How much should I charge for amateur wedding photography?

Question

I'm shooting 2 weddings this year, one in August as a wedding present and one paid in June. The one in June will be my first proper job as a wedding photographer so I'm quite nervous. I also don't know how much to charge. They currently haven't told me how much of their day they want me to shoot but I know it will be a before/after ceremony, during ceremony, the part after the ceremony where they do speeches minimum. Not sure about the reception yet.
I need to buy some more equipment - I think I will be working mostly with my 18 - 135mm Canon lens, although I know I definitely need some extra memory cards! I may also need to buy some extra flash equipment but I won't know until they tell me what specific parts of their day they want photographed.

Roughly how much should I charge for this? Equipment costs will be taken in to account on top of me being there and processing after. I won't be printing or putting them in to an album, but they will be receiving all their photographs on either discs or memory cards, that way they can pick their proofs and get them printed to their liking. Travel is already taken care of and doesn't need to be charged for.

Answer 1

"i'm not a beginner photographer and i get paid for all other areas of photography"



Hmmmm, now why do I doubt this? oh I know, because if you were being paid for "all other areas of photography" as you say then you would have a pricing structure in place for all those "other areas" and it would be very simple to adjust that for shooting a wedding or anything else.



The other thing which makes me doubt your skills/qualifications is you are accepting the job without having the necessary experience, skill or equipment.



BUT, as that was not part of your question then the answer is - charge them whatever you would charge for a days work in all these "other areas" that you get paid for.

Answer 2

Amateur Wedding Photography

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

Well you shouldn't be shooting as an amateur wedding photographer. If you are ready to make money as a photographer you are a professional. Your work ethic, equipment, skill, style, and product should reflect that. You don't have to be the best, but you do have to produce quality work that is comparable to the current market. The reason is that when lots of people start charging small amounts of money because they are "just starting" it cuts the market. I say that minimum for a full day wedding is $2000. Keep in mind your equipment expenses, travel time, post production etc. If you do not feel comfortable charging that amount then maybe try being a wedding assistant until such time as you feel you have the skill.You need to have at least two lenses, and two bodies. What happens if a camera stops working in the middle of the wedding? You need at least two batteries per body, a flash or two or three and if not wireless triggers then a wireless TTL cord and the ability to properly use different types of flash techniques.

Answer 5

If you're planning on shooting with your f/3.5-f/5.6 lens, you'd sure as shootin' better acquire a powerful off-camera flash. This lens is nowhere near fast enough to get good shots in the low light that is typical of weddings. And your pop-up flash -- apart from its other myriad weaknesses -- is not going to have the reach. And don't expect your clients to pay for your new equipment. That's your responsibility.



Quite frankly, it sounds like you don't know what you've gotten yourself into. Do you have a portfolio of wedding work that you showed to your clients? Wedding photography is not a walk in the park. Have you ever observed a wedding photographer at work, let alone worked with one as an intern or as a second shooter? It's a grueling day and you do not have the luxury of doing it over if something goes amiss.



I recommend scouting what other photographers in your region charge and then low-ball your bill by a considerable amount. That way, you won't be leading to high expectations from your clients.

Answer 6

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RE:

How much should I charge for amateur wedding photography?

I'm shooting 2 weddings this year, one in August as a wedding present and one paid in June. The one in June will be my first proper job as a wedding photographer so I'm quite nervous. I also don't know how much to charge. They currently haven't told me how much of their day they...

Answer 7

if you are really going to do this......If the ceremony is outside, you should be fine using your 18-135mm without the flash, but if it is an inside ceremony, you better hope you can use flash otherwise you will have to rent a fast lens (f/2.8 or faster) to be able to meet the needs of the situation. for the reception, you will most likely use flash the whole time with that lens. If I were you, I would tell them to not expect any guarantees as you are only an amateur (which means they don't get paid) but sometimes the clients are willing to give you some cash for the help. If you want to charge them, you need to rent lenses and a second body and a high end flash to start with.

