I have photographed 3 weddings so far, my 4th will be in 2 weeks. These I have virtually given away my services at bargain prices so I can build my portfolio and now intend to charge more as my portfolio grows. I have never photographed a wedding for Free, and I personally think thats a bad idea all together, even if you just charge your costs to get your foot on the ladder when you start off.

I have made 2 more 2011 bookings since re-working my pricing structure and after reading this I still think I should be charging more for my services and not including a CD in both packages.

I am on the learning curve of becoming a wedding photographer, but the mistakes ive made on pricing weddings has made me learn to charge more appropriatley.

we are our own worst critiques when valuing our own work and services so this site has been a bit of an eye opener,

Thank you

Here’s why.

When you give a bride and groom the CD before ordering, they see your prices and run. Why spend that much when they can head down to the big box store and print whatever they choose for a fraction of the price. You can never give a CD first. If you have to hand over the CD, it has to be an enticement. They can have it in your biggest package – a $2,500 collection, or whatever you truly need to succeed.

Now take a look at what you are giving. 12 hours of time, plus a 2nd photog – 24 hours of time. Plus production time before and after the event. Costs from the book, photos, editing, etc. Plus your expenses, including rent, camera equipment, car expenses, insurance, etc. If you add it all up, you’ll be in the red. I walk through this in detail in my Pricing Your Photography training, and what people are always amazed at is when they actually see its costing them more to do a wedding, and they aren’t profiting at all.

Start with the simplest idea, such as creating two packages – one with only shooting time, one with extras including the CD. Hands down you’ll up your income immediately. Once you see how you can effectively boost your income, you’ll do it again. I’m not saying you have to shoot for $25,000 weddings. But you do have to get to the point where it makes sense for you to do it.

Good luck!