Why does wedding photography prices vary so much!
Have you ever wondered why the cost of wedding photography differs so much from one photographer to another?
There are a few important variables that come into play when choosing a wedding photographer.
Firstly the quality of the camera equipment is paramount! Professional photographic equipment is insanely expensive! This is especially so when you try and maintain the latest equipment. Good camera equipment effects many aspects of the final image! From resolution, colour reproduction and even safety features like dual card recording to back-up on the fly. Then there is the most expensive part, the lenses! Average lens prices for pro equipment is $3500 each compared to cheap consumer grade lenses that sell for $300 – $400.
A quality lens can make the difference between a okay photo and an amazing photo. And it is not enough to have just one lens! I personally have 11 lenses. Now this is a big investment and these lenses can only be used on that one type of camera system. If you upgrade or change camera brands you need to make this investment yet again.
Secondly it takes many years to develop the skills to be able to take hundreds in not thousands of amazing images in one day while working under stress. Anyone and get lucky and capture a nice image every now and then but can you do in constantly on demand?
Thirdly, Once the photographer returns from a photography assignment there are many, many days of editing, kulling and colour grading these images. This requires a extremely beefy computer with high spec CPU, GPU and Ram $$$$.
I can pretty safely say that a large majority of wedding photographers are earning less than $25 per/h even when the clients books top tier packages in the $3000 range.
Fourthly, The industry is flooded with amateur photographers using cheap consumer equipment. For the top tier photographers to stand out amongst the noise they are require to spend many thousands of dollars on advertising! Then there are the general operation costs associated with running a business.
So hopefully this article has helped you understand how many professional Wedding Photographers need to structure their pricing to be able to provide you the client with quality work for your once in a lifetime moment that leaves no chances for re-does!
Remember with wedding photography it is very much a case of “You get what you pay for!â€
Image taken in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens