Wedding Photography Services at $388

[Belle&Sebastain]

Not every couple knows or appreciate the meaning of Photography.

To them, holding DSLR/SLR = professional.

i agree, but some couples do look around and they like a certain style a photographer has. So its up to us to educate a client, to let them understand what is shooting with passion, to open your eyes and heart for 12 hours and show your craft.

Trust me, lots of couple have budget problems, its up to you to convience them to spend with photography, but ask them to cut your rates.

also seriously to charge 800 with prints, its kinda hard to survive if you spend money on ads, roadshows, rental and have decent equipment. i cannot do more than 2 weddings a week and it will kill my passion and burnout fast.

Do a cost of business calucation and determine if you can charge lower than 800, i think its a bit hard.

 

[catchlights]

i agree, but some couples do look around and they like a certain style a photographer has. So its up to us to educate a client, to let them understand what is shooting with passion, to open your eyes and heart for 12 hours and show your craft.

Trust me, lots of couple have budget problems, its up to you to convience them to spend with photography, but ask them to cut your rates.

also seriously to charge 800 with prints, its kinda hard to survive if you spend money on ads, roadshows, rental and have decent equipment. i cannot do more than 2 weddings a week and it will kill my passion and burnout fast.

Do a cost of business calucation and determine if you can charge lower than 800, i think its a bit hard.

Agreed with you, $800 is for volume shooters only, can't think to much, just shoot and forget, else photographers wear out faster then the cameras.

Most wedding couples have budget problems, let these remain thier problems, our jobs is to create images, and help out in thier wedding day.

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

Agreed with you, $800 is for volume shooters only, can't think to much, just shoot and forget, else photographers wear out faster then the cameras.

Most wedding couples have budget problems, let these remain thier problems, our jobs is to create images, and help out in thier wedding day.

yup, they have to work out their budget, i have calculated if you want to do decent business and have a proper setup (office, assistant, ads and decent equipment) the minimum one should charge is about $1200 to $1800 for a 12 hour wedding without prints.

 

[initialE24]

wow...clubsnap is really a cool community...so many words of wisdom for our friend...my advice to him is to listen with an open mind to all the contributions from our members who have such a wealth of experience in doing wedding photography. its easier to learn from the experience of others, than to encounter a really bad experience.

again...just my two cents worth..

with all the Pro's advise here... got to listen. Afterall, they have been longer than me in this line of photography. Cheers!

 

[initialE24]

Service only I have mention in my earlier post.

$800 for AD wedding, 300 prints and album
$400 for ROM on weekend, 120 prints and album

Plus or minus around there, you can command higher rate if you are good in cutomer service and your works, remember, if you are chagring super cheap, there always will be someone charge $10 cheaper than you.

your points are noted.... will keep that in mind. With that, I feel this thread should end here.

Thanks to all the contributions of different views... it has certainly given me a clearer picture of the wedding photography industry in Singapore. Cheers!

 

[catchlights]

yup, they have to work out their budget, i have calculated if you want to do decent business and have a proper setup (office, assistant, ads and decent equipment) the minimum one should charge is about $1200 to $1800 for a 12 hour wedding without prints.

Base on 80/20 rules, how many wedding day photographers have a proper setup like you have mention?
and also how many wedding couples will willing to pay this price? or understand this is a decent price?

The reality is many photographers not thinking doing it as a business, the fundamental of business in profit making, many feel guilty to charge a decent rate to the customers.

So many photographers would prefer to say do it for "passion", that would be nice, if "passion" can fill your stomach and feed your family.

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

Base on 80/20 rules, how many wedding day photographers have a proper setup like you have mention?
and also how many wedding couples will willing to pay this price? or understand this is a decent price?

The reality is many photographers not thinking doing it as a business, the fundamental of business in profit making, many feel guilty to charge a decent rate to the customers.

So many photographers would prefer to say do it for "passion", that would be nice, if "passion" can fill your stomach and feed your family.

Well, i'm very determind to make it possible, by educating clients that this is the proper price and i'm doing a decent business. Look, all this effort is starting to reap efforts. My clients understand the differences and appreciate my effort. I'm trying my best and using passion to shoot their wedding. On my end, my craft improves greatly when i push myself to better each wedding as my clients expects of their money.

 

[CYRN]

Ppl... this thread OT liao.

Thread started juz wan to offer his service @ his price... looking for potential customers... not debate.

Lets respect his request to stop.

 

[rueyloon]

What was not mention here is that the job of a wedding photographer is not just to shoot. A good and experience wedding photographer have to be a wedding planner, coordinator, time keeper, problem solver and a point of reference for wedding traditions. This, in the words of my mentor, is what is required of a wedding photographer.

