Why do we do this? Wedding Photography is probably the least expensive professional photography to buy - but when you look at a quote for upwards of $3000 it sure doesn't seem that way.
Most of us only ever hire a professional photographer once or twice in a lifetime, and don't have anything much to go by when it comes to choosing our wedding photographer, which makes price one of the few standards we can use to compare them. But it's not a very good way. Low quotes usually mean amateurs making a few bucks on the weekend, or new photographers trying to break into the business. Very high quotes may mean "famous" photographers capitalising on the fact that they shot Mariah Carey's wedding, or that they advertise in Harpers Bazaar wedding issue, or even that they didn't know how to price their work, so just copied some high-flyer's price list.
Of course, many photographers do not publish prices. Quite rightly, they want to personalise their quote to your needs, expectations and budget. If you phone up and ask a panel beater how much to fix your car you are not likely to get a price until the workshop gets a good look at your car; same with a wedding quote.
Maybe a better way to think about it to begin with the average costs of wedding photography to see how your photographer lines up then look at what each offers for the money. But only compare quotes of photographers whose work your REALLY like.
What is the average? In Australia last year it was just shy of $4,000. That's about 9% of the total average wedding spend of $36,000. Remember though - average doesn not mean that's what most people pay! Many of my clients opt to pay less than $2000, but it takes just one high-end client wanting the Black Label package at $4900 to push the average well above what most people invest, which is a bit over $2400.
This is the way I would look for a photographer if I was getting married... 12 months in advance of getting married I'd start looking for wedding photographers who regularly work in the area where I want to get married (local knowledge is very valuable). I'd start my search with phone listings like True Local and the Yellow Pages, then add wedding directories like Wedding Wire, Wedding.com.au, Snapknot.
I'd look through the information published on line in these sources and go on to the photographer's web sites of those I liked the look of. Along the way I'd be getting some idea of what the better photographers are charging and I'd begin to work out how to budget to be able to afford the kind of photographers I really want.
Budgeting is one reason I would begin at least 12 month out. The other reason is that if you left it much longer to book me, you would probably be too late. Most of my bookings are taken up in 9 to 18 months before the wedding day. You can improve your odds of getting your photographer by avoiding the busiest months - I always have to turn down half a dozen couples every September, October is even worse and November is always oversubscribed, too.
Most photographers don't try to take advantage of this heavy demand to price gouge; but knowing that these three months account for more than half of all wedding bookings should tell you that if you aren't ready to make a commitment (ie a deposit) you can't expect a photographer to hold the date while you shop around for a cheaper price.
It is frustrating when a couple who seem like a good fit for your style of wedding photography want to shop around; you don't want to seem like a pushy sales type, and you don't want to undermine the value of your work - your art. Different photographers have their own approaches: mine is to offer some valuable incentives. Doing this through partnerships with high-end wedding providers means that I can do this without significant cost to my business, because my partners get extra clients. Each of these incentives is popular, but some rate higher with more brides and grooms than others, and while we are always open to new ideas, these were the most popular in 2013-2014:
- Free hair-styling and make-up from specialist wedding professionals
- A smartphone app that lets you carry your wedding photos with you and share them phone to phone or via social media
- A short DVD as a 'thank-you" for each member of your Bridal Party
- Playing cards featuring your wedding photos on the back for your Bridal Party
- A photo book for your parents (or others) with your wedding album
Some previously popular items no longer interest our clients (digital photo frames) and I don't doubt there will be new ideas to ad, while some of these current favourites will drop off the top five... for instance, Photo Booths and Pre Wedding sessions are hovering just outside the top five.
I'm interested to know how you these rate for you...leave me a comment!
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