Everyone knows the "big ticket" items of wedding planning tend to be the venue, the photographer, and the catering. But what's with the elevated price tag anyway?
So you booked your wedding photographer for ten hours of wedding day coverage, with a complimentary engagement session! How exciting!!! The package price is $4,500, which for some people can be hard to swallow. You might be thinking, why are photographers earning $450/hour?
Continue reading to learn why its not really $450/hour.
Photography package prices aren't plucked out of thin air, they are determined with regards to the actual hours spent "doing the photography" and the cost of doing business. "Doing the photography" includes the wedding day photography coverage, the engagement photo session, driving to and from both of those, culling and editing the photos, client communication and meetings.
Cost of doing business is a key part of deciding how to price photography packages that most people don't think about.
Large investments photographers need to make include:
Camera bodies
Camera lenses
Desktop computer and/or laptop
Educational workshops
Some recurring costs that most photographers have are:
Editing software
Client communication software
Invoice software
Online document signing software
Cloud storage
Website hosting
Gallery delivery services
Other important costs photographers have include:
Memory cards
External hard drives
Camera straps
Equipment storage/backpacks
Lightroom presets
Flash equipment
Fire proof safe
Lens cleaning and calibrating
Client gifts
Costs of living are a whole 'nother thing:
Rent
Groceries
Gas/car
Bills
After all of these costs are taken care a photographer will decide how much they still want to reinvest in growing the business and serving their clients. Only after all of that can a photographer "take home" an income.
I can attest for ourselves and for many photographers we are friends with, that most of us are not in the business for the money. We are photographers for the art we create and the relationships we build! That being said, it is our career choice and how we are choosing to make a living! So before gasping at a photographer's pacakge price, remember what goes into it.
