Typically I do not blog without images, or write this much, but I thought the response to a questionnaire sent out by My Kate Parker Weddings today was worth consideration!

"What goes into a wedding photographer's pricing?  & why can wedding photography be so expensive?"

People often wonder what goes into pricing professional photography. At first glance isn't what we do involve picking up a camera snapping some images and handing them over? I mean how hard is that right? My very own sister, who has a (well once secure) job paid by federal and state grant money, asked wow you make several thousand on a Saturday! Implying I show up for a few hours, drink and eat wedding cake and go home with a wad of cash in my pocket which I could leisurely spend all week long since I have no other obligations except to burn a dvd, right? Wrong! Love ya sis, but you are way off.
What do we photographers do? Well aside from crafting images, our ( my) main goal, we wear many hats. We run our own business with no one to answer to but ourselves. This means we do our own advertising and promotional campaigns, we do our own bookkeeping,( at first at least), we do our own research on new ways to better serve our clients, all the time, we do our own customer service etc.; we do our own packing and shipping, of prints, cds or whatever else we deliver as a product to our clients. Now if any photographer gets to the stage where he or she can outsource any or all of this, than that too involves money. How much do you think someone should get paid as an assistant to remember to ship out that special metallic mini-folio, to arrive exactly 10 days after the wedding, to the bride at their special foreign honeymoon place, as a special request from the groom, nicely wrapped and without her knowing, and perhaps shipped via the best carrier that delivers to that international spot? Well I tell you, a person who can achieve that, is NOT getting paid minimum wage. Hence another expense.
In general photography is very expensive. We all know that one could spend thousands upon thousand for camera bodies and lenses. And we do. Some costs have been curbed with digital, but new ones have arisen. For example, 15 years ago when I decided to begin shooting weddings, I purchased a medium format camera kit from an excellent brand, excluded some of the bells and whistles back then, (i.e. auto loading and focusing etc.) and I knew that camera was an investment. Equipment was a big cost then, so to was the education in knowing how to use it properly!I knew that camera would holds it values for many many years to come, as the fastest changing technology was in the film you put into the camera. that camera did hold its value up until 5 years ago, and now it isn't worth selling! (Still takes great photos, so I keep it.) But now to adequately "break" into the business one can get going on say bare bones $2500 but will need much more to purchase high performing software and hardware to make images the best they can be. Sure a photographer, we could outsource everything past pushing the shutter and it could be like the days of shooting film, but WHY on earth would one want to do that? Half of what makes us different from the next guy is what we do with images after the shutter had been pushed. I would say that most of my clients value the time, knowledge and my artistic perception to make the images I do beyond pushing the shutter. In other words they do not want me to just shoot images and hand over a cd, because they value what goes on after shooting.
Which brings me to another EXCELLENT source of cost; TIME.
I typically estimate that for every hour shooting a job, there is a good 4-8 hours of work that goes in. This includes, downloading images, batching, backing up on 2 sources, developing, editing, online previewing, blogging and facebooking, all customers want to show off their images, it is a service we provide, full-filling orders, mini albums, conversations with clients etc. In fact my post shooting workflow is so thick that I have a spreadsheet to include all of the potentially 12 things that need to be checked off in POST shoot production. This post shoot production time also does not include travel time, scouting time and time spent with the client prior too an event or a shoot. That is additional time.When a couple wants to hire me, often there is a consultation, rightfully so as they want to know I am not a big fat jerk before I show up on their wedding day! That takes time. Enjoyable time, but still, time. Once hired, there is communication that goes, involving the schedule of the day, family scenarios, as there are many many things to shoot in a day, unique to each couple, there can be a lot of communication, via phone, text and email, maybe even meeting up. Again time is involved. It is a must if a photographer wants to deliver the best service. Time time and time is required per job that far exceeds the hours spent on a wedding day. It is probably the least understood factor in pricing a shoot.
Yes there is cost involved upgrading equipment, buying software, paying for workshops, purchasing insurance, purchasing web space, paying the dog sitter baby sitter to watch the loved ones for an afternoon, etc. etc. but time has value. And probably the biggest price tag on photography is generated by our clients. If your house was in fire and all the loved ones where out, and you could get one thing out of that house, what would it be? $5 says it is pictures, family pictures. It is how we remember. And memory builds meaning in our lives. Add another level cost to something that is intangible, art. Images crafted by professionals can be, should be, works of art in and of themselves.

Vintage postcards for escort cards from Jill & Stephen's wedding 2007. Wedding coordinator Meagan Gilpatrick owner of Maine Season's Events.

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