Why is wedding photography so expensive?

I think it's funny that someone comes to a distance learning discussion forum, digs through 2+ years of old posts in an off-topics sub-forum in order to complain about something that was said by someone they've never met (and are unlikely to meet in the future). Must be a slow day at the office.

 

Hmm, well, I thought that the entire point of a forum was to share knowledge and opinions, from whatever standpoint. Are you saying that it's wrong to reply to something you agree, or disagree with?

As for going through 2+ years of old posts - I didn't. I searched for something, and this thread appeared right there, on page one of Google.

I am pretty certain that if you saw a post that claimed forum moderators were a bunch of crooks, only there to rip of users in some way, and were fundamentally dishonest people, you would likely respond. Who wouldn't.

As I said, my opinion, in response to a seriously negative opinion to begin with. At least I did not assault anyone's character by suggesting they rape their clients on prices.

 

How the heck did you find this thread??? mfg:

 

Well, as the Countess of Nigeria and East Coast Liaison between the Illuminati and the White Lotus, I am accustomed to having all sorts of aspersions cast in my direction so being called a crook probably wouldn't slow me down much but then I'm not wandering around the interwebs searching for people saying nasty things about welders either. So welcome to DegreeInfo Hugh! Who knows? Maybe you'll even develop an interest in distance learning, stick around and contribute to the core purpose of our discussion forum.:heart:

 

I did a search for "wedding photography forum" and it popped up. Just a random thing.

 

Ah you got me. I guess if I had a degree like yours, and freelance writing skills, I might have been able to come up with such a witty and child like response.

Alas, I will have to settle for grown up conversations.

 

Wasn't wandering, came up in front of me. clicked, read, responded. That's all. I think most people would defend their own profession, if they love it. It wasn't meant to expand, rather just respond to a grossly unfair accusation. One poster alluded to ALL wedding photographers charging three times the price when they hear "wedding". That's like Trump saying all Muslims must go, or all Mexicans are murderers and rapists. Or all cops are crooked. You get the point - calling all wedding photographers cheats, is calling me a cheat. I'm not bent out of shape about it, I just thought a quick reply might be just fine. By the way, I would LOVE my competition to triple prices - I would clean up. Our business is fiercely competitive.

Funny, nobody is saying "yeah, that's not true, everyone isn't cheating their wedding clients". Instead, the reply is seen as somehow out of order, while the original post is deemed acceptable. Oh well, that clears it all up for me.

Bye!

 

Why does wedding stuff cost more? Because people are willing to pay for it. Whenever emotions are involved you suddenly get to jack up the price.

I needed a professional headshot for work (long story). I went out and tried to find a photographer. Well, no one was willing to offer me a professional headshot for work, at first. Many offered to sell me their senior photo package (over $300 and included stuff like me throwing a flaming football!) or a full family photo package ($100 - $500, depending). I eventually found a small studio where I went in, they took the photo, did a few edits and called it a day for $30. Not bad considering it took them no longer than an hour to do.

Senior photos can get jacked up because there are enough sickos who get weepy over the thought that high school is coming to an end (those were hardly the "best days of my life"). Wedding photos can get jacked up because enough young women have convinced themselves that they are entitled to a day of being treated like a fairy princess if they can just convince someone to go along with it and stand next to them for the photos. I had an acquaintance who invited us to his wedding and then, about a month before the big day, announced that they had broken up but they were still having the big ceremony and we were all still invited to go to the sham wedding ceremony and huge reception. I didn't go. But their facebook feeds were plastered with happy couple photos (staged) and people smiling and laughing as they ate an overpriced cake and the bride got to sit like a Queen in a horse drawn carriage waving to everyone on "her" special day.

I sincerely hope I instill in my daughter enough self-confidence that she doesn't just marry the first person she meets so that she can have a single, incredibly expensive day of feeling "special."

My wife and I were married in a park (permit fee $50). We didn't use an officiant and got a self-officiating license (originally designed for Quakers in Pennsylvania, the couple effectively "marries themselves"). And we went potluck for the meal. Entertainment? We encouraged our small guest list to bring an instrument of their choice and sat around in a circle and had a jam session (or hoedown, depending upon your perspective).

 

Yeah, I have to kind of call BS on you, anyway. You have $30,000 worth of equipment to maintain? Are you using a fleet of drones to do these wedding photos? Good camera and a desktop computer with proper photo editing software. That's in the arsenal of a lot of quality, hard working professional photographers.

I'd probably be touchy about my profession too if I had invested way more into it than it was worth and I had to royally screw people just to make a buck. But that's part of the reason why I didn't go to chiropractic school, as well. Best of luck!

 

Wow Neuhaus,

your posts, both of them, smack of bitterness. You want to call BS? Funny, I can EASILY account for the 30k I mentioned. Yet without knowing what I use, you call BS. That shows just how little you know about this subject, yet are willing to throw insults around. I don't believe I insulted anyone, and I certainly didn't insult you - but again, you are talking about me royally screwing people. Why the bitterness???

Let's start with the last first post.

I absolutely NEVER shoot a wedding alone. It's too important. So, now we are talking equipment for two photographers. My wife is the other one, and her photographic education at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara is still being paid off, 10 years later.

Both of our cameras cost a smidge under 3k each. Add lenses to that, a single Canon 70-200mm with image stabilization @ 2.5k each. (think you can get them for 2k now) We are already at 11k. And that is for ONE camera each and ONE lens each. We have several lenses each, as we are professional photographers.

Five radio controlled Canon flash guns are used to properly light a reception room. $600 each. That's 3k just for portable light.

Then there is that all important back up equipment, the camera that must be there in case of failure. Can't really turn to the bride and say "sorry, my camera is playing up today" Has it happened? Yes, I have had equipment fail before.

You said "good camera and a desktop computer with proper photo editing software" is all that's needed. Well, a fast (equals higher end) computer is required to deal with large image files, and applications like Photoshop. Yeah, and Photoshop and its supporting products aren't cheap either. But add to that computer two 27" monitors. Why two? If you did this for a living you would know why it a huge plus in production.

But wait, there are two people, so we need two sets of computer equipment too! Then there is the laptop for on site slide shows of the wedding day images, at the reception, couple to a $1,200 projector. A good projector with accurate colors is a must, and the ability for the image to be clearly seen, even if it's not that dark.

Now what about backing up? Currently, we are running 27TB of storage. That's quite a lot of drives, but it has to be since there are two back ups of every single file, one by the computer, one in a fireproof safe. Can't really tell a bunch of brides that a drive crashed, and we don't have their images.

Then there is studio equipment, including lighting. I won't even tell you how much that stuff costs.

30K? Probably doesn't even cover all we have had to buy.

If I was the person that you imagine, with a Canon low end camera and a kit lens, $750 at Costco, have no other lenses, use the pop up flash, and edit on an old PC, with little or no back up, then if I shot the images, and burn them onto a CD on Monday morning to be mailed out to the couple that were married two days ago - I guess then you could call BS. But then, I wouldn't be a professional photographer, would I?

You got your headshot for $30 - is that what you charge for an hour of your work? Maybe fine if you work out of your living room, but something tells me that you wouldn't offer a professional service for $30.

Back to that bitterness that seems to run through the replies you posted. I find it very difficult to believe that you think, in a fiercely competitive industry, that people can just "jack up" the prices and get clients. On what planet is that happening? For a start, if you have your prices on your website, how on earth can you suddenly, as was suggested, triple them? So what's the deal, why the off the cuff attitude? Why do you think it's tons of money for no work?

I shot a wedding in Jamaica a couple of years ago. Daughter booked me, and the father decided at some point that all I had to do was spend eight hours taking some pictures, and then enjoy the sun. When I laid it all out, including traveling international (a pain), editing the images, etc, in the end it was around 147 hours of work. That doesn't even take into account time away from our young girls, 2 & 4 yo at the time. And let me tell you, hauling a ton of photographic equipment abroad is not fun. As always, what seems like a glamorous gig really isn't. We worked our butts of, in high temperatures.

