Why wedding photographer prices are 'wack'

[Siphorous]

Browsing dpreview, I came across this and found it amusing (both the moaning ad and especially the response).

The advert:

The response:

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/01/26/why-wedding-photographers-prices-are-wack/

 

[Niamh]

lol, good response from the photographer

 

[porterjack]

So DP does not mean double penetration?

 

[AUFred]

well thought out response.

 

[MoonOwl]

I agree. Well put.

 

[skyblue]

its expensive for a reason,excellent reply

 

[teh_fuzz]

That is nothing more than a bridezilla, well a broke bridezilla! and where is it written that weddings are supposed to be 15k?

 

[Tuffdisc]

That is nothing more than a bridezilla, well a broke bridezilla! and where is it written that weddings are supposed to be 15k?

:nod: Exactly, if the cost for the photographer is too much, cut the other costs

 

[Aeval]

I can't imagine what a photographer's fee would be in a city...I'm in a very small area and the cheapest around starts at $3000.

Very well thought out response from the photographer.

 

[Tuffdisc]

I can't imagine what a photographer's fee would be in a city...I'm in a very small area and the cheapest around starts at $3000.

Very well thought out response from the photographer.

I think its a flat rate

 

[Tim]

:nod: Exactly, if the cost for the photographer is too much, cut the other costs

No, the photographer should be the first place you cut...


I love how this "photographer" laid out all the costs for an entire year based on 20 weddings... Complete and total bullshit!

 

[Tuffdisc]

No, the photographer should be the first place you cut...


I love how this "photographer" laid out all the costs for an entire year based on 20 weddings... Complete and total bullshit!

*Yawn* I think you make more sense when you are sleeping

 

[porterjack]

with the advent of digital photography i dont know why people waste good money on hiring a pro, i am sure a decent camera in the hands of a decent amateur photogrpaher ( guyzerr, pupprpledove, hk or skyblue come to mind) would do a fine job for a fraction of the cost of these so called experts

 

[Tim]

Let's do the math correctly...

She said that she does 20 weddings in a 4 month span at $2500/each
That's $50,000

1. She DOES NOT pay 30% in taxes on $50,000 here in PA. It's more along the line of 12%-15% after the tons of deductions that she lists in the response.

$50,000 x 15% tax leaves her $42,500

2. Rent at $600/month x 4 months worth of work = $2,400

$42.500 - $2,400 = $40,100

3. Car payment and insurance? Yeah, we all have that bill and it's not like she needed to buy a semi truck to haul her gear around
4. $840 in gas? I'll give that to her

$40,100 - $840 = $39,260

5. $500 business insurance for the year.... or $167 for the 4 months she's doing weddings

$39,260 - $167 = $39,093

6. Website at $30/month plus another $30/month for image storage.

$39,093 - $240 = $38,853

7. $1000 for advertisement

$38,853 - $1,000 = $37,853

8. Health insurance? This is not a business expense. Hell, why don't we just add in her retirement plan and 401k while we're at it?
9. $200/wedding for a second shooter

$37,853 - $4,000 = $33,853

10. New shoes? nope
11. High speed internet? So she doesn't use it for personal use? Does she ONLY have it for the business? nope
12. $500 for a lawyer

$33,853 - $500 = $33,353

So she clears $33,353 for 4 months worth of work. That puts her on track to CLEAR over $100,000 a year if she keeps herself just as busy with other work...

Fuck her and all the bitchy photographers... bunch of whiny prima donna's

 

[Tuffdisc]

Wedding photographers do have to look the best at the wedding, renting out tuxedos doesn't come cheap. Plus, its a service, if people don't like the price, they could look elsewhere for cheaper photographers

 

[Tim]

Wedding photographers do have to look the best at the wedding, renting out tuxedos doesn't come cheap. Plus, its a service, if people don't like the price, they could look elsewhere for cheaper photographers

Her charging $2500 per wedding doesn't bother me in the least. If she's good enough and her clients are happy with her work (which I assume since she gets a lot of work) then good for her.
My problem is with her bullshit assertion and how she laid out the money end of it.

Be a little more professional don't lie to make it look like you are not getting enough money for the work you do.
I hope she loses business because of that reply. She was stupid enough to post a link to her website at the end. I know I wouldn't want to use her after reading that.,

 

[Thornless]

Know how much I paid for my photos at my wedding?

Nothing! My Uncle used to be a photographer and did it for my wedding present. If he refused I was going to pay $100-150 to a highschool student who wanted to make some cash and was top of their photography class.

Brides are fucking crazy.

I spent under 2k(candian dollars) on our wedding.

 

[Siphorous]

I got invited today to take pictures for a registry office wedding. Obviously, there's not much scope for creativity but the groom just wanted some pictures for his mum.

I'm not charging anything of course but I have no problem with those who do. The investment of many things is worth the charges.

 

[HK]

That silly girl - the key here, as Thorny mentioned, is to have a relative who's a wedding photographer


My uncle is exactly that, hoping he'll offer when I get wed!

 

[Tim]

I just want it to be perfectly clear...

If you are a good photographer and you can get $3k or more, good for you. Hell, I don't even care if you charge $50k

My problem is the bitchy attitudes of some of these photographers... it's on that point alone that I wouldn't hire one of them.