Wedding Photographer Cost: The #1 Best Kept Secrets
Wedding Photographer Cost Explained
How much does a wedding photographer cost? That’s usually the first question that comes up when someone begins searching for their wedding photographer. But, in reality, it should be one of the later things considered. Still, we want you to be in the know so let’s dig in.
Your Wedding is one of the biggest celebrations of your life. And regardless of where you stand on things like floral arrangements or late-night reception snacks, you need the best photographer to capture your moments. After months of planning, your wedding day will fly by in an instant. So, that’s why your photographer is one of the most important wedding day vendors you can invest in. They capture every moment that makes up your wedding day so that twenty, thirty, or even fifty years down the road when you look at your wedding photos you won’t just see images, you’ll feel the sunshine, smell the food and get the jitters of excitement all over again.
The Budget Rule
Most couples follow the standard Wedding Budgeting Rules that say how much Wedding Photographer Cost will be. Traditionally, the budget says you should spend 10% of your overall wedding budget on Photography. Anywhere from 10-20% is average. But who follows the rules anymore? If Wedding Photography is high on the list you should be willing to pay more than just 10% of your budget. There are places in your budget to wiggle. For instance, maybe a large extravagant floral centerpiece isn’t an essential part of your wedding decor. You can lower the cost of your floral budget and put those extra funds to work for the Wedding Photographer of your dreams. Another sweet tip is to go with a Sweetheart Cake versus a traditional tiered Wedding Cake.
See more about how to break down your wedding budget here: How Much to Spend on Wedding Photography.
Average Wedding Photographer Cost
I know you want a quick answer to the question How Much Does a Wedding Photographer Cost?”, but the reality is there is no quick answer.
A Wedding Photographer can cost anywhere from $1500-$30,000 or more! That’s a really big gap and I’ll explain why. There are a ton of different factors that play into how much a wedding photographer charges. So, where you need to focus most is on the value of your investment to get what you really want. There is a rule with anything in life that I love. You can have it cheap, fast, and good. But not at the same time. You get 2 out of 3. If you want it cheap and fast it ain’t gonna be good. If you want it cheap and good it ain’t gonna be fast. And lastly, if you want it fast and good it ain’t gonna be cheap.
Here are some factors that can influence wedding photographer cost:
Lifestyle
There are many types of Wedding Photographers with the biggest distinction being between a full time professional and a part time hobby enthusiast. A pro invests more time and money into photography because it’s more than a passion, it’s a career. A hobbyist will charge less because they invest less into their craft.
Location
We have to be honest with ourselves here. A Wedding Photographer in NYC is going to cost far more than one in rural Kansas. The cost of living and doing business in your local area (or the area you’re getting married in) is going to greatly affect the wedding photographer cost.
Experience
It just makes sense that an experienced Wedding Photographer cost is going to be more than a beginner. An experienced photographer offers you the advantage of having been there, done that and seen it all. They can cope with the flow of your wedding day without missing a beat. In addition, they understand exactly how to relate to you and your wedding party to make everyone feel comfortable. Not to mention, they have had years to develop a ‘relationship’ with their equipment. They know it like the back of their hand. There’s no guessing which lens to use for the best shot or what angle they should shoot from in the lighting.
What They Offer
Every photographer is unique. I’ve read about highly experienced Wedding Photographer cost in large urban locations of $5,000 or more for Wedding Day coverage but don’t include any actual photo delivery. The newlyweds are responsible for paying for any prints, canvases, or wedding albums they want from their day. Some photographers offer full day coverage (12 hours) and others charge by the hour. If you want to know what they offer it’s best to ask and make sure this is the perfect photographer for you.
Curious about what we offer? Check it out: Silver & Sage Pricing
So, Why Does a Wedding Photographer Cost What They Do?
I know we haven’t quite answered the question “How much does a wedding photographer cost?”, but I promise we’re getting to it!
