How much did you spend on photographer/videographer?

[Carats]

Just out of curiousity - how much is considered normal for a great photographer/videographer? I just called a few places - one guy was 8k for photography and the videpgrapher was 2-4k. The photographers pics looked great but can I justify 8,000 for it? Its so difficult to assess the level of work vs price. Any ideas?

 

[meresal]

This is the second of about 6 packages for one of the best photographers in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Engagement Shoot and Wedding Day Package: $5000
- Engagement shoot on location of my choice
- 1 photog
- Edited pics on a cd and online
- 1 picture sign-in book for the wedding

- 10 hrs Day of photography
- 2 photogs
- At least 1000 edited pics
- All on a cd and online


Bridal Shoot: $900
- Bridal shoot on location of my choice
- 1 photog
- Edited pics on cd and online
- 1 18x24 matted and famed portrait for wedding day display

 

[sba771]

In Philly- my photog is 7k I think, but she is from NY and my videographer is $1300. I think some photographers can demand high prices, but it also depends on what you want too. I spoke to one women whose prices started at 10k, that was too much for me, but I understood why she was that much as soon as I saw her work. I also spoke with a gentleman who was about 8k and his work and his awards also made me understand why he charged so much. His style wasn''t for me though which is why in the end I went with his girlfriend coincidentally enough.

If there is a certain style you are looking for I can pass on some of my resources and people I looked at if you want.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Hi Carats, Where are you located and what do you want out of a photog (how many hours, rights to photos, engagement shoot, finished album...) it all has a big impact on price I found. Also, do you want someone established, or someone who is newer to the field and still building their portfolio?

 

[BeachRunner]

I got married in southern WV. We paid around $2200 for:
-engagement session (location of our choice)
-photographer and assistant for unlimited hours (within reason)
-10x10" hard cover wedding book
DVD with full resolution images with reproduction rights ($800 alone)

Our photographer was a diamond in the rough. She was fabulous and can charge double what she does, if she wanted to. We totally lucked out due to the demographic area!

 

[Carats]

Its in Philly and I'm just looking for really beautiful pictures; I like the artistic ones mixed with some standard pictures. Either way, I want pics w gorgeous lighting that look really really professional - not just taken by a person with a nice camera. I'm not sure about "style" per se. I only have seen one photographers website and I don't necessarily now how I would categorize the prices; therefore I'm not sure how legitimate they are.

Oh also he said we wouldn't get a real copy of pics via cd until 1 year later; he also said that this was standard practice. Is this true? Charge 8k and then make everyone pay crazy $$ to order all the prints?

 

[Bella_mezzo]

You usually have to negotiate hard to get rights to the photos.

I LOVED our photographer and am hoping to post our wedding pics over Christmas break. I''m currently working full-time and getting an MBA at a top program and it''s been an exhausting semester with getting married and all

PLus I''m a really bad pricescoper b/c I have no patience for re-sizing photos.

Our photographer was a diamond in the rough too (she''s been doing children''s portraits for a while in her studio and just starting branching out into weddings. I think we were her fifth wedding.)

She was $900 for 10 hours of coverage on the wedding day in unlimited locations, rights to all photos, dvd slideshow with music, photos at the rehearsal, and all images fully processed within 2 weeks of the wedding. This was in Pittsburgh, PA.

She was dramatically under priced, and could easily charge four times the amount for her work.

I found a few photogs I liked in NYC for anywhere from $1500-$2500 (I was working with a more limited budget so I didn''t look at photogs that were higher than that).

The other more established people in Pittsburgh were around $2000-$2500 for a similar package.

In Philly you should have no problem finding a photo you love with a package that includes rights to the images, engagement shoot, an album, and a slideshow... who is well within your budget.

I work in the arts in NYC and all my friends and colleagues LOVE my pics (and so do DH and I)

They are mostly artistic/creative shots with some modern formal shots that we took right after the ceremony.

Interview a few different ones and I''m sure you''ll find one you like and can negotiate a package.

 

[marlie]

I''m in NYC and my photographer is just under 8K. That includes 10 hours, a 2nd photographer, an engagement session, 2 parent albums and our album and proofs. He''s a pretty in demand photographer now and his pricing/packages were comparable to the other photographers we looked at. He''s really talented, has a great eye and is just an awesome guy that we wanted to be around us on our wedding day. That made him worth it.

The videographer was around $3500. That includes a second shooter, 8 hours, our video and a short trailer. This one was hard for me. I was really picky about style on this one b/c I work in television and write/produce trailers and promotion for a living. When I watched a sample video of his and it made me cry I knew he was the guy!

I can recommend some of the people I looked into if you like. Let me know!

 

[cleokizzy]

Date: 12/23/2009 10:54:06 PM
Author: Carats
Its in Philly and I''m just looking for really beautiful pictures; I like the artistic ones mixed with some standard pictures. Either way, I want pics w gorgeous lighting that look really really professional - not just taken by a person with a nice camera. I''m not sure about ''style'' per se. I only have seen one photographers website and I don''t necessarily now how I would categorize the prices; therefore I''m not sure how legitimate they are.


Oh also he said we wouldn''t get a real copy of pics via cd until 1 year later; he also said that this was standard practice. Is this true? Charge 8k and then make everyone pay crazy $$ to order all the prints?

there are some photogs who definitely does that (hold the CD for some time, i know of one who holds it for 3 years!) but not all of them. with photogs nowadays, the price can range from $500 up to even $10k or more. it really depends on how in-demand/popular the photog is and what is included in their package. when are you getting married and where? i could recommend someone if your interested!

 

[meresal]

Date: 12/24/2009 8:51:57 AM
Author: cleokizzy

Date: 12/23/2009 10:54:06 PM
Author: Carats
Its in Philly and I''m just looking for really beautiful pictures; I like the artistic ones mixed with some standard pictures. Either way, I want pics w gorgeous lighting that look really really professional - not just taken by a person with a nice camera. I''m not sure about ''style'' per se. I only have seen one photographers website and I don''t necessarily now how I would categorize the prices; therefore I''m not sure how legitimate they are.


Oh also he said we wouldn''t get a real copy of pics via cd until 1 year later; he also said that this was standard practice. Is this true? Charge 8k and then make everyone pay crazy $$ to order all the prints?

there are some photogs who definitely does that (hold the CD for some time, i know of one who holds it for 3 years!) but not all of them. with photogs nowadays, the price can range from $500 up to even $10k or more. it really depends on how in-demand/popular the photog is and what is included in their package. when are you getting married and where? i could recommend someone if your interested!

Ditto, we specifically found a photographer that we loved AND gave us picture rights. That is why we didn''t worry about getting packages that came with alot of "stuff". If you have the rights, then you can make them yourself for 1/4th of the cost.

A few places we looked wanted to charge about $1000 for the rights, some didn''t EVER give them, and some gave them immediately.

 

[Carats]

yes, please make suggestions! I would love some references...

 

[emeraldlover1]

My prices were the same as Marlie except that we only got one album and one shooter.

Second: We did an engagement session with Monika and David from Project Mad Love. The pictures were awesome and their styles are different from eachother. They are based out of philly.