So the other week, I met up with a young photographer friend who was just starting out in the wedding world.  After shooting the breeze for a little bit, she brought up that she just landed a wedding, but wasn’t sure if she charged the client enough. And she asked me, straight up, “How much should I be charging?” I said that it all depends on your individual cost.  And I think this is where many photographers fall short.  So many are focused on the art and aesthetic of their work that they completely forget that they are trying to run a business and not just doing this for fun or for a hobby. Businesses need sufficient revenue to pay for all of their costs and pay their employees/contractors.

I think, all photographers need to start with their cost of doing business analysis.  The form below will help photographers to get a better handle of how much they should be charging and not letting other local vendors dictate their price.  This is not an all encompassing, know it all calculation, but rather just a starting point for young photographers to get a handle on how to manage the finances of their business.

And if you’re a bride reading this, try inputting your own personal costs and it may make you think twice about trying to haggle a photographer down.  And please keep in mind that many of the expenses that we take for granted, such as health insurance, which is often paid for by many of the larger enterprises, is a real cost for small business owners.

And just a quick note on the first field.  If you’re a bride, I can imagine you saying, “What?  Only 30 weddings per year?  Dude needs to work harder”  You have to keep in mind that 1 wedding usually results in about 40+ hours of post production work.  In addition to that, if you’re in a northern state within the US, the wedding season is very seasonal, so there many only be 30 working weekends in a year. The rest of the year, it’s too cold and most brides do not want to have a wedding with snow on the ground. And if you’re a parent and a photographer, you’re giving up your Saturdays to work, when you could be at a family BBQ, family Birthday Party, or your kid’s little league game.  So the photographer, in many ways, is sacrificing their personal life to capture the most special moment for the bride, groom and their family.

Most photographers have to find some sort of work in the winter to help supplement the income.

I have taken the liberty of filling in what I think are pretty reasonable costs and numbers. Please notice that I have not even included any salary/pay for the lead photographer nor any sort of savings/retirement fund, two things that are pretty necessary to live or have some sort of future.  Your individual pay is something only you can decide based upon your experience and skill level.

But play around and see what you should be charging!  The results update automatically, when any of the above fields are changed.