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Where are you located? What skill level and style are you looking for? In Chicago, it's hard to find a package like that for under $4,000 unless you really look at the up and comings. In the suburbs I think it's easier to find it for about $3,000.
Photography's really important to us, so we're splurging, and ours will probably be about $5500 for those costs minus the album.
Ours came to about $5,000 for 2 photographers 8 hours, additional lighting, custom leather album, parents album and a DVD of the re-touched pictures used in the album. We didn't do an engagement session, which would have been an extra $2,500.
Our wedding will be in CT. I really, really care about the photos, so I want someone who is very talented. My *dream* photographer would be $6800 for unlimited coverage with two shooters and an assistant, one hour engagement shoot, wedding album of 60-100 images, a DVD with high resolution images and printing rights, and online proofing. I am so in love with these photographers and drool over every picture on their blog. They also teach classes for other wedding photographers--they're just amazing!
But, another local photographer charges $3000 for all day coverage, 2 hour engagement session, online proofing, and a disc of high res images with printing rights. The album costs will be extra (not sure how much yet--still waiting for him to send along the info)
A friend of a friend is paying approx $4000 in the same area for 7 hours of coverage, a disc, and a 40 page album.
So I know my *dream* folks are at the high end. My mom freaked out when I told her the cost (she's not paying for it, but I did want to call her for a sanity check before making any choices). She thinks it's obscenely high, and pointed out that the difference between the second choice and the dream photographers could pay for a band/dj.
What to do, what to do!?!?
Mine is $3300, but I booked last year, and their rates already went up to $4000. It includes everything yours includes.
I chose them because it was 2 shooters, but I kind of wish I went for a more expensive photographer that only has 1 shooter.
We got married in upstate NY, and paid $5K for a high-end photographer. That included two photographers for eight hours, a DVD of high-res retouched images and online proofing.
We opted to not get an album with her, and that would have been an extra $500.
Mine charged me $3300 for 8hr. coverage, engagement session, DVD with all images and an album. Let me know if you want his info. He is amazing =)
We're paying $5500 and that includes our e-session, 8 hours of wedding-day coverage, a second photog, online proof gallery, 650 high-res 4x6 professional prints, a wedding album, all high-res images on CD.
My amazing photographer is at the high end and his package that would include everything you want is $7500. The second shooter and all-day coverage are ultimately what are going to drive your price point up, particularly if you're invested in top-notch images. As someone else mentioned - location also plays a BIG part in who's available. The creme de la creme in the Midwest is not priced the same as the coasts.
Good luck!
Mine is about 2k. We're only getting 1 shooter for 6 hours, + e-pic session, and high res disks of both e-pics and wedding. no prints or albums.
My budget was 2k and basically it came down to priorities. I couldn't gone with a cheaper (and in my opinion less talented) photographer and gotten more "stuff"... but I would rather have an amazing photographer for 6 hrs than 2 "just ok" ones for 12 + prints.
Mine is about $3500 and he is AMAZING! I'm getting married in the Cincinnati area and we didn't even look at anyone else, I knew I wanted him a couple years ago because he has done a few of our friends weddings. We get all day coverage, 2 photogs, engagement shoot with no time limit, albums, a CD of 400-500 images, etc. check him out:
mikebresnen.com
if you want to see our engagement pics click on "client access" and the password is "jamie".
good luck finding yours! i recommend splurging... the photos are the most important part imo! can you post links to who you're looking at?
We're paying $4,600 for 8 hours of coverage with a second shooter, all the digital images on CD, and our album. I found some photogs for less but I love love love her work and she's a member of the Wedding Photojounalist Association and has won some awards so she's worth it IMO.
@Julialimei - my photographers are from CT and are costing $6800 (perhaps the same ones that you are interested in!). As someone mentioned in another thread, these photographers really do create works of art. In my opinion, it is worth the money!!
I'm also getting married in CT. We're paying $1300....but we're doing a small ceremony and no reception and getting married on a Thursday. For our 1k, we're getting an engagement session, two shooters (one of them is going to use my camera and do video; no sense having two photogs for as small as what we're doing), a high-res DVD and online proofing.
I'm thinking ours charges around $3k for all-day. I do know he did a wedding for my fiance's friends and he comes highly recommended by them; so far he's been great to work with. His name is David Apuzzo if he's not one of the ones you've checked out.
Location will make a big difference, as will the style of photography you like. The artier, the more pricey, it tends to be. In my region (Chicago and the surrounding suburbs), packages like yours seem to range from ~$1100 for fairly traditional style photography to $10,000+ for the big name arty photographers. We ended up going with a sufficiently arty but not too arty photog who's charging $1600 to shoot all day, give us all photos online/downloadable for our guests, doing all the retouching/photoshopping, giving us rights to use the photos however we want and dvd of them all in high-res. Since we're a Sunday wedding, she also threw in an engagement session which we're using as a day-after shoot instead. If we wanted a second shooter, the package would be about $2100.
oh boy...this is a hard question....i saw an ametuer just starting out at $600.....all the way up to $5000
i hired a girl who is still sort of starting out for $1800....but that also includes 8 hr wedding coverage, an engagement sess, and a bridal sess.
We're getting one photographer all day for $2400. She's already taken our engagement pictures and she's amazing! However, we had to search long and hard to find someone good who would be all day and not be ridiculously expensive.
We got everything you mentioned plus a full video package all for $4,500 and they were amazing. I did look into a bunch of studios with similar packages and I know they do CT weddings so let me know if you need some referrals.
I reviewed about 10-15 different Seattle area wedding photographers, which cost about $2200-$5000. Just look through a list of photographers (if your area has a local bride magazine, I find that their vendor list is the most complete). Look at their website if you like the quality of the pictures, email them for their price. I did that and it helped me understand the different price ranges.
Hey again Julialimei!
Any of you CT brides here talking about Justin & Mary Marantz??! If you are, those are my photogs too and they're totally AMAZING! Worth every single penny and then some times a million!
@sophie10 You got Justin and Mary!! Congrats, they are AMAZING!!!!!!! You are very lucky :)
@Sophie - That is who I have as well!! yay!
Thanks @Pizzuti! @eupenmalmody NO WAY!! Yay! Don't you LOVE them!? I told @Julialemei (starter of this post) that she totally needs to have them too b/c they're beyond worth any price. Have you done your engagement pics yet? I'll look for 'em on the blog ;-)
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Hi Hive,
Can you give me a sense of what is average for photography costs? We've been given a few figures, but want to compare with what others are hearing.
We're ideally looking for all day coverage, preferably with two shooters, an engagement session, online proofing, a DVD with all of the high resolution photos, and an album.
Thanks!