If you want to keep your wedding memory alive with videos and still photos, photography expenses must be included in your overall budget. The damage can be massive if you leave it out until 48 hours before the special day. You may fail to get a professional photographer who meets your needs or not get one at all. Nonetheless, when you are about to include it in the budget, the big question arises. ‘What is the exact cost for wedding photography?’. There is no black-and-white answer. A couple can shoot their wedding with as little as $ 500, but the story may be different for another pair who spends $ 30,000 on photography. So a two-word answer would be; it depends. This takes us to the factors determining the photography cost for any particular wedding which include:
- Geographical location
Similar to other products or services, the prices vary by city. The same service offered in City A may be overtly priced in City B. Therefore, when budgeting, make local inquiries and find the average cost if you plan to hire a local photographer. If you reside in Sacramento and its metros, expect to spend about $3000 on average. Despite the location, investing in your most valuable asset is worthwhile. - Package Offered
With photography, there is no standard package provided in the market. All professionals have a customized way of delivering services. Making comparisons between different individuals is, therefore, quite challenging. With all the variations, you will find some photographers charging an additional fee if a secondhand will be needed while others include it in their original charges. Again, some include albums in their packages, while others don’t. So when striking a deal with a photographer, do not make a general assumption that they will offer the same service your friend received during her wedding. It is prudent that you get a detailed description of every package and request any adjustments as early as possible. Remember, compare only similar products if you want the most fairly rated.
- Expertise
With the above two factors remaining constant, experience and skills can widen the price gap between two photographers by thousands of dollars. With such a difference, it may be quite tempting to choose the low-charging individual over the high-end professional in a bid to reduce cost. But you will soon realize that the saying, ‘you get what you pay for’ is true. The inexperienced photographers will always price their packages much lower than their skilled counterparts.
A trap you need to avoid is spotting a few epic images on a website and making a swift decision to hire a photographer. Take your time and go through as many photos as possible before pulling the trigger. The likelihood of finding classic pictures in an album by a guru is quite higher than a newbie’s.
So now, it is clearer how variable the cost of shooting photos during the wedding can be. Thus, your choices will be better informed. However, do not only consider cost when hiring a photographer. You may be extremely anxious or excited on the wedding day and miss the intricate details of the moments. Images may then function as the only pathway for re-experiencing the moments once the dust settles. So you do not want just any image, but premium quality prints that will last a lifetime.