The price of wedding photography & videography

selecting a videographer or photographer who doesn't suck!

When selecting a videographer or photographer sometimes it can be hard to find the perfect balance between budget and quality. There are many factors that go into pricing and selecting either, everything from gear, experience and talent to expenses, market conditions, and the location of your wedding.

I wish I could say photo is $X,XXX and be done with it… but that won’t really help you or anyone else. Each creator puts a lot of thought into pricing, its usually not just a random subjective number. This is going to be a long comment, but it should give you everything you need to know when budgeting… Take the following into consideration:

Location

If you are looking for a videographer in Brady TX its going to be cheaper than in Austin or Dallas. Bigger populations tend to have higher prices but more professional talent available.

Experience

Anyone in business for a while should have LOTS of weddings under their belt (I have filmed over 100 weddings myself). (And I’m still learning might I add) They should also have a pretty good understanding of their expenses and will tend to have higher prices, not just because they are worth more (and they are) but because they know what it truly costs to be in business. The quality and reduction of risk their expertise and experience brings is well worth that extra cost.

Artistic style and Talent

You should be looking at this as hiring an artist, they are making a work of art and different artists come with different levels of talent. You should expect to pay a higher price for a more talented artist. If a videographer's film of some stranger is making you cry there's a reason for that and the videographer who created that film will be in higher demand and thus worth more.

Hours of coverage

It's really difficult to capture the whole day in 6 hours. There is just too much going on. Average wedding is about 8 hours and the max I've seen is 12 in a day BUT I know videographers and photographers who have spent many days traveling around the world with a couple leading up to their wedding. Your timeline should dictate the hours of coverage not necessarily your budget.

In most cases there is no reason to cover more than 10hours on the wedding day. From a story standpoint usually there is not too much happening after the dance floor is open, unless there is some kind of sparkler exit. But this is something a good/professional vendor will discuss with you. Your Photographer and videographer will be able to help you plan and mold your timeline that will support your vision and what they need to accomplish it.

Length of edits and Prints

Typically adding edits or requesting a longer edit is going to cost more. I personally offer a sorter highlight film which is a creative film focused on the couple and their story (my couples love it) and then as couples select larger packages they can add a 20minute documentary or full edits of their ceremony or other parts of the day.

Equally adding albums, prints, frames, thank you cards will all cost more. It's worth it to work with your photographer to get high quality prints on archival paper so that your photos and albums look stunning 20 years from now. Trust me there is a MASSIVE noticeable difference between what is printed through a professional studio and Walgreens. All of these things, of course, will affect the price.

So this is my honest assessment as to pricing even if it makes some couples and vendors uncomfortable...

It's going to be harder to find reliable well established artists who have experience, and know their style and craft at a lower price! This is not a knock on low prices or beginners (everyone starts somewhere) it's just the honest truth. We all started here... Everyone has a good camera these days but not everyone is meant to be a wedding videographer. You can find great hidden talent BUT When working with someone new they inevitably have less experience and gear SO you need to work extra hard at vetting any new or low cost videographers or photographers.

Budget Vs Quality (IMO)

• Amateurs under $1,000 (Don’t Hire)
  Theses people are learning with your wedding OR are “Fly by night studios”. Theses Amateurs have no clue how to filming your wedding, will be horrible at communication and will cancel at the drop of the hat. Or worse are just scamming you! You will have called them 10 times gotten no answer only find out a week before your wedding that they forgot your wedding date and are “building homes in another country” and unable to film your wedding… (I should know, it happened to me)

• Hobbyists $1,200-1,600 (Probably Don’t Hire)
  Hobbyists will be hit or miss you might get someone amazing, a new kid fresh out of college eager to put in the work, or a talented mom picking up her long lost love for photography, BUT you could also get someone who really has no idea what they are doing or who doesn’t take their work seriously and are using your wedding as practice to build their “portfolio”. (“Building my portfolio” is code for “I’ve never done this before and have no idea what I’m doing and will probably mess this up” )

• Cheap Studios $1,200-2,000k+ (Probably Don’t Hire)
  A cheap mass market studio’s priority is “quantity over quality” they cut corners and send people with less experience to service large amount of weddings so they can maintain a good profit margin. Good profit margin is great for business BUT in a people intensive industry to keep those margins they MUST sacrifice quality and customer support. It can be hard to find a mass market studio that can create amazing films, have great customer service and a low price, inevitably corners get cut somewhere, so be sure to really check the reviews.

• Solo Professionals $1,700-2,500k+

 (Consider Hiring)
  This is where you will start getting good wedding video and photo professionals. They have invested in their craft and are serious about working hard to make you happy. They have experience enough to know their worth and charge appropriately.
  
  

• Small studio owner operators $2,500k-$4,000 (Hire)
  Theses owners and artists may shoot solo or bring a professional team of artists to your wedding. They walk you through their work and help you find the perfect package. They have years of experience or at least a large volume of work that is easily verifiable. You should expect artistry, professional service, great communication and a beautiful end product and film (This price and above is also where you can start finding great talent)


  
  

• A boutique high end studio or solo artist $3,000k-$6,000 (Hire)
  With theses creators artistry and craft is foremost. You should expect amazing artistry, professional service, great communication and a beautiful end product which looks and feels unique to that artist. You should be able to look at a collection of work and be able to pull theirs out with constancy. Their style is unique to them.
  
  

• Destination Filmmaker / Photographer and artist. $5,000-$15,000
 (Hire if they are available)
  Theses artists have a limited schedule and only take a limited number of weddings a year. If you are not a good fit they will let you know. You are hiring them for their mission and will plan your wedding schedule around their vision and style. They are leaders in their field and willing to travel. They will sometimes bring a team and sometimes shoot solo; they are artists not vendors. And their work is top of the pack for a reason.
  
  

• Celebrity Filmmakers / Photographers and top artists. $20,000-$40,000+ 

(Um duh… Hire them if you can)
  You're hiring theses artists for their impeccable work and world renown reputation. These are the Filmmakers and Photographers that select you not the other way around. They are published on websites and in blogs, work with celebrities and book years in advance. If they are available and you can afford them you are getting the best in the world.
  
  

Budgeting

The truth is you only have so much money. Join the club. We all want the Lexus but can’t always afford it.

I’m going to be an advocate for your future self. 20 years from now spending an extra $1000 on your photographer or videographer is going to mean very little… but if it's the difference between getting a fly by night newbie who looses your footage and having the images of the last time you danced with your dad I will tell you this… SPEND THE MONEY!

I would suggest setting your budget and see what you can find in that range BUT if you are on a tight budget and the artist you want is just out of reach be flexible with other things (say ditching the candy bar and the turtle doves) cut something else you don’t really need or want to build a great budget for something you do truly want.

Final thoughts.

I would staying away from Cheap Studios and Amateurs.

Only consider Solo Hobbyists if...

1) you know and trust them and have someone who can vouch for their character. 2) Have seen and feel comfortable with their limited work. 3) You keep good communication with them. (Sometimes when it's just a hobby it takes longer to get things done.)

At every other price point you should be fine, BUT as always the saying “You get what you pay for” really rings true in this industry.

Lastly…

Always insist on signing a contract, a deposit of 30%-50% is very common and you should expect to pay your remaining balance in full 30 days before the wedding.

Hope this has helped if you want to read more blogs like this please drop a comment below and let me know!