Wedding Photographer Cost - Buyer Experiences and Price Information

Mara was so perfect!!! She knew exactly the random pics we would want and she also had perfect staged photos like me standing behind my husband in my gown and bouquet and grabbing for his wallet out of his back pocket and holding my hand up to my mouth. We would have never thought of that. Also, she had me standing with my mom pretending she was putting on my veil. We loved her and we will use her again when our baby is born. She is perfect!!!

I found most of the comments here interesting as a semi-professional photographer who has exhibited work locally and is thinking about a wedding photography career. I know from helping friends choose wedding photographers that there are some wedding photographers charging big money but who produce mediocre work and attempt to cover it with overuse of special effects, but there are also incredibly artistic wedding photographers whose prices are reasonable (not cheap). There are customers who can tell the difference and customers who can't. Frankly, those who can't should budget less, and those who want and can afford to have the best should budget for the best.
About equipment: it's all about the photographer. There are plenty of mediocre ones out there with very expensive equipment and plenty of good photographers shooting with moderate equipment. We all know that two musicians may play the same instrument with very different results.
Bottom line: Decide what you want and can afford. Look at the prospective photographers' portfolios first and make 3 choices. Get a friend to give you opinions. Then look at prices. Go for quality over quantity. Then reconsider what you want and can afford. Then contact and interview 3 photographers and get references from recent customers.
A side-note based on experience: if you schedule a wedding during snow and ice season in the South, be prepared to either reschedule due to weather or go without your professional photographs. No sane photographer is going to risk life and limb to get there in dangerous conditions.

I am a photographer that caters to the budget conscious bride and groom. Typically my clients purchase a wedding package at a resort, which includes only 1 hour of professional photography (coverage during ceremony and a short session rigt after the ceremony). What many of the commenters in this thread don't seem to understand or realize is that a "one hour coverage" IS NOT EQUAL to one hour of work! The "real work" starts only after the session. To produce images (files) that will hold up quality printing and that will be at least basically editied to remove small blemishes, even out skintones, be cheked for exposure balanece (so that your actually can see the detain in the wedding dress as well details in the darker areas on the image, etc, we spend at least on hour per image in photoshop. This is not including any major editing such as liquifyung (slimming) etc. The "standard" tools that are needed for even the most basic of wedding photographers (at least 2 pro slr bodies, 2 lights, 6-7 lenses, photoshop CS, calibrated monitor, a print fullfillment system of some sort etc) still cost at least as much that no matter how you turn the equation, there is no way you can provide that for under $1500. If someone claim that they can offer you their photographic service for less than that, you should be aware that it means that hey do on fact NOT have all the equipment and systems in place and you will notice in the end what exactly is missing. You can contininue with the "wishful thinking" and hope that somehow, somewhere there is a "pro" with a magic formula to providing almost free photography service. But there isn't. Taking one of those "$500" deals just means that you are either getting lied to (you will notice by the end result) or that you really don't care that you will only get images that will not be anything like the beautiful images brides typically expect and that can be reproduced in decent prints. This has nothing to do with greed, its just basic math.

Your wedding day is one of the single most important events in your life. Your children, their children, and their children's children will want to see this event. Any photographer worth their salt will cover the day with both journalistic images recording the event, and high quality portraits that show the participants at their best. One large and two small albums that will endure the test of time will cost the photographer about $1000-$1500. Then it actually takes about 40 man-hours altogether to do the job right, including organizing, editing, and archiving. About 3 weeks after your wedding date should be more than enough time to deliver ALL finished products. Get references, interview photographers, and find out what they've invested in doing your wedding right. Also, find out how they got into the business, This will clue you in to personalities. My background is in public relations and fund raising. It taught me a lot about the value of being nice to people while everyone's under pressure. Your wedding day should be a joyous event. And your photographer OWES it to you to respect that. Just remember, the key to success is careful planning and selecting responsible people who will behave accordingly on that special day.

Was married on May 8, 2010. In looking for a photographer, I knew I wanted to spend around $500 and only wanted some "posed" photos of us and our attendants. I found Jenny from a flyer for a bridal expo. She had a package listed on her site which was exactly what I was looking for - 1 photographer for 1 hour for $499. This also includes the CD with copyright release and a link to a slideshow. My maid of honor and I were running a bit late for the shoot. Jenny was so good about it and was able to get some shots of us getting ready which wouldn't have happened otherwise. Can't say enough good things about her and her professionalism. Wonderful experience. Couldn't have been a better choice.

I am a professional photographer starting on my own. I really did not want to do weddings but it is a high demand. There is no way I could charge less than 1,000. I did a friend a favor and did a small 20 person wedding for free with an album of 100 prints and enlargement and a CD and cost me to much as just what was suppose to be a helpful thing to someone who absolutly did not have the money. It cost about 100 per hour for a wedding starting out. I did it because my wedding photographer did mine as a gift as a friend.

I am a professional wedding photographer and I want people to understand that what a client is paying for is art. What a couple wants is art of their wedding day, not just the same photos that anyone could take with any digital camera.
To address what "Jackie Offy in Lancaster, PA." said in his post, a baboon would not know what shutter speed, ISO and exposure to use in specific situations, how to crop and compose a photo creatively, or how to pose a couple in a romantic way in order to create a beautiful portrait that the couple can hang above their fireplace, a portrait that makes the viewer want to gaze and admire that photo for awhile. If you give enough cheap cameras to enough people, eventually one of them might get one good shot by accident, but a professional will give you many excellent and artistic shots on purpose. Even the best quality digital camera will not pose the couple for you, make unique custom artistic effects, compose the photo in a dynamic way or make the viewer of the photo say "wow". And as for "how hard can it be?" Would someone who has no experience creating photographic art know how to make a glowing silhouette of the couple? or take a striking macro (ultra closeup) photograph of the rings? or to freeze frame someone dancing with a flash but to let the natural room light motion blur with a low shutter speed to create a photo that gives you a sense of motion?
The best professional photographers are artists. They create art, and that's what the client wants and is paying for. If you don't personally value art then I can understand that but many people do, but you must understand that good professional photographers are artists and a "friend" or average wedding guest is not. And as a photographer myself I am saying that all we are trying to do is make a living doing what we love, something that we know how to do well, and something that not just anyone will know how to do without talent, training, experience and passion.

Wow. We were so lucky to get Cliff and his wife for our wedding date. He captured so many unbelievable moments...I was crying with my Mom the whole time we looked at the photos! It seems that we never saw them, but when we got the photos, they captured EVERYTHING. Even stuff we didn't see happening.

Reasonable rate with the excellent quality (service and photography) they represented. The wedding package includes 8 hour coverage, complimentary engagement session, two photographers and a photo disc of the color corrected digital negatives and fully retouched photos are included. You can find them in the North New Jersey and NYC region. *note to bride: make sure you ask for a full-day wedding sample and few references before making decision on your photographer. After all, it's not about high-end or budget photography, it's about the quality. General rule of thumb is that good photographers will cost you at least $2500 to $4000. Those photographers have enough experiences, references and good photographs to back them up. Rarely you may find a "deal" on craigslist that offers high quality and cheap prices, make sure you ask the "deal" photographer for references and at least 2 to 3 complete wedding day gallery.

I have been taking photos for 35 years. I love the candid, story-telling aspect of wedding photography (but do all the poses as well) and began doing weddings a few years back. I started at $200, then $500. Now I have different packages, depending on the hours at the wedding. I want to feel good about what I'm getting paid, considering cost of equipment, time after the wedding spent in editing, burning, etc. I give them three CDs with most of their images after some minor editing within one week of the wedding. I do not make them wait for proofs or sell them more later. If they want more advanced editing on specific photos, or reprints, etc. I charge per hour. I get a deposit when we sign the contract, locking us both into the date. If something were to happen and I couldn't shoot the wedding, I would return the deposit. Bottom line, everyone has a budget. Some can afford the high-end wedding photographers. I don't even try to compete with them. I show them my portfolio and say, "This is what I do. If you want something different, there are other photographers." People have been happy so far.

Hi, I have a question. I am not a professional photographer but I do take "professional" photos of family and friends at bdays, weddings, baby showers and such. I have never charged any $ for any of them but I have a friend of a friend who would like me to take pictures of her wedding for just a couple of hours. It's a small celebration, but I am not sure how much to charge. I have a Nikon D60 DSLR with a Nikon speedlight SB600 flash. I have no clue what to charge. anybody has any ideas. She has seen my pictures and likes them. I normally take tons of pictures, edit them (nothing crazy or too fancy, I like to play with them and see what looks best) and give the person a CD of all the pictures to select and print themselves. any help is greatly appreciated. thanks

I had a horrible experiance with the "professional" that took our engagement photos and was having a very hard time finding a photographer that would fit our budget. My dad suggested a friend who is passionate about photography and would do it for free as long as we shared rights to all of the pictures. Fine by me! Free is great. He was right she was passionate and she had a great eye. We captured candide shots only a friend would look and catch. She gave me a CD with all of the photos and printed the best in 4x6's and gave us the book as a wedding gift (totally unexpected). She by no means called herself professional but her work looked it. Don't despair if you are reading all of the horrible things about AWAC and the professionals, if you know someone with an eye and a good camera offer them $ you will more then likely get great shots!

I saw this add Photographer, Videographer and Disc Jockey for 4 hours $1500
I already book a DJ and only Need a photographer, I asked how much he said $500 for 4 hours and $125 for each additional hour total $1000, I got a free engagement shoot, 100 4x6 prints 10 8x10's 4 5x7's and 1 16x20, the best photos I've seen in mylife he used several flashes around the room and every shot was magazine quality I would recommend this company for the rest of my life make sure you get Alex

Great Photographer, We got Engagement session, 3 hours pre wedding, Cermony photos, Reception photos 200 proofs in proof Book, full resolution cd, 2-8x10.We were very happy with our photos. and with the photographer. Would recommend.

In response to Jackie Offy --

Your photographer (likely) did not get paid 2500 for 4 hours of work. He got paid for 4 hours of shooting... and 40 hours of 'behind the scene's work such as backups, processing, meeting with you, traveling, dissemination, putting up your gallery, etc, etc, etc...

You've got to remember wedding photographers work is much like an iceberg. The work day-of (the stuff you see) is only about 10% of it (if that).

The both photographer are great.. they are funny and experienced in natural style images.
We love their work with us.. and we have a great time in our holiday too...

I was absolutely impressed by Austin the owner of Ceylon Studios. He did a fantastic job covering my wedding and the finished pictures were delivered within two weeks of my wedding! I just received my albums as well and they are absolutely beautiful!!! We booked Austin back in March and he kept in touch every month to see if we had questions or ideas which made our wedding planning more exciting and reminded us of our good decision choosing him. I hope other brides take my advice and use Ceylon Studios. His website is www.ceylonstudios.com