How Much Does It Cost To Have Photographer For wedding?
7 Sketchy Ways Wedding Photographers Get Your Business!
Check out the deal I have for you!
For $2,000, I will photograph your wedding and give you 1,000 professionally edited images. On top of that, I will deliver your photos in 1-2 weeks!
Wow, what an amazing deal!!
Well, how would you know if that's an amazing deal? How much is a photographer for a wedding? A very common question, but one that is not always easily answered. Believe it or not, there is a lot of science behind our buying decisions. For example, if you're buying a commodity (coffee, pencils, paper, etc.) you will generally purchase them based on price. But, what about items like cars and houses? You will certainly consider price because your budget isn't endless; however, unlike commodities, your decision when making these types of purchases is largely emotional.
7 sketchy ways wedding photographers get your business!
1. Low prices
Low prices is one of the most common ways to get your business. In many cases, photographers using a low price to get your attention will also promise you the world. You start to ask yourself, why would I pay $3,000 when I can spend $1,500 and get the same thing?
Wedding photography is expensive because being a wedding photographer is even more expensive. When your photographer arrives to photograph your wedding, it's likely they will have $15,000-$20,000 worth of equipment. When photographers are charging noticeably less than everyone else, it should raise a red flag. The real question we should be asking is how can they charge so much less? What corners are they cutting? These photographers are known for over promising and under delivering.
2. High prices
With most things in life, we generally get what we pay for....................to a point. When making a purchase, it's human nature to assume the most expensive item is the best, otherwise, why would it be so expensive? But many companies, including wedding photographers, will price their products/services very high to create the illusion of being the best. This is part of the psychological influence pricing has on our buying behaviors. We see this high price and it often makes us believe, "I got to have it!"
There are wedding photographers out there charging $50,000 per wedding. Many of these photographers were in the right place at the right time. They were fortunate enough to get a job photographing a high-profile client (musician, actor/actress, etc.) and now they are looked at as God of photography. However, the photographer charging $10,000 is just as capable. Bottom line, don't assume the highest price is necessarily your best option. Often times, it's nothing more than a marketing ploy.
3. excessive number of delivered photos
Another common tactic used to get your business is promising to deliver an excessive amount of photos. Generally speaking, most professional wedding photographers will deliver between 50-75 edited images per hour of coverage. An 8 hour wedding will typically yield between 400-600 images. When a photographer tells you they will deliver at least 1,000 images, one question should come to mind:
Do you want more or do you want better?
Almost every couple agrees that 1,000 images is way too much. Many of the images they receive are identical to other photos, they have poor exposures, etc. Do you really need 50 photos of a drunk uncle on the dance floor doing the electric slide? 400-600 images is the sweet spot for most couples. Your big day will be generously covered and the photos will tell the complete story of your wedding celebration.
4. ridiculously quick photo delivery times
Photo delivery times vary from photographer to photographer, and of course, the time of year will also impact photo delivery times. If it's the middle of wedding season, it will likely take a couple weeks longer to get your final images.
Assuming you will be receiving between 400-600 images, you should expect to receive your photos within 2-6 weeks. This will allow your photographer to properly edit your photos to ensure they are as perfect as possible. If your photographer is promising to deliver 1,000 images in 1-2 weeks, I assure you they are not "editing" your photos and a lot of corners are being cut.
What impacts how quickly photos can be edited?
Time of Year
We've already touched on this briefly, but the time of year can impact the delivery time of your wedding photos. If you're getting married during wedding season, it will generally take a few more weeks to get your photos.
Editing Needs
Every photo I deliver my clients is reviewed individually to ensure it looks as beautiful as possible. Every wedding has different editing needs and this can significantly impact editing, and delivery times. For example, I've edited weddings where the grooms tuxedo had several areas of hair and lint. I meticulously remove these items from every photo; however, situations like this can significantly affect editing time.
5. inferior products
When it comes to inferior products, it generally relates to wedding albums. If a photographer tells you they are going to photograph your wedding for $2,000 and it will include a high-quality wedding album, it's a big red flag. They are likely giving you a very low quality wedding album that will leave you extremely disappointed. Be sure to see an actual example of the album before agreeing to purchase it. You want to be able to see and feel it to ensure it's a good quality.
6. over promising & under delivering
Generally speaking, we see this tactic used by cheap photographers and photographers that don't really care about you as a client. They promise you the world and in the end you're left wondering what just happened. However, when it comes to weddings, by the time you figure out what happened, it's over and you're out of luck.
What are the most common over promises we see?
Insanely fast delivery times of your wedding photos
Excessively high number of delivered photos
Noticeably cheap wedding photography prices in relation to everyone else
Professionally edited photos (most commonly a concern when coupled with fast photo delivery times)
Two photographers, but their second photographer has no experience photographing weddings or isn't a photographer at all
Products that are sold as "high-quality," but in reality they are cheap and poorly made
7. fake portfolios
Consumer grade cameras have become very affordable and unfortunately, everyone with a camera these days believes they are a "professional photographer." Many of these so called photographers use social media to take advantage of unsuspecting couples. They create a free Facebook business page, call themselves a professional wedding photographer, and steal photos from other photographers to create a fake portfolio. Some unlucky couples hires them for $1,500 and they are eventually left heartbroken because their wedding memories are completely ruined.
Any wedding photographer you're considering to photograph your wedding should have an active and noticeable presence across several social media platforms. But, social media alone is not enough. You should never hire a photographer that doesn't have a professional website. On average, a professional website costs $200-$300 per year. If your photographer can't invest $200-$300 in themselves, why should you invest thousands?
choose wisely
As I said a short time ago, consumer cameras have become very affordable. That means choosing a photographer for your big day has become even more challenging than ever before. There are lots of ways to spot red flags and protect your investment. Hopefully, the 7 sketchy tactics I've shared in this article will help you find the right wedding photographer for your wedding.
Trust your instincts. If a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is. It might be tempting to pay $1,000 for your wedding photography when everyone else is charging $2,500, but if you're left heartbroken, it will be the worst $1,000 you ever spent.