Is Hiring a Wedding Photographer Expensive?

The wedding photographer and videographer will document one of your life’s milestones. But there’s a difference between simply recording the event and capturing all the priceless moments. After all, with the high-resolution smartphone cameras of today, anyone from your guests can document the event.

According to The Knot’s Real Weddings Survey, the average couple in America spent more than $33,000 for their wedding in 2017. A significant chunk of their budget went to book the reception, the bride and the entourage’s dress, musicians, flowers, transportation, invitation, and the ceremony reservation. 

However, right up there on the list is the wedding photographer or videographer. 

You might ask how much should you spend for a photographer? While it varies from state to state, the rule of thumb is to allocate at least 15% of your total budget for the photographer. It might seem much. 

For example, if your budget is $30,000, 15% of that would be $4,500. However, nobody is telling you to max your budget. 

You can search for wedding packages that are well within your budget.

Quick Tips in Hiring a Wedding Photographer

Before signing on the dotted line, consider the following tips:

1. Ask for their portfolio. The portfolio is their body of work, and you can glean their artistic style from the output.
2. Trust specialists. Photographers specialize in fashion, editorials, news, and slice of life. You want to choose those who specialize in weddings.
3. Experience. How many years is the studio operating?
4. Interview the photographer. You will be working closely with them, so you need to be comfortable even in your most unguarded moments.
5. Solicit advice from your friends. If you have friends who got married and you loved their photos, ask for the contact of their photographer.

How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Photographer for Your Wedding?

If you are hiring a wedding photographer, you can choose from different packages. 

For instance, you have the choice of a photographer or a videographer only. You can also choose both, which is the standard package.

If you insist on a photographer alone, you may spend between a minimum of $1,000 to as high as $4,000. For the package, the photographer will stay with you for the pre-event, ceremony, and the after-party. Typically, they will remain with you for 6-10 hours.

However, there are instances when the couple has a professional photographer friend who volunteers their services. You can then select a video package only. The typical cost would be between $1,000 and $2,000. However, some studios can send cinematic videographers. As you might expect, their output has more artistic value. They are experts at telling a story, and they make sure that you have a wedding video you can be proud to show your friends over and over again.

The cinematic video package, which lasts from 30 minutes to one hour, will cost between $3,000 and $4,000. 

If you selected both the video and photo package, you are looking at somewhere between $1,000 and $6,000. The photographer and videographer will stay with you for 8-10 hours, and give you all copies of the raw photos. Meanwhile, they will also give you the edited, high-resolution images that they shot for the wedding.