You wrote: "Senior photos can get jacked up because there are enough sickos who get weepy over the thought that high school is coming to an end"

Wow, just wow. Sickos???? People are sickos because they want to record a particular time in their lives? Let me tell you something, I lost my 29 year old son to cancer, almost a year ago. EVERY single image of him is treasured. I wish I had a thousand more. I don't think that makes me a sicko.

I do hope that when your daughter does get married, you don't tell her to spend $50 to do it, as you did. I hope you DO make her a princess for the day - why would you grudge her that. Why not make her feel like a princess every day?

I am astounded at your outlook, but maybe there is something that I don't know. So I will wish you a happy holiday period.

Hugh

 

These photos are for family memories, not for a cinema production. I think it would be odd if they WERE so perfectly professional that no one had a hair out of place. Glad I didn't fall into the "professional" wedding trap.

 

I hope to teach my kids enough about the value of money to where they see why spending $4k on photos is not the best way to start off the next chapter of your life.

Unless either of them become photographers. In which case, I hope they are able to screw every last dollar out of overly emotional couples and make a good living for themselves.

 

I think you posted your comment before my long explanation directly above it appeared (was approved) - not sure how that happened.

I didn't know there was such a thing as a the "professional" wedding trap. What does that even mean?

Anyway, it's not about not having a hair out of place. It's just a getting good images.

This thread started about how ridiculous the price of wedding photography is (perceived) and your post is saying that it's not images for "cinema production".

I'm not sure how to reply. Are we aiming to be too TOO professional? I have never had a bride come back and complain that their images were too good, and could they be taken back a little.

It's what makes the difference from high end to low end - quality of work. Your own profession will have the same thing, people who do it well, others who do it less well.

More than I care to remember, I have had parents and even siblings of a bride and groom die, sometimes soon after the wedding. Believe me when I say, they don't think the images of that special day are too professional. The don't think they were caught in a trap.

So gentlemen, does anyone, anyone, have a criticism that they can validate? You know, something other that $30k - I call BS" (without any knowledge of the facts) Something that isn't laced with nastiness?

I was hoping for an intelligent debate. Anyone...?

 

The thread starts with the claim that wedding photographers rip people off. Then you say you hope that if your children became photographers, they rip off overly emotional couples. Surely you can't just mean photography? If you support your children ripping people off in one arena, why would it be any different in the other.

I prefer to teach my children humility, generosity and compassion. Everyone to his own I guess.

 

I am happy to allow market forces to do their work. If enough people want your services/products then you will do fine. If professional photography prices itself out of the market then we will see fewer and fewer of them around. Personally I have never used such services but that's not a reflection of my attitude, I've just never needed them. I would consider it to be a luxury purchase and as people on this board know, I'm pretty cheap. I do imagine that the proliferation of digital cameras along with editing software packages has cut into your business. If you spend some time reading through the threads on this board youll see that people are generally quite price conscious. Theyre also intelligent, creative and determined. I'm not surprised that you're getting some push-back from the group. Don't take it personally, after all, it's just the internet.

 

Thank you! I appreciate your polite response.

I have been looking a little at the posts on the board. Interesting. I agree, it's just the internet. No doubt, online personas can be radically different from those face to face. I don't mind the debate though, sometimes you can learn something, at least sometimes I do. Angles that maybe I hadn't considered.

Again, thanks for the polite post. Have a great weekend.

Hugh

 

First of all, joke. Lighten up.

Second, of course it spills over into other arenas. If one of my kids grows up and says "Dad, I really want to sell purses and handbags for a living" there are multiple ways they can do it. They can work in the purse section at Macy's making just above minimum wage or they can work in a store like Barney's or a company's direct retail outlet for Prada, Coach etc.

