query?

[Dylan & Marianne]

My wife and I often wonder if what we are charging is appropriate for what we provide to a bride and groom on the day.
Our 'package' includes
- 2 photographers for the day : one to shoot the bride preparation, another for the groom
- Photographs of the ceremony, locations, and reception.
- If they provide us dinner we take $100 off the cost.
- We will stay at the reception usually until the bridal waltz.
- There is no other supporting staff, just the 2 of us and occasional interested friends who want to shoot as an additional unofficial tog.

- Afterward, we give them all reasobable photos/proofs on a CD that are 1100 long edge and 100 dpi (ends up being 600-800)
- They choose to 150 which we give them at 300dpi, original size, for large printing and try to accomodate any PP requests (eg. fix my hair in this shot, remove that car there etc).
- We only provide prints at request as an additional cost. We dont offer an album.

I've posted some of the examples of weddings we've shot (admittedly still a skill in evolution) for the quality (we give a link to examples of our previous work in galleries on our website). I don't rate ourselves as being glamour photographers -and that is what we tell our clients.

We both have day jobs that support photography as a hobby and most of our work has been through word of mouth spreading from friends / friends of friends etc. In other words, what we actually get paid does not impact on our viability to do the weddings - we're only limited by how often we can actually shoot one due to work constraints.

As a ballpark figure, what would you be expecting to pay for that kind of 'service'

[kiwi]

$1500 from what I see "around" would be fair

I would expect dinner, I wouldnt discount also.

Im not really a wedding photographer, but, I have been doing quite a bit of research of late

[JM Tran]

Dont know why you would take $100 off if being fed

the client has a duty of care towards you, either by common sense or specified in your wedding contract - you cannot expect to work a 12 or 10 or 8 hr shift and not get fed.

granted, you can go buy your own food or BYO, but where would you eat it, sit in the car during the reception? or drive off somewhere to get food and definitely will miss out on some crucial moments? It looks unprofessional for you to eat alone, and the client should be aware of that too.

I always expect to be fed, and I make sure they know it. Just like my commercial shoot in Melbourne next weekend - airfares paid for, hotel room paid for, transfer to and from airport organized etc. If someone wants your service they should be prepared to have a certain sense of duty of care

I would charge around $2000, as you are providing 2 photographers and not just 1.

[Dylan & Marianne]

=0 thanks for that info about the dinner - we are clearly newbies in the field :P

[Wayne]

I'd have to think Jackie is closer to the mark with pricing. I have not heard of anyone providing 2 photographers for $1500 with or without the supply of prints.

Out here, they won't even talk to you for less than $3000 and that is for 1 photographer, a few prints and they will minimise their time spent doing the gig by getting you to do a mock first dance and cake cutting so they can get the pics and leave. The 2 who are doing weddings here have such a captive market, and they price so that if you think of flying someone in from Bris/Syd etc, it is no cheaper once you pay the airfares, accommodation etc.

[kiwi]

I agree in that in the bigger cities there is a lot more of the $500 burners in the market




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jeffde]

$2000 to $2500 at least but you have to find where you fit in your local market...

[James T]

You price what people are willing to pay for your service.

With two photographers, but no album, etc. and limited processing by the sounds of it.. I'm with Jackie, start around 2K. Anything less split between two of you can't be leaving you much room for profits.

[Dylan & Marianne]

thanks for the input all - we're lucky in that we're not really in it for the profit as such - but by the same token we don't really want to be seen as cheapskates lol

[danny]

in 2006 our wedding photographer cost us around $2K. Only one photographer but there was some creative PP used and we got a book but that was at a discount because she was only just starting to offer the wedding book as an option. We chose her because she offered the best value for money. Some places were at least $3K. This was in Newcastle. Not that I would call myself a photographer (just a mug with a camera) but if I was developing pricing I would check everyone else in your area and compare what you are offering and at what cost and I would potentially charge a little less then the "competition" in order to keep your "not in it for profit" ideals.

Please feel free to ignore as this is only my humble opinion.

Cheers
Danny

[Dylan & Marianne]

danny, I think you hit it on the head - that's kind of our approach really

[Philr]

What would you charge to shoot my wedding next year here in Bris? We will give you both a feed at the reception

[Dylan & Marianne]

What would you charge to shoot my wedding next year here in Bris? We will give you both a feed at the reception

er, no idea phil ! we've never been flown anywhere for a wedding! willing to try new experiences though hehe

[Philr]

er, no idea phil ! we've never been flown anywhere for a wedding! willing to try new experiences though hehe

Im sure you will in the future as you both certainly have a gift. Thought I would throw it in there to give you something to think about.

[ScottM]

I'm not experienced in the area. But...

I think $2k5 - $3k is a starting point and reasonable for the service.

It's the 'employer' that's responsible for providing adequate working conditions, not the client. Therefore, if you and your wife have set up a company or proprietorship, it's that organisation that's responsible for charging airfares, meals etc. If you're individually contracting for the wedding, it's most likely the couples'.

Base your costs on a minimum $70 per hour say, work out the hours you're working on the job, plus expenses, post-wedding cost etc to get a reasonable price. My very guestimated costs would see a minimum of $3k. This would be based on: airfares (say 700 for you both), wedding and reception time (1000), meals (say $200), post-processing and general image transfers etc ($500), planning and organising ($500), equipment costs ($500).

Make sure you cover those operating costs, capital costs, your own time, and some profit.

[kiwi]

Local pro

http://www.sheilasissonsphotography....es-pg1064.html

[Dylan & Marianne]

nice link darren - interesting 1500 for 3 locations, 5 hours - and 150 photos - I wonder what kind of album it is to charge only a few hundred dollars more.

[kiwi]

If you research your locals most of the lower end ones ( no offence to you meant) are very public about their pricing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JM Tran]

If you research your locals most of the lower end ones ( no offence to you meant) are very public about their pricing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hahahaha I have to agree with that Darren

I just finished a wedding client meeting, signed and done and richer tonight. I didnt even reveal my pricing until near the conclusion of the meeting after 1.5 hours. If a client wants your service, they dont even need to ask how much first before we commence a meeting and making small talk and jokes.

[kiwi]

Ahh, if they have to ask me about my price, they obviously can't afford me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk