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Why is a Wedding Photographer an Expensive Pleasure?

Often people have a wrong idea that wedding photography is a small investment in an SLR camera and then it's just pressing buttons and good photos come out of the camera by themselves. Often I also encounter the opinion that wedding photography is just a simple job, and many wonder how you can earn several hundred lats for one day's work. Well, there the monthly salary is thousands of lats. Unfortunately, this idea is very misleading and that's why I wanted to write about what the wedding photographer's fee depends on.

Time.

    Most people think that the wedding photographer's work ends with shooting. Unfortunately, that's not the case and the biggest work for the wedding photographer is only ahead. Photo processing is the most time-consuming photographer's work. If wedding photography lasts approximately 8-15 hours, then processing can take 25-35 hours. In total, the photographer's work is 30-50 hours. There are several photographers who claim that processing is not necessary and offer to simply burn photos to a disk after the wedding and give to the newlywed couple. This type of work is a hack, because digital files require processing. Therefore, such hack workers can lower wedding photographer costs. If the photographer uses photo film, then the work is partially eased because all corrections happen at the lab when printing photos. Often this process for photo film is automated.
    The bigger the wedding by number of people, the more activities there will be and the more the photographer will have to shoot and process photos. This also explains why at larger weddings the photographer can charge more.

Equipment.

    The next thing that affects the photographer's price is their equipment. For a wedding photographer, the total equipment sum can range from 1,000-20,000 Ls. The better and more expensive equipment a photographer has, the better the photo quality and photographer's capabilities. Many photographers shoot weddings with two cameras, which guarantees that shooting will continue if one of the cameras breaks, and also in reportage photography, frames won't be lost due to lens changes.  Such an option also increases costs and total price. There are photographers who work with one lens and one camera, but there are photographers who shoot with two cameras and additionally take up to 8 lenses, each for its own purpose. The results of both such photographers will be very different.

Experience.

    The photographer's experience very much affects the photographer's price. If the photographer has just started shooting weddings, then their price is lower to attract more clients. However, an experienced photographer already has their name and clients come based on recommendations and seen photos.

Offerings.

    The price can also be increased by the photographer's additional services (some services may also be included in the standard package offered by the photographer):

  • Photo printing
  • Creating a photo book or photo album
  • Taking studio lights along
  • Taking a projector to show photos at the wedding table
  • Using a photo printer during the wedding to print wedding photos on the spot
  • Creating a slideshow
  • Photographer's own transport
  • Photographer takes an assistant along
  • And other offerings...

Demand.

    The wedding photographer's price is very much affected by demand. The more in-demand a photographer is, the higher the price. That's why photographers often control the client flow to protect themselves. Wedding photography is hard work because it involves constant running around with heavy cameras and bags, which after several years can cause vision, shoulder, spine and stomach problems. Therefore, experienced photographers often don't take more than one wedding per week, while young photographers can even agree to three weddings per week because they haven't encountered these problems.

Price.

    What is included in the price:

  • Equipment depreciation
  • Travel (transport, gasoline, taxi, etc)
  • Photography
  • Product processing (selection, processing, printing, etc)
  • Materials (disks, photos, folders, albums, photo book, shipping, etc)
  • Additional offerings (which may already be included in the standard package)

Conclusion

All these factors affect the photographer's price, and therefore there are photographers who charge 50 Ls for wedding photography, and there are those who charge 1000 Ls. I recommend finding out what is included in each photographer's price, what is the photographer's experience.

 

 

Photographer Andrejs Zavadskis
https://zavadskis.photo/wedding


Comments

7.Valdis  2008-11-18 18:24:01
photographing one wedding truly is at least one work week's work, where the biggest work is after the wedding. if not freelancing with film, then in my opinion it's 3x more work than with digital. printing, scanning(for black and white also dust cleaning), correcting.. for such service rarely someone is capable to pay adequately.. quality wedding photography on film is an exclusive service
6.ilze  2008-09-01 01:10:16
I agree... technique+skill+experience are absolute necessities in this business and although in Latvia 1000 lats seems overpriced for photos outside it could be considered a super price.... although there are also foreign photographers who bid $100... everything depends on client's wishes, and payment possibilities
5.ilze  2008-09-01 01:00:05
I agree... technique+skill+experience are absolute necessities in this business and although in Latvia 1000 lats seems overpriced for photos outside it could be considered a super price.... although there are also foreign photographers who bid $100... everything depends on client's wishes, and payment possibilities
4.JRJ  2008-07-08 23:51:25
Technical quality more depends on the device and lenses. Also with light if you're lucky. Better photos from different lenses (because possibilities and end result each has its own), correct lighting (including artificial), and experienced photographer. So good photos are exactly dependent also on equipment, both artistic quality and technical. Can photograph with a powerful camera and kit lens, at the same time one who will have powerful various lenses, on a cheaper camera end result also will be better if experience allows to achieve it. At the same time a good camera will allow a photographer with good experience to work more progressively. In reportages however a lot happens quite quickly and often photographer reacts faster than his cheaper camera or cheap slow lens does. Quality is fully dependent on all the above mentioned factors.
3.andreart  2008-07-01 00:20:08
more precisely, the more expensive the equipment, the more possibilities.
2.Sapnix  2008-06-30 18:50:48
everything would be ok, only I disagree with what you wrote, about that, the more expensive equipment, the better photos. more precisely could say technical quality, photo quality however more depends on the guy's skill and brains; knowledge and experience. give an idiot equipment for thousands and still nothing good will come out of it
1.stelam  2008-06-30 18:33:04
Nuuuu, nothing new told :) No the peculiarity in that those who even don't process photos, earn money not bad, people like that :) From here appear bombils by 3-4 weddings a week :)

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