In all likelihood, the handbags were made in the same (or similar) overseas factories by the same underpaid hands. But people are willing to pay a premium for the high end stuff even if it doesn't actually offer anything extra by way of quality or utility. Working in upstate New York the going rate for selling purses at Macy's is about $11/hr. Working at the Prada store in New York compensations (with average commission) is around $55k. Expenses are higher, but all you need to ask is whether you enjoy a more comfortable lifestyle in Syracuse making $11/hr or the Greater NYC area making $55k. Which would you choose for your kids (if you had to pick one)?

None of that impacts the fact that, even if my kids became exceedingly wealthy, it's a terrible waste of money to buy a purse for $5k, $10k and $25k+.

One deals with making a living for yourself and the other deals with what is the most effective use of your money. They are two separate propositions to be considered.

So, do I feel that you are ripping people off? I absolutely do. But I also get that you want to do this to make a living. So, if you can find a market to support yourself, go ahead. I applaud you, in fact! Because convincing middle class people to drop (lower end) Rolex money on a set of pictures that they'll have to dispose of after their statistically likely divorce is an accomplishment.

Restaurants are also a ripoff but I don't think it immoral of them to operate. I just thing that anyone who goes out and spends $50 for two people and thinks that they are getting a deal on "endless pasta" is stupid enough to be parted with their hard earned money.

So, in a sense, every good we buy (which, if we put forth the effort of making or producing it ourselves) is a ripoff. What makes yours so fun to poke fun of is how dispensable it is, in the grand scheme of things.

It is, as Kizmet says, a luxury item (service). And, as far as luxury purchases go, it's pretty "meh" on the scale. I have a great mutual fund I've been investing in since I was in the Navy, that $4k would be worth nearly $10 if invested a few years ago. Or, you could have this album to commemorate your poor spending decisions. For a smaller wedding party, I could use that $4k to give out iPads as wedding favors or buy myself about 25% of a new Honda Fit. Instead, pictures.

Realize that a lot of this "photography hating" is somewhat tongue in cheek. No one is saying you are a criminal. And, likely all of us at some point, will pay into an equally ripoff industry (funeral services) at some point. In NYS, I need a funeral director to bury someone (very few exceptions). I can't fully opt out of their ripoff business. I can minimize the ripoff by not burying my loved one in a gilded casket or hiring a full choir to sing them off into the great beyond. But I still have to pay something.

Your services, however, are not required by law. And, frankly, my mother can take some pretty high quality photos with her little point and shoot (and a little bit of photoshop skill she picked up from an online tutorial).

So, yeah, I hope my kids don't spend $4k out of emotional compulsion. But if they choose to make a living by parting willing parties with their money (fashion, creative services, and virtually any business, on some level) I hope they do it well.

But for you to act like that attitude is contrary to notions of "humility, compassion and generosity" while holding that your own desire to part bridezillas with their father's hard earned money IS fully compatible with those notions, well, that is certainly enough to give me my morning chuckle. So, thank you for that.

 

You have no idea how much I shoot, no idea how much make, no idea what my financial standing is - but you absolutely feel I am ripping people off???

If you think everything is a rip off, buying anything must be painful for you. Are you really that jaded?

Well, I suppose you could nothing, keep that "hard earned cash" and have it all invested in your fund. And of course that would generate more money, right. But then you wouldn't spend any of it, because everything is a rip off. So where does that leave you? Unable to enjoy items that you might, well, enjoy? Christmas must be so fun in your house.

As the saying goes, there are no pockets on a shroud.

It must be another joke. I suppose it's the same with your profession, people can take a quick online tutorial, and be up to speed with everything. I mean, why spend years studying? I always thought being a therapist would be easy. I don't need any equipment, other than a notepad ad a pencil of course. I think I could give awesome life advice! And it's a service after all "not required by law"

Maybe I could be an author, Just sit and write stuff I make up in my own head. Sounds so easy, anybody should be able to do it, right?

I think I'll bow out now. Tell you what though, I have been writing some posts for my blog, and scheduling them for the new year. This is too good to pass up. The levels of cynicism you present begs more discussion. Maybe it gave you a "morning chuckle", but I'm sure it will give me many site hits and a lot of feedback. So it's me who should be saying thank you.

Thank you!

Hugh