What to charge to shoot a wedding & reception?
May 30, 2014 08:52:17 #
DJ Craig
Loc: Payson, AZ (North-Central)
I would tell this lady, "I've done some thinking about this and to be fair - my hourly price will be the as a plumber, electrician or a good divorce lawyer charges. To come out to your house for service. On a Saturday." (In our small, rural town, we have about three "professional" photographers. The lowest starting rate is $1,750. Starting rate!)
May 30, 2014 09:13:38 #
DanH wrote:
A parent of a child that plays on my sons baseball team saw my work and asked if I would shoot her daughters wedding for her. I agreed and told her $25/hour plus the price of prints. While speaking to her now, she doesn't want to pay per print because that could turn out being more than she wants to pay. She wants a flat rate and I have no clue what to charge. Any help?
My event rate is $150/hr which includes a CD of images printable up to 4x6's. Larger prints (and prints for guests) can be ordered from a gallery on my website. Packages which include a canvas, prints and a small album start at $1995. Sorry but $25/hr is laughable and you are setting yourself up for a mess of trouble.
May 30, 2014 09:30:24 #
CaptainC wrote:
Rule #1 for professional work: Cheap clients are a pain in the a$$. They are never satisfied and will always want more for NO MORE MONEY.
You should drop this immediately.
If you insist ongoing this, you need to set a fixed up-front price with defined deliverables. Of course she will continue to want more without paying more, so you have to stand firm.
When this is over, you two will not be on speaking terms.
You should drop this immediately.
If you insist ongoing this, you need to set a fixed up-front price with defined deliverables. Of course she will continue to want more without paying more, so you have to stand firm.
When this is over, you two will not be on speaking terms.
:thumbup: Follow Cliff's advice!
May 30, 2014 09:40:51 #
CaptainC wrote:
Rule #1 for professional work: Cheap clients are a pain in the a$$. They are never satisfied and will always want more for NO MORE MONEY.
You should drop this immediately.
If you insist ongoing this, you need to set a fixed up-front price with defined deliverables. Of course she will continue to want more without paying more, so you have to stand firm.
When this is over, you two will not be on speaking terms.
You should drop this immediately.
If you insist ongoing this, you need to set a fixed up-front price with defined deliverables. Of course she will continue to want more without paying more, so you have to stand firm.
When this is over, you two will not be on speaking terms.
As stated in the above quote:
Because you asked the question I can only assume you are NOT a pro. I would tell her to hire a profession wedding photog so the event can be memorialized to her liking. Good luck. I'm sure you must have been flattered. I know I would. But sometimes you have to know when to fold em.
May 30, 2014 09:47:52 #
JimmydaCreek
Loc: Montgomery, AL
I think if you have to ask how much to charge, you haven't the experience to do this well. A wedding is a (hopefully) once in a lifetime experience and there is more to recording someone's wedding than correct exposure and sharp focus. Posing, capturing expressions. I spent years and countless hours in seminars to learn portraiture and wedding photography. If you screw this up, your name will be mud at the ball park.
I have to agree with the others who have said this is a fast track to long term grief for you. I suggest you tell her that you don't yet feel comfortable with such a huge responsibility and refer her to the Professional Photographers of America website where she can find lists of photogs in your area who can handle the job.
Very unlikely to find a $250.00 one, though.
I have to agree with the others who have said this is a fast track to long term grief for you. I suggest you tell her that you don't yet feel comfortable with such a huge responsibility and refer her to the Professional Photographers of America website where she can find lists of photogs in your area who can handle the job.
Very unlikely to find a $250.00 one, though.
May 30, 2014 09:53:52 #
CaptainC wrote:
Rule #1 for professional work: Cheap clients are a pain in the a$$. They are never satisfied and will always want more for NO MORE MONEY.
You should drop this immediately.
If you insist ongoing this, you need to set a fixed up-front price with defined deliverables. Of course she will continue to want more without paying more, so you have to stand firm.
When this is over, you two will not be on speaking terms.
You should drop this immediately.
If you insist ongoing this, you need to set a fixed up-front price with defined deliverables. Of course she will continue to want more without paying more, so you have to stand firm.
When this is over, you two will not be on speaking terms.
I agree with the Cap, I dont know of any Wedding Photographers, including myself that dont charge less than $300 an hour, make sure you have a signed contract and stick to it if you decide to do it. My suggestion Run Forrest, Run
May 30, 2014 10:04:10 #
DanH wrote:
A parent of a child that plays on my sons baseball team saw my work and asked if I would shoot her daughters wedding for her. I agreed and told her $25/hour plus the price of prints. While speaking to her now, she doesn't want to pay per print because that could turn out being more than she wants to pay. She wants a flat rate and I have no clue what to charge. Any help?
