Photography Dilemma…

I am not sure what your dilemma is--that's a pretty standard price.

View Quoted Comment The fact that my fiancé and parents think that my photographer is too expensive. That’s the whole dilemma.

View Quoted Comment My FH and his parents thought the same thing about mine. Our whole package is $4300 and that was the cheapest of all the photographers I spoke to. They thought it was "a waste" because they have no idea how much photo costs in this area. Once they saw the engagement pics, though, they came around. Bottom line is if you're paying for it, their opinion doesn't matter. Photos and video are arguably the most important part of a wedding, so don't feel guilty about wanting good quality.

That’s actually a pretty good/standard price. I’m paying $5200.

A suggestion for you - If people need a little more insight on the price, I would price out a bunch of photographers. I’d then make a spreadsheet of their pricing, how long they provide coverage and what all is included in their package. Sometimes presenting some more data helps shed light for people who don’t understand the price.

View Quoted Comment My photographer is almost 3k. I got a bunch of quotes and that was the most reasonable for my area. It’s not too much and pictures are a lifetime

I paid 3,000 for two photographers for 8 hours and engagement shots. I got married two years ago though and signed a contract 3 years ago so my photographer’s pricing has gone up. I believe she chargers $3,500-$4,000 for her packages now.

I would let them know what's all included with that price, as just saying $2,500 for photography is a pretty broad statement to people who don't know what is actually included in that price.

My photographer is $3,500, which includes 8 hours of shooting, a highlight album, an extra life shoot (if it rains or something goes wrong on our wedding day where pictures are not what we want we get a free make up shoot), all printing rights, a 2 year back up, retouched edited images, and an extra shooter. The package I choose typically includes an engagement session however we won a free engagement session with our photographer, so he offered us the second shooter for free since we didn't need the engagement session included in the package we chose.

That's a great price compared to one of our $4500 quotes. We paid $2650. Parents always think the prices are high lol. My mom couldn't get over it lol. I just explained that times are different and they price according to what they feel will cover all that they do. Editing takes HOURS and honestly that's what we're paying for. You might have to break it down for them...


Just think the photographer will take about 2,000 pictures (maybe more) and that's not even the easy part. The stress on them and getting all the little details that we ask for, making sure they don't miss any precious moments. Standing for hours, chasing behind us, jumping around to get that perfect shot lol. Then after all that, going through alllllll those shots and selecting the best ones before they go through each picture with a fine tooth comb lol to fix and enhance each photo. That stuff takes timeeeee and also why it takes like 3 months to get them back. So just say, this is what they do and leave it alone. There are a million other things to worry about. You also get what you pay for and a $600 college intern will NOT shoot my wedding. No sir lol, not this big day! I think $2500 is the perfect sweet spot for all that they do! People think well it's just pictures...oh no it's way more than that. The skill set behind it all makes that picture, something you'll have forever. I hope you love your photos! ❤

View Quoted Comment I second that. It also helped me get my head around those prices, because I was honestly surprised by them.
If money is an issue, maybe try to find a photographer who doesn't necessarily specialize in weddings? Everything wedding-related seems to automatically cost three times as much as the same service for a private family party. I know because I've organised my grandpa's 80th birthday 3 years ago and it wasn't even nearly as insane.

$2,500 for engagement and wedding photos is cheap. If you like their work, book them!

Our photography was $1150. We had two shooters for 4.5 hours.

That is an excellent price for BOTH engagement and wedding! If you have seen sample albums definitely book!

We got very lucky and found one for $1995 which covers all day (no hour limitations), 2 photographers, and rights to all of the images. Just read carefully what is included but that is a good price.

This is how much our photographer was. My dad thought it was expensive until I showed him the prices other local photographers had listed on their websites. I compared the prices and also the services included and he realized we were getting a lot of bang for our buck.

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Are your parents contributing money to the wedding? If not, then only your fiancé's input matters. Include everyone who is paying in the vendor selection process by showing the details included in ~3 quotes from local, comparable vendors. If that's what it costs for photography in your area, then it doesn't matter if people think it's too expensive. The price is the price (which varies HIGHLY by region, so everyone providing their costs here doesn't really help you).

That said, there are ways to decrease the spend if you work with your photographer to cut back on things you don't need (hours on-site or a 2nd photographer; extras like albums, engagement shoots, special editing, etc.).

I also second that that is a pretty standard price but i totally understand that some people may think that is a lot of money for photos. it is one of those things that they charge a lot because that's what you're left with at the end of the day

Show your dissidents this post! I am getting married in the Central Coast of California (location has an effect on pricing!) paying approx. $7k for 9 hours with 2 shooters, a custom photo album, a full website of all of my shots that my family can pay and print from, and $1k of printing and framing credit which I am using for her to create a framed piece that includes my Ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) along with images she takes, and guaranteed 2 week delivery time!

If you love the work this photographer does and having these photos is important to you, hire them!

We're only having 4 hours of photography and it's still $1200 (one hour engagement session is an additional $250). Your price is very reasonable!

That's about standard. I'm in California and the quotes we've gotten range from $2,500 - $5,000+ depending on how many hours they'll be shooting for, extra photographers, video, etc. Keep in mind they have to upload and edit all your pictures after and that can take hours or days (if they have other things to edit, they usually do). They are also running around all day, wearing equipment, trying to get the best shots. In my opinion, it's one of the things worth splurging on for your wedding.

We're right around $2,300 for our package which includes an engagement session, two photographers and 10 or 12 hours of coverage. I found less expensive and more expensive in our area, but at the end of the day, for me it came down to the styling of the photography and the variety that our photographer offers. She had everything I was looking for and an awesome personality to boot!