Your Wedding Day is a once in lifetime experience and if you’re like most brides you want to perfectly preserve those moments to relive later. So, it’s a good idea to understand what your investment is going towards. Every Wedding Photographer is different, but generally your Wedding Day breaks down into:
- 1-3 Hours of Initial Emailing, Phone Calls, and Consults
- 2-3 Hours of Engagement Session with travel and shoot time
- 1-5 Hours of Editing Engagement Photos
- 4-10 Hours of Timeline Prep, pre-wedding planning, site visits, and consults
- 10-20 Hours of Wedding Day work with equipment prep, packing, setup, shoot coverage, tear down, travel back and forth
- 10-25 Hours of Wedding Day Editing
- 1-4 Hours of after Wedding Day consulting and design work on any albums or other items purchased.
In addition to the 60+ hours of time spent on each Wedding is the investment into delicate and expensive cameras, lenses, lighting, and software for editing.
So, What Does a Wedding Photographer Cost?
Finally, we come to the answer to the question How Much Does a Wedding Photographer Cost? Because we’re destination style wedding photographers we’re going to give you the national average idea here…
Luxury Wedding Photographer Cost
A photographer in the luxury category usually provides a far more…well…luxurious experience with options like All Day Coverage or Multi-Day Coverage, all digital images, and usually a really nice Wedding Album afterwards. You can expect them to have the BEST gear, a Fantastic Team and deliver your images pretty quickly. Cost for Luxury Photography in 2024 starts at $10,000 and goes up from there. I’ve heard of photographers who charge close to $100,000. (Think photographer to the stars.)
Experienced Wedding Photographer Cost
The photographers in this category are full time people who really understand the investment you want in your photos and they’re willing to do it. It’s the level of hard work, dedication and honing their craft that get them to this level. We’re in this category. This level of photographer is definitely going the extra mile to ensure you feel 150% comfortable on your wedding day…and that you look fab in your photos. They’ll usually cover all day and give you all your images. (Yes, we do this.) Cost ranges from about $4,500-$15,000.
Average Wedding Photographer Cost
Not going to lie or sugar coat things here…95% of the wedding photographers you come across in your hunt are going to fall into this category. It’s..the average. You can expect people who may be full time, but have a spouse who’s supporting them the rest of the way or who don’t have the ability to devote full time. They’re still talented, but they aren’t quite all in yet. Most want to go all in and they’re working toward it and usually…if they’re in the higher price range of this category they’re probably pretty good at what they do. For many couples they don’t know there are any other options out there so they stick with the average, but I always ask people…it’s your wedding..is average okay with you? Your unique, your love story is special, and it deserves more than average. But for the sake of finishing this blog….the average price range for wedding photographer cost is $2500-$4,000. Note that most of these photographers will fall into the area of not delivering all images or forcing you to fit into 6-8 hour packages which leaves you stressing about what parts of your wedding day need covered.
Budget Wedding Photographer Cost
I cringe, quite literally, every time I see a Facebook post from a bride looking for an ‘affordable’ or ‘won’t break the bank’ photographer because I just know that in the comments I will see 80+ budget photographers desperate to book that wedding. Well, here’s the thing with budget photographers…they aren’t all in or they are really inexperienced. And maybe that’s okay with you. Maybe you’re just starting out too or maybe you don’t value those photos as much as other aspects of your wedding day so you’re willing to throw your wedding photographer cost to the wind. But I don’t think you’d have read this far in the blog if you were one of those people.
Budget photographers are most likely to bring a non-professional camera (the kind Uncle Bob has for taking pictures of cardinals in his back yard). They may shoot for a few hours, or they may be so eager for work they stay all day. But their cost alone tells you they don’t have what the photographers in categories above them have…experience. They aren’t going to direct you during the wedding day to keep you on time. They will not know how to guide you through amazing poses to get all the beautiful wall worthy images you crave. They don’t know their camera well enough to use it to create artistic images like the ones you drooled over on Pinterest. AND, they don’t know how and usually can’t afford the software to edit your images to make them look stunning. What’s the point of having a photographer at your wedding if you don’t want to gush over the photos later? But, if you made it this far and you’re curious…a budget photographer will be $2,500 or less.
If you made it this you are a rock star! Thanks so much for reading all the way through. If you have any more questions about wedding photographer cost or you want a quote from us, just reach out! We can’t wait to talk to you about your wedding day.
