We Fix $500 Wedding Photography

Posted on February 4, 2010

South Bend, Indiana Wedding Photography | Wedding Photography Pricing Resource

Well now that we have your attention, I want to state that I was once a $500 wedding photographer so this is not me hating on the low budget bride or photographer. This blog post is about all the factors a professional should consider when creating their prices and to give our fellow photographers a few resources on why what you charge is SO important.

As for our clients that blogstalk us, or a potential client that is reading this, I still encourage you to continue reading. You may see your wedding photography in a different light.

When I was pregnant with Bryce in 2007, Chris and I decided that we wanted to go into business together as wedding photographers. I would spend EVERY lunch hour trying to come up with pricing that I felt comfortable asking my clients to pay. I had two weddings already under my belt, but I had grown as a photographer and my style had changed enough so that those images were not a true representation of my skills. Though I knew that I was worth more, the question still remained: what is a “fair” price?

One day, Chris found a blog where a photographer told his readers that he started at $500 and that would include a proof book and DVD slideshow. Hence, our first pricing structure was then born. This worked really well for our first year, but it wasn’t enough to run a business. Over the last few years, I’ve learned the basics of what it takes to run a business, but when I read Jodie Otte’s guest post on the MCP Actions blog I realized there was so much more.

Another great resource posted on the MCP Actions blog is from Stacy Reeves. She posted a FREE pricing guide that she put together with the help of several other professional photographers (the basis from our upcoming pricing revision). It’s very time consuming, but it makes you look at every aspect of the pricing process. However, it is so worth it.

One last resource I would recommend is Alicia Caine’s Easy as Pie Cookbook. Alicia is such an amazing woman that I would highly recommend following her work and success. She is a mother of four, with one on the way, and her drive completely inspires me. Oh, and by the way, as if running a business and chasing after 4 kids isn’t enough to admire her for, she also home schools her children. She’s a woman after my own heart.

So, why scrutinize your pricing? Most photographers do not take into account how valuable their time is before and after the event. Second, photographers way under estimate the actual costs of running a business. Lastly, what segmant of the market are you marketing your brand towards?

I will be going into further detail over the next couple weeks on my thoughts for each of these points. If you have questions or would like me to ellaborate on anything within this series, please comment below.