Anna O. Brambilla

NORWEGIAN

Why is wedding photography so expensive?

While organising a wedding, most people come to the realisation that wedding photography is expensive. Price range can vary hugely according to many different factors, but all in all, wedding photography is indeed one of the biggest expenses couple must take into consideration while planning their big day.

But why is it so expensive?

It seems like a very easy thing, to take photos. Anyone can do it nowadays just clicking on their smartphone with a somehow good result. However, pressing the button is a very small part of the work.

Time

Time is one of the biggest factor that influence the price level. When we talk about time people often think about the wedding day itself which is only a part of the whole.
Good wedding photographers invest a lot of time taking care of their couples before the wedding – meeting them to get to know each other; being always available and ready to answer questions and extinguish doubts; scouting locations for finding the places for the best possible images; in some case, pre-weddings can also include engagement shootings – and after the wedding editing and post producing the numerous pictures taken during the day.

Popularity of your wedding day

Wedding photography is a very seasonal thing and available working dates are not so many during the season. It all comes down to the rule of supply and demand.

Experience

Even though most weddings present themselves with many similarities, each wedding is different. Experienced photographers will be able to understand what’s going to happen and will be ready to capture things even without having any notice about them happening, producing unique memories.
Hectic environment, as in weddings, can be confusing and hard to follow for those you approach them for the first time.

Pretty little extras

Photo booths are getting more and more popular. Photographers will set up a small portable studios, fix the lighting and some funny costumes so that people can take selfies. Photo booths are indeed a very nice way to entertain your guests but it is of course an extra expense to consider.
Prints and photo albums. Professional photographers will never choose cheap printing services when it comes to printing photos for their clients. The pictures we produce are our business cards and we will never deliver a product that isn’t just perfect. For the same reason, producing a wedding photo album will require a lot of time which, united with the printing expenses, will add up to the final price.

Insurance

Capturing moments that will never repeat themselves is a huge responsibility. Many things could go wrong: SD cards can get corrupted, cameras can break, batteries can run out, human error can occur. A professional photographer will be able in most cases to prevent these things from happening. Cameras with double slots for SD cards, second or third camera available, extra batteries will always be at hand and so on.

Is it possible to save money on wedding photography?

All these reasons and a few more explain why wedding photography is indeed expensive. However, there are ways to save some money on it and we’ll talk about them in this article.