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Reader Buzz: Photography Costs

March 16th, 2007 @ 2:50 pm by Reader Buzz

Reader Jane emailed us regarding average photographer prices, and I don’t think we’ve ever done a poll on that before. (Miss Bluebell? Where are you? icon_razz.gif) We did do a poll way back yonder on photography formats (digital vs. film), but never one on costs. So let’s get on it!

Are albums included in your photography package?


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How much are you spending on your wedding photography, excluding engagement/post-wedding shoots?


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13 Responses to “Reader Buzz: Photography Costs”

1.
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Miss Bluebell

Hahaha sorry Mrs Bee!! I’ll poll MORE now I promise!! :-)

 
2.
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alisaandthor

I have to say, that was the one spurge I wanted… and good thing it was the first thing I booked! My photographer’s prices went up recently to $5000 to start! We wouldn’t have been able to afford that. And for those of you in CA (not sure of other states), if you haven’t booked your photographer yet, wanted to let you know that photography is now a taxed service, so it adds up!

 
3.
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graciette2

For those of you guys whose package does NOT include an album, how do you guys put together the album? Are there professional people who will be willing to put the album together for you? For my wedding, my fiance has a coworker who is willing to take pictures for us, free of charge. We have already taken engagement pictures with her and her work is quite good. Problem is that I’m not sure if she has the experience to put together an album. Any tips for me please?

 
4.
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Staz

i feel like i should note, as one of the under $500 crowd, that I am having my wedding photography done by two professionals (one traditional style and one more photojournalistic) who are friends of my family. After the wedding, they will just hand me a CD with their digital files on it. and I’ll make my own prints from them.
I’ll be putting together my own “albums” (I’m thinking of doing a coffee table book using some online service or another)

 
5.
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nancy

$2000 for four hours, no pictures with that. Have to order those from Pictage. I think wedding photography is one of the biggest rips when comparing it to the price of in-studio professonal photography. I love her anyway and we are forming quite a bond, so I think the photos will be good, although 95% will be indoors.

 
6.
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kp

what an awesome poll!!
over the years, i’ve learned a lot from bridal shows, vendor appointments, word of mouth, etc - both from my personal experience as well as that of other friends…and the main conclusion? NEGOTIATE!!! - esp. w/ photography!!
i know a local photography vendor who is quite popular and is currently gaining more widespread popularity beyond the korean/asian borders. However, I must note that ALL brides should negotiate as much as they can! I’ve seen a Korean bride walk away with the basic package at a MUCH LOWER price than a non-Korean or non-Asian bride - which is really really unfair to brides in general. Why the discrepancy in prices? - I think b/c some brides are wiling to pay $5k+ for photography and they bring that willingness over to these growing Asian photography studios who have been offering their services to the Asian community at $3k(i’m sure due to intense negotiations)..

so the bottom line? - PLease PLease NEGOTIATE!!
if you’re not happy with the price, say that you still think its too high and walk away. This particular studio is known to call people back. And/or check out other vendors and do some name/price-dropping.

and Graciette2 - there was a bride-to-be who placed a comment in the hive that said she was using Renaissance archival albums to make her own wedding albums. (do a google search on them) I think you decide on the layout yourself for the digital albums. But the quality seems to be amazing~

 
7.
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pam

I do albums for brides who don’t want to pay their photographer to do it (as long as they get the digital files and rights to their photos.)

 
8.
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Nony Mouse

For graciette above,
There are several sites for printed albums, if you get the digital files and the rights, as I did (paid $600. mostly for time spent… felt overpriced then, though not by wedding standards).
MyPublisher.com: requires download of their software (which didn’t work on my machine). Simple but elegant layouts, and good quality from what I hear.
Shutterfly.com: allows download for ease of uploading images. Layouts range from simple and elegant to busy and trippy, but are good quality.
snapfish.com: a less expensive option for images.
I’ve heard of people using powerpoint to do their own layouts, then saving a group as an image and uploading that image. I don’t know how well that works. Kodak also has one through iphoto, I think…
More traditional albums you can buy through specialty stores and print out those pictures you want to put in them. But I did’t think that’s what you had in mind.

 
9.
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oojoy

In regards to the powerpoint comment, I’ve done it before and it works well. You just have to be wary of your sizing. I’ve made albums using Blurb.com, MyPublisher.com and Snapfish.com using the Powerpoint method as well as the provided layouts. Both methods work well.

 
10.
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Yach

For graciette2, I love flush mount albums and if that’s the look you want for your wedding pictures, you can contact the companies that make them. One of my favorites is http://www.graphistudio.com. They can do the graphic design work based on your wedding pictures from a high res CD or negative.

For alisaandthor, I’m paying my photographer in cold cash ($4900) to avoid taxes. I can be morally defunct when it comes to saving money. My package includes 8 hours of coverage, 11×14 flushmount album by graphistudio, 3 hardcover parent flushmount albums, 32 mini flushmount albums, and of course, a copy of all the proofs.

Yes, photographers are negotiable. We knocked off $1000 off the package price by cutting down coverage time from 10 hours to 8 hours. And he’s still willing to go over his allotted time without charge. All I did was mention how many friends I have getting married and he was interested in booking my reception.

 
11.
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12.
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graciette2

Thanks everybody for your help!

 
13.
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Iris

We had an excellent experience with Roey Yohai. http://www.rohai.com/weddings. Definitely discuss what you want and what you can do without. Do you need coverage for the entire reception? (Probably not! Those pictures all look the same after a while. Just have them stay to cover you cutting the cake.) Do you want the photographer there with you when you are in curlers trying to pull yourself together pre-wedding (not me, I needed some privacy and a moment to concentrate on the magnamity of what I was about to do), or can you have them snap a few of you adjusting a shoe, applying lipstick, and mom tucking in bobby pins in your hair for some 5-minute period at “halftime” before the reception? You can rearrange photos for the album to make it look that things appeared in a certain order. Also we got some great shots by friends and family that are on par with the pro shots and we will be incorporating them into our album.

 


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