As an aspiring photographer myself, I went to sites of photographers and checked out their packages. Then I did a mock wedding by gathering a slew of unedited random photos from my personal files and treated them I would if they were from a customer event to get an idea of the time I spent editing. The editing time is crucial, the time on your feet is crucial... there is nothing you can leave out of that formula. So, if you want to just be doing a favor, then ask yourself 2 things: how good of a friend is she? how badly do you want a photo biz? Then ask her two things: Can she take the photos? What is she looking for in the photos? I think she will get her own answer, but at least you will remember YOU are the photographer and YOU are providing the lasting memories. If she can't pay you, she will pay someone else. Flat rate her 3 pkgs you decide on yourself. If she still doesn't want to pay the price, buh bye then! All of the suggestions given here are great... walk if not run. good luck!
May 30, 2014 10:14:09 #
DanH wrote:
A parent of a child that plays on my sons baseball team saw my work and asked if I would shoot her daughters wedding for her. I agreed and told her $25/hour plus the price of prints. While speaking to her now, she doesn't want to pay per print because that could turn out being more than she wants to pay. She wants a flat rate and I have no clue what to charge. Any help?
I think I would ask her to get a couple of quotes from "Professional Wedding Photographers" and then charge her the average cost of those. I would also ask for at least 50% in advance. Or as others have recommended, Run.
May 30, 2014 10:22:23 #
boberic wrote:
I have an easy way for you to get out of this. Develop a cumunicable disease. and have a miracular recovery after tha wedding.
a better way out is to laugh heartly and say, "uh, NO'
May 30, 2014 11:19:14 #
I do about 2 weddings a year. I charge $300 for 6 hrs. and $55/hr. after that plus the client pays my prices for prints and/or albums. On average I receive about $700 for my time.
DanH wrote:
A parent of a child that plays on my sons baseball team saw my work and asked if I would shoot her daughters wedding for her. I agreed and told her $25/hour plus the price of prints. While speaking to her now, she doesn't want to pay per print because that could turn out being more than she wants to pay. She wants a flat rate and I have no clue what to charge. Any help?
May 30, 2014 11:55:50 #
I think what you are charging is way cheep. If she is a good friend maybe 300 to 500. If not I usually charge 500 to 1500 based on the amount of time spent in hours including photoshop work. I do not give prints. I give them a CD or thumb drive with the photos on them and let them make the prints.
May 30, 2014 12:00:08 #
Let's take everything into consideration. Will you be going to the rehersal the night before to get aquainted of where to position yourself, if or if not flash is allowed during the ceremony, etc. Is she willing to pay for that time also. Plus, you will probably have the pictures printed at a photo shop, so there is time there to drive there and back. Not to mention, the time it takes to place all the pictures into an album, etc. I have always tried to figure in all of my costs, including gas, batteries, etc. figure that into a price and then clear about $100.00 per hour at the actual wedding. If your work is excellent, then you should be paid for it. If she doesn't want to pay for excellent work, let her find someone else. There are plenty of people out there with a digital camera that are more than willing to make a quick buck, irregardless of the outcome. Good luck and let us know if you took the job or not.
May 30, 2014 12:14:01 #
joehel2 wrote:
A wedding photographer for $25 an hour and the cost of prints is too much??? What is her budget? If she says it is $ 250, then you can tell her for $250 I will do this...
$250 would buy five hours (including post production) and 5-10 prints. And it would be cheap. It would end up being shooting the wedding, skipping the reception, a couple hours of batch processing and sending her the 5-10 prints you think look best.
If she wants to pick the photos to print, then it is 5 prints.
If she want you to give her all the files on disk, it is time to walk away.
May 30, 2014 12:22:50 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
Unless you know for certain it's a "quickie" (and I think not, since there is a reception), I would expect a wedding and reception to be a full day of shooting, plus about a day's prep (between meeting with the B&G, previewing the location(s), prepping my gear, etc.) and several days followup (post-processing).
I would charge no less than $1600 US, and that's a low price for my area. Most REAL wedding photographers around here charge $2000 to $2500 minimum. This would include proofs (watermarked thumbnails), but any prints or higher resolution digtal files would be at additional cost. Videography would usually be extra, too. Albums typically go for a minimum of $500 for the first, $250 for any additional.
But, honestly, if you have no experience shooting weddings and don't have all the backup gear required (i.e., if you have to ask how much to charge, and are even considering doing it for $25 an hour or $250 total), you have no business shooting a wedding. It is one of the most stressful and demanding types of photography. Everything must be done on a tight schedule, you'll catch hell if you miss even one obscure shot, and something always goes wrong. I would recommend anyone thinking of getting into wedding photography to work as a second shooter for an established pro for a year or two at least. That way you can learn the biz without the risk.
