Clients often ask why wedding photography costs more than many other types of photoshoots of the same length of time.
There are essentially 5 reasons why a wedding photographer charges more:
- Upfront time – ask any wedding photographer and they’ll tell you that most wedding clients need more upfront time from their photographer. Most clients will take many months communicating with their wedding photographer through emails, texts, phone calls, video conferencing and finally the planning meeting about one month before the big day. This is all part of the wedding planning process and adds to the total time and cost for the event.
- Difficulty – let’s face it, photographing an 8 hour wedding with 150 guests is not easy. That is why so many professional photographers will not do weddings. It is very difficult to capture the day while staying on schedule and managing lots of guests. It’s an acquired skill that can take years to achieve.
- Stress – Many photographers won’t shoot weddings simply because they are too stressful. They are completely different than, for example, studio photography where you can control all the elements. You can’t “stop action” in a wedding. They are free-flowing and the photographer just has to go-with-the flow and document the day. Whereas, with studio photography, you are able to do the shoot over and over.
- Liability – As we say in the wedding world, “there is no do-over” with weddings. You either captured the day or you didn’t. Things can happen such as equipment failure, rain, clients starting their day two hours late, etc. There are many factors out of our control. Many brides have dreamed and planned their wedding day for years which can create additional pressure on the wedding photographer unlike other types of photography.
- 52 Saturdays – Wedding photographers, for the most part, only have 52 shooting days per year to earn their living, whereas, other photographers are able to work all year-round. This makes each of those 52 days even more valuable for us. Because we only have 52 Saturdays per year, we often book dates very far in advance, often as much as a year in advance.