What Is The Average Price For A Wedding Photographer?

This is the Million pound question, thankfully, you’ll be glad to know, that’s not the answer.

As with most things in life, you’re going to come across a varied range when it comes to pricing and specifically, it depends what you are looking for.

If you’re looking for all day coverage, this is typically around 10-12 hours and it should cover from morning preparations right the way through until the First Dance (and perhaps a little longer to get a few photographs of your evening guests also).

Prices do vary

Prices for this really can vary, not only regional but in general. You may find someone offering it for as little as £500 and someone else offering it for £5000+

I appreciate that might not help, so I’ll try to explain why there is such a difference.

Every photographers business model is different, their lifestyles are different and what they offer is different.

You see, when most professional photographers price themselves, they do so based on their own personal calculations. This is to factor in, how many days they want to work a year, cost of education, gear, insurance, pension, everything business related.

The second factor, is quite simply, supply and demand.

The more a wedding photographer is booked, the more likely they are to increase their pricing. Now I know you might be thinking, that doesn’t sound fair.

So here me out…

If you could work less for more, would you? Be honest with yourself…. Who wouldn’t?

Let’s not forget though, there’s a solid reason why they are getting booked up and that’s simply because they are bloody good at what they do.

The reason why they appear cheaper

The reason why some may be charging £500, is because they are either new to the industry, they lack the experience or, perhaps their business model is different. It could even be that the photography is outsourced to someone else… Imagine having someone else you haven’t met turn up on your wedding day?

Let’s get to the core though of the reason you are reading this…

You’re probably just in the beginning stages of planning a wedding yourself and you want to begin to get a budget of what to spend on certain suppliers for your day and now it’s time to look for a Wedding Photographer.

Do you go based on price? Or do you find someone’s work you like and that you connect with (hugely important!) And then factor in the budget later?

Here’s my advise, as a wedding photographer myself

You’re only going to spend what you deem to be of value. That goes for everything on your day.

If you have found yourself, looking at something and saying “Strewth! That’s expensive” then ask yourself, does that ‘thing’ (or how much does that ‘thing’) matter to you? And I bet you’ll find that it’s not really high on your priority list…

And that’s ok.

You need to understand that it’s absolutely ok to budget £500 on a wedding photographer if that’s your choice.

£500 may be a lot of money to some, it may be pocket change to others.

Trust me, if £500 is all you have in your budget, then providing you shop around a little and check out the photographers website, instagram and have a face to face chat with them, you will be on to a winner. I have heard some horrible stories of when this has gone Pete Tong though so, DO meet up with them face to face… In my opinion, anybody serious about their business will be willing to do this (unless of course it’s not practical, then a Zoom meeting is ok)

Paying £500 is perfectly ok, BUT…

How do I know that it’s perfectly ok?

Because, I was once a £500 wedding photographer and I’d like to think I did a good job back then and I certainly left every couple happy.

BUT… my work, ethic, style and approach have significantly evolved since then. I’m far more dialled into specific moments, I know which couples are going to book me typically from the first few emails and I genuinely get a good feel if we’re going to be a good match or not.

And that.. for me.. is KEY!

In the beginning, I would happily work with anyone and everyone… Getting married? Sure, I’ll take your money.

Over time I learnt that actually not every couple are my client. Not every couple will get me or get my work and that’s absolutely ok.

I’m for the few, not the many

I’m for the few, not the many, and that suits me perfectly. It’s like an exclusive club, I connect with my couples on a much deeper level and that’s not for everyone. Sometimes you just want a photographer to turn up and take photos… that’s ok. I’m probably not your photographer then.

My advise is simple,

Find a photographers work you love, speak with them face to face and get a feel for who they really are.

If that means ultimately that you can only have 8 hours coverage rather than 12, then ask yourself, would you rather have 8 hours worth of photographs that you absolutely are excited about, that you know will be exactly what you are looking for and will cherish for years to come. Or would you rather just go for your second option just because there’s more coverage?

What about when Photographer B offers it for a much lower price?

So you’re comparing packages/collections and you’ve noticed that Photographer A charges more for what appears to be the same thing as Photographer B.

This is where you’d go with Photographer B, right?

Here’s the thing, if you’re comparing collections/packages and prices and what’s included then you will ALWAYS find someone cheaper.

There’s only a certain amount of “stuff” any photographer can put in a package/collection. But the “stuff” that’s not in the collection/package is where the magic lies. The ‘stuff’ that’s in the collection/package is nothing more than fluff… sounds harsh, I can’t believe I’m writing it myself but honestly.. USB stick, 4 A4 prints, A coaster set? - Do you ACTUALLY want any of that?!

If you can honestly tell me that what they are offering is EXACTLY the same (again, not talking physical deliverables) then yes, go for Photographer B.

But I can promise you this…

They WILL not provide you with the same level of service… EVERY photographer approaches weddings completely differently… look into that more. Look closely at their work, read their about me section. Can you connect with this person on a human level? Or not? - Just like meeting people in real life and choosing your friends, you’re NOT going to get on with everyone. You know that. I know that.

You can stick me at the same wedding as another photographer and I guarantee our images and experience provided will be different.. and no, I don’t mean the style/editing. That is merely the polishing.

We’d both be tuned into different moments, different connections, details. Our approach would be different because our personalities are different.

You HAVE to connect with the imagery and the photographer

This is why, for me, I NEED to know that the couple connect with my imagery and me because if they don’t, I’d never deliver what they were looking for and I don’t want that for anybody.

I’m lucky enough to know a lot of talented photographers who are vastly different from me. If a couple approach me and the match just isn’t there, I’m more than happy to refer them on to someone who I know will give them EXACTLY what they want.

I just want to know a figure

Ok, you’re read this much so far, here’s the statistical answer for the question..

The average price for a full days wedding photography in the UK is £1,800.