Wedding photographer cost?

[DMBFiredancer]

i''m just curious how much people have spent on photography across the country. from what my friends have paid, i think i am getting off waaaay cheap, and i guess i am getting nervous!
i have seen the photographer''s work and it looks to be what i am looking for, so i was surprised to see her prices:
$595 for 6 hours - i get to keep all high-res negatives on CD
$150 for 2-3 hour engagement session

friends have paid upwards to $3000 - has anyone else gotten off as inexpensively as i might be? or should i be concerned that its that cheap?

 

[marchswallowbird]

It depends a lot on what part of the country you''re in, and other factors. I am paying $3,300 for my photog, for 8 hours and all rights to the digital photos/DVD, PLUS another $400 in travel fees (covers one night hotel, for a destination wedding).

 

[Sparkalicious]

You are getting an amazing deal. If your photographer is experienced, reputable and you love their work - that is a STEAL!

Nice job!

I''m in Seattle and we interviewed close to 10 photographers. None of them were even near that price point.

The lowest pricing we found was with a newer photographer who has a great reputation and does great work but is relatively new in the game so can''t justify the rockstar pricing yet. If we went with her we could have gotten everything we wanted, hands down, 10 hrs coverage, and all the extras including an album and the standard stuff like the digital negatives etc for around $4,500 and we were THRILLEd with her b/c we thought that this was super cheap, comparatively anyways.

Some of the photographers had high-end packages around $12 - $15k and more moderate packages, including an album for anywhere from $6 - $9k.

I was super shocked to learn that photography was so expensive. I know that these prices pretty much cover everything you could want and 8 - 10 hrs of coverage but still ... It was really surprising for someone who doesn''t know a lot about photography.

 

[oobiecoo]

The photog I originally hired was maybe 1200 but there was a deal so I only paid about 800 I believe. He ripped us off... along with a million other brides in our area. I figured things out BEFORE they happened (luckily) and searched for a new photog. She charged us $600 for 4 hours but ended up staying till the end which was about 5 or 6 hours. She felt bad about our photog ripoff so she didn''t charge us for the extra time. She edited the photos just a bit and gave me the CDs for them. I''m in the process of making photo books with the pics. She works for a newspaper so her style was kind of photojournalistic... nothing really fancy. The previously hired photog''s price included engagement shoot, framed portrait and a few prints.

 

[DMBFiredancer]

thanks for the feedback so far....oobie, were you happy with the photos even though they werent anything fancy?
also, how is making your own albums working out? are the pictures printing up nicely? part of me is a bit nervous that im not getting a package that includes a fancy album or 11x14s or things like that...i''m really hoping that the "high res negatives on a CD" thing works out for us.

the girl i am considering is newer at this, but from the photos on her site it looks like she does a good job.i just emailed her to see if i can see photos from an ENTIRE wedding and not just the ones she has up, just so i can get a better sense of her work.
i didnt know what to expect when looking for a photographer, so i was a bit blown away with prices. (then again, i was blown away with the prices for everything so far!)

 

[oobiecoo]

My girl was kind of just starting out too. She has a partner but didn''t bring her for the wedding in order to keep my cost down. She was so nice and got some great shots. I would say I''m very happy with the photos when I consider what I paid for her services. If I had gotten a photographer with a fancier style, I just don''t think it would have gone with the *feel* of my wedding. She took maybe 600-800 photos and some weren''t very good for various reasons but we found probably half that we really liked and many were AMAZING. She did a good job of working the crowd and getting shots of the kids also.

I am using Shutterfly to upload the photos, edit a bit, and print photo books for us and our parents. I haven''t finished designing them yet so I haven''t received the finished product but I have heard very good things about Shutterfly. We have about 100-120 photos per book and are doing an 8.5"x11" leather book with about 46 pages. They have lots of deals and coupons so it will be about $190 total for 4 albums if we do them all the same.

 

[Cleopatra]

The trick to finding a great photographer at a great price is finding someone who is just "starting out" - maybe someone right out of college who needs to build their portfolio. And it seems as though this photographer is looking to do just that, so I think you''re getting a steal of a deal!!! Lucky you!!!

I ended up finding my photographer who was a couple years out of college - I booked him over a year ago for $1700 (this included 6 hours the day of, engagement and bridal sessions, a $700 credit - which ended up going toward a leather photo album - and lots of extras)...I was SO happy with him - our pictures turned out amazing! Choosing from 900 EXCEPTIONAL photos was hard work, but I''m beyond thrilled with the quality and artistic views he gave to my wedding day! And a year later, his prices have dramatically increased (I believe it''s now closer to $3,800 for the same package that I got)...

If you like her, BOOK her!! How exciting to find such a great deal!!

 

[sap483]

Cleo just gave you some great advice. I think there have been others on here that have found someone just starting out with excellent results. Mandarine comes to mind.

Regardless of who you pick, make sure that you take a look at lots of their work before booking them, not just one collection of their best pictures. Also identify what''s importatant to you stylistically and make sure they can meet your expectations in that area. There was one photographer that I really liked and was considering booking, his black and white work was the best I have ever seen. His color photographs seemed washed out though, and he only shot in film. I didn''t notice that though until I visted his studio and saw some of his other work; because the photos posted on his website were all gorgeous. The color pictures were important to me, and I didn''t want to sacrifice them for the best black and white pictures.

