How Much to Pay (My Friend) the Photographer

I believe in total it'll be around 4k, but we haven't booked yet. Similar situation where it's an amazingly talented family friend. We are in Washington, DC.

A friend we know is doing it for 1475.

$1000-unlimited edits, jpeg, and year of website viewing, 5 hours, if we need to add more time then $200 an hour.

1300, engagement photos, day of includes getting ready to the dance and then all the photos with the copy rights. SE MN

I am in Kansas City. We are paying $300 an hour for one photographer and assistant with full rights to photos.

We're in Phoenix, AZ and our photographer is about $3,000 for the entire day. All images on a USB drive with full printing rights.

We have 2 shooters, for 8 hours, and will own all the rights to our pictures. We are paying $2,800. That also includes our engagement pictures. I live outside of Baltimore, Maryland.

My coworker who does professional photography is coming down night before. She said shes gonna shoot the entire weekend for 800 bucks. I feel bad but shes insisting its a wedding gift to us.

We are getting married on Maui and using Jonathan Moeller from Kauai. We went with the $5500 package. 2 photographers, all day coverage, photo album, the works!

We have 2 photographers, 10 hour coverage for $3500 and we're in Connecticut.

Middle Tennessee-- 3400 for 8 hours, 2 photographers, disk with photos and printing rights, engagement shoot.

Houston area, Texas. Paying $750 for engagement session and 6 hours on wedding day. She's a family friend ( well she was our photographer first we just became friends eventually)

South Florida

I'm paying $4,700

Included:

2 photographers

8 hours

engagement shoot

online gallery

printing rights

I'm on the SF Bay area, we are paying about $3100 and it includes 1 photog and 1 videographer for 8h each, 2h engagement shoot. We paid extra to get access to all the raw files, so we can edit ourselves.

Single photog in Iowa. We get 9 hours of service, 270 edited photos, 2 hour engagement session with 40 edited photos, and travel costs. With tax it came out to be $2300.

Friend or not, you need a written contract. That contract might say that you agree to pay the photographer a greatly reduced fee, but you need a signed document that clearly states what you're getting and what you're paying the photographer. Sometimes these arrangements go wrong -- and nobody ever enters into these friendor arrangements believing they'll end up in a dispute (that's why there was no contract in the first place). Honestly, I can tell you that if a vendor is giving away their service for a friend/family member (or agreeing to do the work at cost), there is a different feeling about the project. Such a vendor intends, sincerely intends, to do their utmost to treat the friend (who isn't really compensating them) like every other client, but if a paying client gets into the mix, guess who's getting pushed to the bottom of the pile? It's just human nature.

If you're dealing with a photographer who sells photos for more than your entire wedding budget, you'll have to understand that you will, most likely, represent a project of the least importance. Sure, they intend to deliver your product, but if National Geographic or Professional Photographer Magazine contacts them, you're going to have to wait for your photos. It may be fine, but it may not be fine. Put together a contract, offer to pay them a flat fee, and let the photographer know that this is something you're not budging on. Or...you can take your chances.

Thanks everyone for sharing your info.

Thanks for the advice Centerpiece Flowers. If I'm being honest, in addition to appreciating artists -- I'm concerned about making an appropriate offer to make sure that a "better" job doesn't cost me my photographer at the last minute.

I won't mind if the editing takes a while. None of my siblings ever ordered any prints from any of their weddings, and I have a feeling I'll end up in the same camp. I'm just not really a photo person! My fiance and I have been dating for 9 years, and there are probably less than 10 photos of us together. However, pretty much every person EVER has impressed upon me the importance of a good photographer, so I'll take the advice. :-) Anyway, as long as he's there to shoot the wedding, he can take his sweet time editing.

@ Zoe you may be saying now its okay if he takes his time with editing but if he gets insanely busy after your wedding you could be waiting a very very long time. How long are you prepared to wait for them. 6 months? a year? two years?

Without a contract he is free to keep kicking the can down the road. Its not even about wanting prints or not, if he never gets around to editing your pics you basically have no pictures of your wedding at all, you have nothing until that process is done.

You say you take advice, so please take centerpiece's and get a contract.

We are in a similar situation - also using a friend who is a good photographer. We are drawing up a contract next week so I don't know what our exact coast will be but he said because we are good friends he would not charge us more than $2000. We are in the Philadelphia area.

Yea, for safety I would get a contract.