Average hours photographer is needed?

Most don't need 10 hours. Mine average 7-8. Results vary.

We hired our photographer for 6 hours

Andre, none of what you say makes any business sense, and advertising here is a no no.

We have ours for 8 hours. She will be leaving after the cake cutting. We are not doing a first look or a fake send off.

Hey Jay, I don't know how to tag people here. Why do you think it doesn't make any business sense? I disagree...

We are having 6 hours, no first look.

We are doing 4 hours; it'll cover first look, the entire ceremony, all of the bridal party pictures, family pictures, and through the first hour of the reception for the major dances. I didn't prioritize getting ready pictures or the remainder of the reception. She has everything lined up perfectly for a specific amount of time!

Our photographer offered packages in 4, 6, or 8 hours. We chose 8 - and honestly it might be a little much, but 6 hours felt like too little! 8 will be plenty of time for all of the getting ready photos, the pictures before the ceremony, and the ceremony/reception and send-off.

We did 6 hours. I didn't do the getting ready photos though. First look at 2:30 and then she left around 8:30 after cake, first dance, got some random group shots, people dancing, blah blah, then left. We were Originally going to do 7 hours but by 8:30 she said she got all of the important stuff and she said we could take off the extra hour and get that refunded if we wanted, so we let her go then. It cost around $1500

I see that in your country you guys are used to paying different ammounts of hours to a photographer to cover your ceremony, which is really weird here. I don't even imagine how they can cover everything with only a few hours of work.

We had 6 hours and pre-arranged to add an additional hour at the end of the night, so it was 7 total. we didn't have getting ready pics or a first look. our photog met us at the venue at 3 and stayed till 10. we did all the family and WP pics before the ceremony, other than a couple of family photos during the reception for people who couldn't come early. we didn't do a send-off either.

You don't see how they can cover everything in 6 hours?

With more coverage that's more time for you, any assistant staff, as well as postproduction time, this is why people are usually charged for time. Whether packaged option or bespoke option. I love my couples, but I also value working smart, not losing profits. With that I can be generous and dedicate more time to detail.

My photog package is roughly as follows;

engagement shoot

unlimited day of coverage. She will show up when I ask her to, and leave when I ask her to! My ceremony is 3, so I assume she will show up around 10-11, and be there until 11ish PM

optional 2nd shooter for the half day (about 1:00 on) is 500 extra

So I am paying 3k for everything! The unlimited timing thing is amazinggg

When will your reception end? (Presumably, you will have worked that out with the venue, so you'll know.) Then, how many hours before the ceremony will you start getting ready? (Presumably, you will have worked that out with your hair and make-up artists.) Subtract one from the other, and you'll know how long you need the photographer, if you choose to have one for the whole thing.

Sometimes people elect shorter packages, e.g., having the cake cutting early and having the photographer leave after that. We went even shorter than that, having the photographer only for the ceremony. But calculating the times isn't something outsiders can tell you--it depends on what you have organized.

@hannah (I dont know if this is how I'm supposed to tag). 6 hours is not enough, I mean, it obviously depends on what the bride wants. In here we usually star working at 7 in the morning in the house of the bride, from 7 to 10 (more a less). On those 3 hours we photograph the hair getting done, the makeup, the family of the bride arriving at her home, the bride starting to wear the dress, all of that. And of course the reactions of the parents. After that, we go to the grooms house. There it's usually an hour and a half. From 10 to 11 or 11:30. We take some shots of the groom wearing is shoes, the suit, etc. After we finish the groom's photos, he goes to the church with his family, where he will wait for his bride, and we get back to the bride's house, where we will take some shots with the maids of honour, and inside the car (usually a limo or something will take the bride to the church or the place of the wedding, which is usually at 12:00), (But we all know it usually drags. So as you can see, 5 hours are already gone. And we are just starting. So now we are at the church and it will take about 1 hour until 13:00. After that, its time to go to the venue. from 13:00 until 15:00 its usually the time where we take some photos to the reception, the tables, the glasses, the flower arrangements, etc and people eat during that time. From 15-19h we make a session with the couple in the venue, and we will take shots with all the family and friends. 20h is dinner time, and it goes until 22h. After 22h the party starts. That's when the bride will dance with the groom, throw the bouquet, etc. And of course they will cut the cake. This can go until 2 in the morning of the other day. So yeah, I don't know how you guys work in America, but 6 hours is not enough (at least from my professional point of view, to photograph a wedding). We work usually between 12-16 hours on each wedding. I don't even know why I'm writing so much, I just want to explain to you guys how this works in here, but I will probably get flagged again for giving my opinion.

This will depend on a few factors (location of getting ready (if you're doing getting ready), location of ceremony, location of reception, travel time, etc.). I generally recommend no less than 5 or 6 hours, but usually 8 hours is enough to cover everything - especially if everything is in one location. My own wedding was in one place (our backyard) and we had our photographer for 6.5 hours, it was plenty. And we did a "fake" send off and it wasn't a hassle. Most people really don't need a photographer for the entire reception (reception photos all start to look similar after a while).

I would suggest at least 8 hrs. Preferably 9-10. The candid pictures are priceless in addition to the formal pictures. Plus you definitely want the "real" send off. If you later decide you need more hours, it could be expensive. Our photographer was an additional $400 for one lousy hour. But.... with the timeline we now have, we need it. More is better.

It depends will you need coverage for getting ready photos and do you want ceremony and reception photos? Also how long will your wedding and reception be? If you want full coverage then you may want the photographer for at least at least 8. We're only doing 6.

@Andre: American weddings usually start later and end earlier. Most venues end around 11 p.m., some go as late as midnight. But the ceremony would be sometime after 3 or 4 p.m. so that there is only about 1-1.5 hour gap between the ceremony and reception. Thus, 7-8 hours is plenty enough time for a photographer to capture all the key moments.