I would also consider their personality. It''s imporatant that you be comfortable with this person. I loved my photographer as she offered lots of advice during the entire planning process- completely unrelated to the photography. She''s been in the industry for a while and had lots of valuable advice and contacts. During the day of, she kept me calm and saved the day on more than one occasion. She cost $5200 (in New England) for unlimited coverage, two photographers, and a magazine with all of my proofs.

 

[DMBFiredancer]

wow, it looks like i really am getting an unbelievable price. so far she has been VERY professional on the phone, and has even given some non-photography advice as well, since she is getting married in december (things she wished she would have given herself more time for like finding a dress, etc)
we are going to do an engagement session in november, so i am sure that i will get an even better feel for her then.

thanks so much everyone for making me feel better about paying less....who ever thought i would worry about something being TOO inexpensive! its so great to read that some of you had photographers that were just starting out who ended up doing a great job

i''m smiling right now - thank you again!

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

We are in Toronto (very expensive city in Canada) and we are paying 3000$ for 2 photographers, 8 hours, CD with all images, 10 8X10's, 20 5X7's, 75 thank you cards, 200 4x6 print and a 12x 12 photoalbum (coffee table style). I thought it was a pretty good deal...

 

[Blair138]

DMB-you are getting an unbelievable price!

I am near Chicago (talked about this with the DJ prices) and my photog is $3500 but that includes an engagement session, all my negatives, the proofs, a framed 8 x 10 of our engagement picture, all day coverage (12 hours) of the wedding and 2 photographers. I also threw in videography with the same company which was $1500.

I did look at places that STARTED at $5000, I didn''t want to know where they ended

 

[mjso]

I get 9 hours of photography, finished prints, dvd with high res images (prints and dvd in archival box), two photographers, and an album for $4500. This is in the greater NYC area. I know I could find a cheaper photographer, but FI and I fell in love with this one''s work and people have been telling me that the photographer is one place NOT to skimp. It is kind of scary to think that some people had their entire weddings for less than what I''m spending on a photographer, but I''ve come to terms with it.

I''d say your price is amazing!

 

[galvana]

Hi firedancer (which i so want to get a tatoo of btw)
anyway! Im in MA and our photographer is $3500 for 10 + hrs
He is coming at 12:30 to start taking pics of me getting ready, he will leave at 10pm or so. Actually there will be two photographers, main guy and assistant photographer.
Our package comes with a ton of stuff (like many have mentioned) and of course i can''t think of any of it now but
its similar to what the others posted, fancy large album, digital negatives on CD, magazine with all proofs, etc etc etc!

 

[mintve]

I am in Atlanta and have my photographer (Mike Moon) for all day and will get touh-up editing and my negs/disc to purchase my own pics. His cost if $1695. His engagement pics fees is $150 and that includes prints and enlargements. After the wedding, we can buy a custom made leather bound coffee table book (cost varies). He said we can even buyt hat a year or so after the wedding. I think this is a great price for Atlanta and am very pleased so far

 

[DMBFiredancer]

Date: 9/30/2008 12:00:04 PM
Author: galvana
Hi firedancer (which i so want to get a tatoo of btw)

anyway! Im in MA and our photographer is $3500 for 10 + hrs

galvana, i almost got one years ago!
my FI and i are kind of DMB kooks...its actually how we met!
i''m sure it will be incorporated into the wedding quite a bit

it sounds like the more expensive photogs sure come with alot of extras (2nd photographer, albums, etc) - i''m learning alot talking to people about this and reading more. i was soooo clueless about everything before this forum LOL

 

[kittybean]

It definitely sounds like you are getting a good deal. I am paying $2400 for 8 hours of coverage by two photographers, all edited high-res JPEG and RAW files on DVD and CD, and rights to all photos, with the option of purchasing albums afterward.

 

[seahorsegurl]

I''m getting married in las vegas next month. I''m gettin 5 hrs of coverage, rights to the images and a collage 30 page bound album for 1100, which I thought was pretty good for vegas. While I went with a long term photographer I saw lots of ads on craigslist posted by student photographers. I think you''re getting a great deal!

 

[Blair138]

Forgot to add-basically I am paying for the album-not the actual photography, the album is included in my price with everything else I am getting. That is usually how it goes with photographers around here, but the hours, type of album, # of photogs, engagement pics and all that are usually what differentiates each. (besides price)

ETA: the photographer doing all the legwork AFTER (like printing out photos and doing the album) was a big deal to me, I could have gotten everything A LOT cheaper, but I didn't want to be the one who had to print out photos, so that is why I paid as much as I did

 

[jstarfireb]

My photographer in Central PA (based in York, wedding in Lancaster) is $1450. This includes the following:
-hi-res DVD with co-ownership of the digital files (*this is very important - make sure you have the rights!*)
-no time limits, 2 locations, 1 photographer
-all proofs (they take about 400-500) printed as 4x6s in an album (the pictures are printed directly on the page and the cover is a 10x10 picture)
-online proofing/ordering for 90 days
-engagement sitting with hi-res DVD of all images
-DVD slide show of highlights set to a song of our choice

I will probably order an album later (the digitally printed ones with the customized layouts and such) in addition to the one that comes with my package, but I just didn''t have the funds right now. I think the proof album should be OK for me, and I love that I can take the DVD of photos to Costco or somewhere and print photos on my own. My photographers actually encourage that, believe it or not!

There was a similar package to yours for $950. This included 5 hours of photography and 300-400 photos on a hi-res DVD (with co-ownership rights of course). No proofs/albums or engagement photos though. This sounds like what you''re getting for $595. And I thought my guy was cheap. Great find!