Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
This old chestnut....
Not looking to start the usual "don't do it thread 
"
Been doing a lot of research on package prices and amazed at the variety of whats on offer and the differences in range for basically the same package.
Whats your idea of a price for :
Saturday shoot.
Pre Wedding at house.
Wedding
Up to cutting cake...
Basic 20 photo album
40 picts 8 by 6.
Offering std style shots...
Just a normal sort of package from someone who is an solid photographer, so far Ive seen prices range from 300-3000 and in a lot of cases no prices at all, which I can understand depends on your business model.
Interested in opinions....
We've been charge around £1000 for that, but with a photobook rather than an album, during the period we were becoming established. Album is about £500 more. But we're rapidly coming to the conclusion that we're significantly under-charging, both in terms of value, and the amount of time and effort put in by us for the return, so planning to increase prices significantly.
I think the range I would look at would be from about £700 or £800 if you don't care what the pictures look like, to about £2000 for hopefully excellent pictures (though I have also heard of people getting awful pictures for that).
Don't do it. Get a professional to do it. There's just NO person on this planet qualified enough to take on this job etc... 
After reading up on other forums on this topic, the general opinion is to phone around and keep up with the competition. Ie, not to under/overcut them too much. Not sure how you'd go about it though? I'm sure with your charm Tommy, you could wangle a pricelist out from the best of them!
Good luck!!!
Tks Bro...
Interesting, Ive see the Photo book option a lot more on offer rather than an album.
Ive also found it interesting that many people want this over say a fancy high end album (which many people feel just gets put under the bed and never seen till the kids want to drag it out)...
I used to do weddings until a 3 years ago and had an opening price of GBP495 and an average of GBP1500. I stopped because I couldn't make it pay as well as my studio work.
She-who-must-be-obeyed then started on her own, charging from GBP1975 with a GBP 2500 average and she does make a good profit. Clients thend to treat the photographer with more respect when they're paying a lot!
As Bubba says, you have to be skilled to do it well.
More and more people seem to ask about " Reportage/Candid " style, With just a half a dozen " Formal " shots ....!
Most see the more candid approch as trendy, Can't say I blame them for not wanting to many stuffy and usually boring formal images, Oh! And those awfull padded albums......EEeeekkk..
Mind you " Grannies " can't get enough of them....!
Always a good idea to keep on the right side of rich grannies...
Quote: Always a good idea to keep on the right side of rich grannies...
That I can see being a good idea.
Do you think with the Reportage style, is it can be in the hands of someone not too good, a great excuse for rotten photos lol ?
So general consent would seem to be, charge high and get more respect Charge low and get treated like pond scum...
Yeah definitely charge a good price - not just for the money either! You'll get a better type of clientele in that they understand you are a professional and should be treated as such, and paid as such.
Give them excellent service before, excellent service on the day, excellent after service and everyone is smiling and you get referrals ... and you don't have to try to nudge your prices up either if you start at a good rate
Posh albums running at £300+ (loads more usually) are all very well.. but once done and handed over.. the client is too scared to look at it or hand it round...
When I got married We got 3 or so "coffee table" style books printed.. the printing was really good and the hardback covers stop the dog ears... but paying just under £100 each you feel less protective over them and don't worry about handing them out and letting your mates and family hold on to them for awhile.
Most people go.."oh what a lovely day it was!".. which is kind of the important part of the pictures... not how posh the box is that they arrive in.
Having said that.. what the client wants you try and to deliver.. different strokes and all that...
I've been shooting a few weddings this year.. mainly to decide whether its for me or not and if I want to persue more bookings... I work out the package price by just adding the album/printing costs to my fee..
So for example.. half day shooting £500.. they then decide what kinda of out they want and that gets added to my fee...Fullday £1000... and same as above...
(figures used are just examples).
Quote: Quote:Always a good idea to keep on the right side of rich grannies...That I can see being a good idea.
Do you think with the Reportage style, is it can be in the hands of someone not too good, a great excuse for rotten photos lol ?
So general consent would seem to be, charge high and get more respect Charge low and get treated like pond scum...
Lol... Well I've seen images from high charging togs that just make me cringe and simply stunning shots from low chargers... but I think your right in what alot of people think when seeing a fee... its like the old ..."you use that camera?!?! mines got bazillions more pixels and I'm a guest!" attitude..
Quote:
Give them excellent service before, excellent service on the day, excellent after service and everyone is smiling and you get referrals ...
That's probably the best advice regardless of what your fee is... cheap or expensive these are the rules to follow I reckon.
The thing is the prices...
Most of us here got a good idea of what a good picture should look like....
When I look at all these wedding TOGs and prices, I find it hard to understand the prices, even taking into account extras and so on...
I was thinking along the lines of 800 and then additional's like album and so on...
The other thing I find interesting is the selling of the digital images, some seem to add say 300 and they get the images. Others just throw them in as part of the package. Again I suppose it all depends on the business model you have set up...
Minefield comes to mind lol
Main lesson I've learned is to have a few "simple to understand" packages with the deliverables and attendance times spelt out in huge bullet points.
Sure - talk it over when them, but make sure they know what they're getting BEFORE you start.
After the event, deliver what you agreed then let them know about other options - they may well have changed their mind and want more stuff after the event - HAPPY DAYS!!!
Totally... but I think sometimes you have to stop worrying about what others do and see what works for you.
I have a mate that pays £100+ per t shirt... I can't udnerstand it... its just a t shirt and isn't particulary amazing.. but I guess he thinks he's part of a scene/club/move etc... I think the same has to be said for paying mass amounts of money on a photographer... being expensive doesn't make them any better than cheaper togs... probably just better business minded. (its not always the case.. some demand high prices because of thier skills i know)...
But when you price in some of these hand bound/made italian albums etc... that are running at £400 and up.. before printing then a £2000 phtographer fee doesn't seem that expensive anymore... half his fee is gobbled up in album costs..
Aye spell it out BIG...
Its just one of them things that when you start looking, you start to see more and more.
For example, go to say Yell and do a search for TOGs covering weddings in your area... You think you know your area well and most of the people TOG wise. Suddenly out of the woodwork pops about 30 you never even heard of, all saying they covered 100 weddings in the last week and been around since Christ was born (OK I'm exaggerating here but you get the idea), prices starting from the lowest to the high end and many of them showing images that don't give you any real idea of there initial or PP skills...
All makes for fun when your trying to build your business model and want to be in line with local prices.... Getting the balance is fun
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
Login or Join Now
New to ePHOTOzine? Join ePHOTOzine for free!
Related Content
Join Our Free Newsletter
Awards
Current Competitions
foliopic 'Movement' Competition
1st May 2012 - 31st May 2012
This month's competition theme is 'Movement' which can be interpreted in a number of ways. You could photograph an animal running, a person walking or a car speeding...Featured e2 Photo
Featured Directory Listing
May's Photo Month
Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to unveil new photography tips, treats and techniques.
Interact
Photography Gallery Photography Forums Recent Forum Activity Members' Meetings Members' BlogsSearch ePHOTOzine
Having trouble or would like to make a suggestion? Create a report
Calibrate your monitor so you can see 16 different shades.
ePHOTOzine © 2001 - 2012 Magezine Publishing | Contact Us | Site Map | Top