Build Your Own Package
Most likely you already checked a gazillion photographers’ websites. Packages, packages, packages… What if you need 6 hours of coverage, but there are only packages for 5 and 8 hours? What if you don’t need a photo book or album? What if you already have your engagement photos? So instead of begging for a custom package or instead of overpaying for something you actually don’t need, let’s build your own package.
In the next few minutes, you will be able to add to your package all things you actually need and cut everything you don’t need. Though, there are two things included in any package which we can’t cut or customize:
Booking fee - $300
Paying the booking fee after signing a wedding photography contract seals the deal. It means the photographer will hold that date only for you. In case of cancellation by the client, the booking fee is non-refundable but if the photographer will be able to book another client i.e. wedding for that date, the photographer agrees to refund the booking fee.
Travel fee - $50
We figured that for most weddings $50 is enough to cover the cost of fuel, tolls, etc.
Something to think about:
The biggest addition to the total price of wedding photography service is the cost of hourly coverage. If $250/hour sounds crazy for you, then stop here and read this. For every 1 hour of shooting your photographer will spend about 3 hours on editing, plus time for pre-sale, phone calls, emails, meetings in person before the big day, paperwork, actual scouting the location or doing online research, organizing mood board, searching for references, doing necessary maintenance for equipment, traveling to and from the location. So with all backstage, a basic 8-hours wedding easily transforms into a 40-hours job. That being said, these $250/hour transforms into $50/hour. And for the job, that requires years of education and training, thousands of dollars invested in equipment and software, $50/hour doesn’t sound crazy anymore, right?
And we didn’t even start to talk about accounting and taxes, professional subscriptions and insurance, electric and internet bills. Oh, for some reason in New England people are getting married only from April to November. And only on weekends. It means, in the best-case scenario regular wedding photographer can shoot about 20 weddings/year.
So just keep in mind, when you talk with a wedding photographer who charges $250/hour, most likely in front of you not extremely reach Forbes-like person, but someone who cannot live without photography, who loves what he does and does what he loves.