I often get asked why certain services cost so much in relation to weddings. “My Photographer charges so much, he only stands around for an hour to take some pictures”, “Why is the cake maker so expensive? It’s only a cake…”Although I’m terribly polite when responding, I often want to rattle off the following list to remind them that maybe, just maybe, there is a bit more to it than taking a couple of pictures or throwing a packet mix in the oven.A photographer will generally have:
- 2 years at college (With Photography and Media as a minimum)
- 3 years at university (Photography)
- Years and years of experience
- Awards for photography
- Tens of thousands of pounds in equipment
- Huge costs for equipment upkeep and repairs
- Travel costs to and from the venue
- HMRC Tax and National Insurance
- Liability insurance
- Equipment insurance
- General time towards meetings, email exchanges and phone conversations
- A 15 hour work day on the wedding day
- At minimum 3 solid days of editing
- Hours and hours of album planning and editing
- Costs of printing, purchasing albums and memory sticks
- A huge software cost (Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge, Premier Pro, After Effects)
- Marketing costs (This is how did you find them in the first place?!)
- Backup costs (Wouldn’t want to lose all of your pictures!)
- Legal fees on contracts
And that’s before gas, electricity, water, internet, phone line… the list goes on.
So, when thinking about the price of your photographer (or cake maker, or wedding planner) remember all of the costs you don’t see – there is more to it then point and click or throwing a cake in the oven!