Answer 8

"An amateur (French amateur "lover of", from Old French and ultimately from Latin amatorem nom. amator, "lover") is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training. Amateurism can be seen in both a negative and positive light. Since amateurs often do not have formal training, some amateur work may be sub-par. For example, amateur athletes in sports such as basketball, baseball or football are regarded as having a lower level of ability than professional athletes. On the other hand, an amateur may be in a position to approach a subject with an open mind (as a result of the lack of formal training) and in a financially disinterested manner. An amateur who dabbles in a field out of casual interest rather than as a profession or serious interest, or who possesses a general but superficial interest in any art or a branch of knowledge, is often referred to as a dilettante."



In other words, nothing if you have not been properly trained or shot beside an experienced pro for a year or two.

Answer 9

Nothing. Amateurs by definition do not charge.



As a professional, I think £2,000 to £10,000 per day is reasonable.





Edit:

P.S. I was a contributing photographer for National Geographic and Outside for several years before I was ready to shoot my first wedding.

Answer 10

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For wedding...if you have never done a wedding, nor have charged, then I would say in the $150-250 range, depending on the quality of work and amount of photos produced. A photoshoot for two people...I'd say $50-100 range.

Answer 11

2

Answer 12

are you sure you are prepared???



what camera are you using???



have you got a 2nd body???



are you using battery grips???



have you got some spare batteries (just in case)???



what size memory cards are you using???



how many lenses and what kind have you got???



have you got two flashguns??? and bounce-cards, diffusers, etc???



have you got 2 tripods with quick release???



an assistant???



lots of memory cards??? and what size???



have you gone to the venues and spoken to the people in charge???



have you looked at creative ideas??? where to put the bride, groom, etc???



are you going to try something creative or standard???



are you using photoshop to fix things???



if you don't know how much to charge, should you be doing the wedding??? you need to know in advance your overheads... and that isn't to include the extra cost for equipment...



are you providing prints, photobook(s), CD??? (preferably NOT a CD with high res non-watermarked images)...

Answer 13

Wow, did I ever find the right place to find a bunch of pros who are freaking out at the prospect of an amateur stealing their business. You guys are pretty sad.

Answer 14

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Answer 15

I have to agree with Joe and Andy,



If you are a professional photographer with a sucessfull business then you should know that we can't tell you what to charge ... we don;t know your business operating costs, what type of profit margin you are looking for, we don;t even know what you package includes and what your won costs for that package is (prints, time travel, assistants ...).



I have serious doubts about you being an acutal pro.



The next point of contention here is your affirmation that you'll be shooting with with a crappy 18-135 ... that thing is far too slow for low lighting normally found in churches and reception halls. Where is your L glass (or equivalent)? I shoot with 2 cameras on me. One with a 24-70 f2.8 and the other with a 70-200 f2.8.



"Equipment costs will be taken in to account ..."



What does this even mean? You charge your client vbased on the gear you are usin for the shoot? That's not how you build your costing ... it doesn't make sense unless you mean rental costs?



As far as what to charge ... add up your business operating costs (studio rent, cellphone, web hosting, domain name registartion, liability insurance ... so on so forth), divide that by the number of shoots you plan on doing in the year and that is your first cost.



you next cost is to add up YOUR cost for the shoot itself (cost of prints, albums, gear rental, assistant salary ... so on so forth).



Next, determin how much work this shoot represents (in hours. meeting clients, prepping, travel, shooting, backing up, post processing, ordering prints ... so on so forth) decide how much you want to be paid per hour (12$, 20$, 30$ an hour ... whatever) and multiply the two.



Add all 3 amounts and oyu have what you should be charging.



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EDIT

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You said:



"thank you to the last answer which i found much more helpful :) although i do not claim to be a pro...i'm just somebody trying to set themselves up a career in the photography business. yes i did mean rental costs when i said about equipment."



but before that you said:



"i'm not a beginner photographer and i get paid for all other areas of photography, but i have not done much in the area of wedding photography before."



A definition of "professional" follows:



"A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee."

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional



"Following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder."

"following as a business an occupation ordinarily engaged in as a pastime: a professional golfer."

Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/professional