Well, it depends. (this is just a general post, not directed at you )

For me, I seldom talk during a wedding, at times I offer abit of instruction when they ask of me, but most of the time I allow things to occur naturally, even if some aunty or uncle might come up with the "wrong" procedure. I do feel that the wedding photographer is the couple's best friend during their wedding day. The wedding photographer is the guy that is the closest to the couple and also the one that will be with them the most during their day. But it is still the couple's day, so a person (the photographer) whom the couple just met less than 3 times shouldn't be the one dictating how they should go about on their day.

But as a photographer, you'll have to be clear how you can perform you best. I shoot documentary style, hence I explain to my couples before hand how they can get the best out of me. One of that suggestions is that they can get another photographer to cover the table-to-table shots, as that is a very easy job, so I can concentrate on my documentary stuff, etc... Once a couple even asked their parents to stop asking me to take posed shots so I can do my stuff.

Once you've established a style, couples will appreciate you for that. They will come to you because of your style. There are many "normal-style" photographers out there, some who can be easily replaced by another and the couple would probably not detect any difference. Anyone interested in shooting weddings should try to build your own vision of how you think wedding photography should be done, and then try to offer your vision to the couples getting married.

A word about pricing, it is more about marketting than the price you start at. If you need to start low, start low. The couples who will pay $388 for wedding photography are not the same as the ones who will pay $2000 for wedding photography. Different people have different budget and expectations. Most of the time, when competitors ask you to raise your price, they are not protecting you, they are only protecting themselves. I would sure like everyone to raise their price to be the same as mine, as I'm confident with the works compared, I'll end up with even more jobs. Think about it...

Different strokes for different folks, there are many ways to reach the top of the mountain, you just have to find your own way.
cheers

rgs
rueyloon

 

[SniperD]

Well, it depends. (this is just a general post, not directed at you )

For me, I seldom talk during a wedding, at times I offer abit of instruction when they ask of me, but most of the time I allow things to occur naturally, even if some aunty or uncle might come up with the "wrong" procedure. I do feel that the wedding photographer is the couple's best friend during their wedding day. The wedding photographer is the guy that is the closest to the couple and also the one that will be with them the most during their day. But it is still the couple's day, so a person (the photographer) whom the couple just met less than 3 times shouldn't be the one dictating how they should go about on their day.

But as a photographer, you'll have to be clear how you can perform you best. I shoot documentary style, hence I explain to my couples before hand how they can get the best out of me. One of that suggestions is that they can get another photographer to cover the table-to-table shots, as that is a very easy job, so I can concentrate on my documentary stuff, etc... Once a couple even asked their parents to stop asking me to take posed shots so I can do my stuff.

Once you've established a style, couples will appreciate you for that. They will come to you because of your style. There are many "normal-style" photographers out there, some who can be easily replaced by another and the couple would probably not detect any difference. Anyone interested in shooting weddings should try to build your own vision of how you think wedding photography should be done, and then try to offer your vision to the couples getting married.

A word about pricing, it is more about marketting than the price you start at. If you need to start low, start low. The couples who will pay $388 for wedding photography are not the same as the ones who will pay $2000 for wedding photography. Different people have different budget and expectations. Most of the time, when competitors ask you to raise your price, they are not protecting you, they are only protecting themselves. I would sure like everyone to raise their price to be the same as mine, as I'm confident with the works compared, I'll end up with even more jobs. Think about it...

Different strokes for different folks, there are many ways to reach the top of the mountain, you just have to find your own way.
cheers

rgs
rueyloon

well said

 

[catchlights]

Ppl... this thread OT liao.

Thread started juz wan to offer his service @ his price... looking for potential customers... not debate.

Lets respect his request to stop.

Roger that.

 

[SniperD]

I think before the mods decided to close the thread due to the OTs... I would just like to encourage and appraise initialE24 for his efforts and his thoughtfulness in helping others who are looking at a genuine tight budget for their wedding.

In whichever case, there's a market for every level in this line so whichever level you are at, just do the best you can and give it your all to the clients.

IMHO, that's more important b'coz profit-calculation can never equate the feeling of job satisfaction.

 

[catchlights]

I think before the mods decided to close the thread due to the OTs...

Maybe someone can start a thread in kopitam to discuss further? last similar topic discussed here is about six months ago.. :think:

 

[initialE24]

I think before the mods decided to close the thread due to the OTs... I would just like to encourage and appraise initialE24 for his efforts and his thoughtfulness in helping others who are looking at a genuine tight budget for their wedding.

In whichever case, there's a market for every level in this line so whichever level you are at, just do the best you can and give it your all to the clients.

IMHO, that's more important b'coz profit-calculation can never equate the feeling of job satisfaction.

thank u......