I have been asked this so many times... does the wedding industry inflate prices when they hear it's a wedding?
Here is my honest answer (as a former wedding photographer)... NO. Did I charge more for a wedding than a 50th birthday party or a family portrait session? Yes, absolutely. I charged A LOT more for a wedding.
Was I taking advantage of the emotional sell? Absolutely not.
The main reasons I charged more for a wedding were: the unseen amount of work involved in the 12+ months leading up to the wedding, the skill level needed on the day, the INTENSE pressure to create perfect "portfolio level work" no matter what the reality of the situation- but mostly it is to compensate for the time AFTER the wedding in post production.
Little known fact about wedding photography - the real job is sitting at a computer editing photos. Photographers spend many hours behind the computer carefully selecting and editing photos. They make adjustments, crop, and adjust colors to ensure each image it's best. Don't forget the time it takes for batching, renaming, importing, exporting and uploading the photos and preparing them for delivery.
Do you think this justifies why photographers charge more for weddings than for other types of shoots?
2 comments
One wedding trend I wish would go away and never come back is... no-look-first-look. IYKYK.
Lol by the 3rd time people clink the glasses to make the couple kiss, I start wishing it was never a thing. It gives some of the louder, borderline obnoxious guests free reign to make noise throughout dinner.
And the sparklers look cool in a photo, but I once saw someone launch one into a downtown street as cars were driving by.
I'd also somehow get rid of, or at least bring more organization to, taking pictures at the church/ceremony venue right after the ceremony. Couple walks out with a lot of noise, excitement and momentum, then instead of going into the party bus to keep the energy high, we walk right back into the church/venue and stand around for a half hour to do pictures. Might be an unpopular opinion but I love the idea of riding the energy wave from the end of ceremony as long as possible!