And, yes, get absolutely everything in writing. There must be a signed, solid contract. Plus a deposit (about 1/3 the shooting fee, non-refundable) before I even reserve the date (another third needs to be paid before the day, the rest is due upon receipt of the proofs). I'd require model releases to be signed by the B&G and other major players in the wedding, too, especially if the photos were going to be uploaded online for their viewing.
And, yes, the "bottom feeders" are always the first ones to ask for further discounts, bounce checks and/or file a lawsuit against you. Speaking of which, do you have liability and errors & omissions insurances?
I wouldn't put my gear in the trunk and start my car for a $250 wedding. That's a major losing proposition.
People really, really need to look closely at their actual "cost of doing business", especially with the expense of camera gear and all the time put in before and after any event. No one should be shooting for less than about $200 an hour. If you do shoot for much less, I guarantee you will go broke and will be out of business in a relatively short time.
At $250 for the package, in essence you are paying them for the pleasure of shooting their wedding, dealing with their problems before, during and after, getting hammered about your already exceptionally low prices, handling the drunk uncle (every wedding has one) who knows everything about photography and follows you around giving advice on every shot, having to reprint things they are unhappy with, plus the hours of Photoshopping you'll be doing to accommodate some weird request... After all of which you end up in court because they want all their money back (even the non-refundable deposit) when they annul the marriage in two months. If you have a solid contract and did everything by the book, chances are you'll win in court, but still might go broke paying the lawyer fees defending yourself.
In this case, I would point her toward Craigslist. There are usually lots of wannabe photographers on there offering to shoot weddings for about what she wants to pay.... and no doubt those photogs are worth every penny. They won't be in biz long, but maybe long enough to shoot her wedding. Some actually do good work... they just lack any business sense.
I would charge no less than $1600 US, and that's a low price for my area. Most REAL wedding photographers around here charge $2000 to $2500 minimum. This would include proofs (watermarked thumbnails), but any prints or higher resolution digtal files would be at additional cost. Videography would usually be extra, too. Albums typically go for a minimum of $500 for the first, $250 for any additional.
But, honestly, if you have no experience shooting weddings and don't have all the backup gear required (i.e., if you have to ask how much to charge, and are even considering doing it for $25 an hour or $250 total), you have no business shooting a wedding. It is one of the most stressful and demanding types of photography. Everything must be done on a tight schedule, you'll catch hell if you miss even one obscure shot, and something always goes wrong. I would recommend anyone thinking of getting into wedding photography to work as a second shooter for an established pro for a year or two at least. That way you can learn the biz without the risk.
And, yes, get absolutely everything in writing. There must be a signed, solid contract. Plus a deposit (about 1/3 the shooting fee, non-refundable) before I even reserve the date (another third needs to be paid before the day, the rest is due upon receipt of the proofs). I'd require model releases to be signed by the B&G and other major players in the wedding, too, especially if the photos were going to be uploaded online for their viewing.
And, yes, the "bottom feeders" are always the first ones to ask for further discounts, bounce checks and/or file a lawsuit against you. Speaking of which, do you have liability and errors & omissions insurances?
I wouldn't put my gear in the trunk and start my car for a $250 wedding. That's a major losing proposition.
People really, really need to look closely at their actual "cost of doing business", especially with the expense of camera gear and all the time put in before and after any event. No one should be shooting for less than about $200 an hour. If you do shoot for much less, I guarantee you will go broke and will be out of business in a relatively short time.
At $250 for the package, in essence you are paying them for the pleasure of shooting their wedding, dealing with their problems before, during and after, getting hammered about your already exceptionally low prices, handling the drunk uncle (every wedding has one) who knows everything about photography and follows you around giving advice on every shot, having to reprint things they are unhappy with, plus the hours of Photoshopping you'll be doing to accommodate some weird request... After all of which you end up in court because they want all their money back (even the non-refundable deposit) when they annul the marriage in two months. If you have a solid contract and did everything by the book, chances are you'll win in court, but still might go broke paying the lawyer fees defending yourself.
In this case, I would point her toward Craigslist. There are usually lots of wannabe photographers on there offering to shoot weddings for about what she wants to pay.... and no doubt those photogs are worth every penny. They won't be in biz long, but maybe long enough to shoot her wedding. Some actually do good work... they just lack any business sense.
May 30, 2014 12:26:38 #
amfoto1 wrote:
<snip>
I would point her toward Craigslist. There are usually lots of wannabe photographers on there offering to shoot weddings for about what she wants to pay.... and no doubt worth every penny.
I would point her toward Craigslist. There are usually lots of wannabe photographers on there offering to shoot weddings for about what she wants to pay.... and no doubt worth every penny.
Every penny and less!!!
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