What to charge for a wedding?

A friend of mine is getting married this summer and she asked me to photograph her wedding. She wants to know what I charge. I have never done a weddin before, so I am clueless as to what to charge, what to offer etc.. Can anyone help me?

I responded to a similar thread about a month ago for another shooter who had never done a wedding. It's more complicated than you think it will be. So if you really want to tackle this project I can give you some real world experiences to think about first.
1) pre-planning--buy a book on wedding photography and study it cover to cover. Find out what you are getting yourself into before you commit to this. Will you be spending the day shooting and going from location to location ? Brides house-ceremony at church-reception . Plan on minimum 6 to 10 hours on that phase. Figure in gas,travel time and a break for yourself cause you will get really tired running all day.
2) Contract- always have everything you are going to provide in writing. Fro how many hours you will work to what kind of albums you will create for the couple to a list of the important shots you will get during the day. Don't forget to include what you will charge for extra time , extra shots in albums, burning to CDs, and any post production time to create all of this for them. Plan on 10-20 work hours for this . Will you retain the proof book and copyrights to your work ? Charge for extra albums made for friends/other family members than the couple, his/her mothers.
3) will you charge a flat fee or hourly rate ? Will you have a back-up for each piece of camera gear you use/need for the job ? ( Failure is not an option- have extra camera body, flash units wedding bracket,memory cards/film, Tripod/ballhead, DON'T BE UNPREPARED IF YOU HAVE AN EQUIPMENT FAILURE during the day) Will you have proper attire for the job ? A suit with pants not a skirt/ Assuming you are female or a tux/suit for a male. This way you look PROFESSIONAL and are attired appropriately.
4) Have plenty of business cards and a note book for referrals and notes during the day. You may find that you like the work and it could bring you more business if you are prepared.
5)TEST YOUR EQUIPMENT THOROUGHLY BEFORE THE DAY-be familiar with your gear so you don't fumble around and miss an important shot.
6) You can message me through the site here if you want more details(there are many) or e-mail me at [email protected]. Weddings are just one of the areas I've worked in even though I primarily shoot sports now.
7) Good Luck and Happy Shooting !

Rob, great advice.
Also, I love your work. The first one cute and funny at the same time.

cwightmanphotos wrote: Rob, great advice.
Also, I love your work. The first one cute and funny at the same time.

Thanks Crystal I appreciate your eval of my work

The contract will defiantly be the most important tool in dealing with the client. Friend or not when it comes down to money etc don't leave it to chance. Rob has a great list, bravo! I actually have a check list I use I go over the night before and the morning of the wedding. Also, maybe Rob said this, if you can check the place out before you shoot there it's a good idea. I like to do this because it gives you a clear idea of what gear you might want to use. Buy some bride magazines, etc etc. Also, if you have a local photography club or message board ask them if any of them have shot there before. They might be able to provide you with information you might not see in your walk through.

My two cents. I was an assistant to a wedding photographer over thirty years ago, and I can tell you if you have no experience with it, DON"T do it. This is where apprenticeship is very important. Photo and post work is nothing like dealing with people, most particularly the bride's family.
I learned a lot working with the master photographer, but the most important thing was, "I will never shoot weddings."

effron wrote: My two cents. I was an assistant to a wedding photographer over thirty years ago, and I can tell you if you have no experience with it, DON"T do it. This is where apprenticeship is very important. Photo and post work is nothing like dealing with people, most particularly the bride's family.
I learned a lot working with the master photographer, but the most important thing was, "I will never shoot weddings."

I agree, this isn't something where you just wing it.

Scotty wrote:

effron wrote: My two cents. I was an assistant to a wedding photographer over thirty years ago, and I can tell you if you have no experience with it, DON"T do it. This is where apprenticeship is very important. Photo and post work is nothing like dealing with people, most particularly the bride's family.
I learned a lot working with the master photographer, but the most important thing was, "I will never shoot weddings."

I agree, this isn't something where you just wing it.

Thanks guys- I don't want to come down too hard but I have no idea why some people think weddings are easy. Or just because you have a camera you must be qualified to shoot them successfully.

Well if you aint put off yet, you must be brave, all the advice given so far is perfect, so if you aim to do this wedding follow it, to go shoot a wedding unprepared is fatal, not only will you be devasted if things go wrong, think of how the bride will feel, 50% of my work is weddings and believe me its hard work, you will end the day exhausted, and you havent even started post production yet, on the plus side it is a very rewarding job, if you get it right the look on the bride and grooms faces when they see the finished product is reward enough, the majority of the weddings I have done the couples are now personal friends, and thats a plus, because you want the chance then to become there family photographer, always think of future work, as to charging, do some research, look at other photographers in your area, see what they charge, dont just copy there rates tho, that just gives you an idea of what you are up against, you need to work out your own costs now, and see if it comes anywhere near other photographers just to get an idea of if you are near the mark, then last but not least ask yourself this, "am I a good enough photographer to do this job" if the answers yes go for it, if the answers no be honest and tell them, you dont want to disappoint them.

photobod wrote: Well if you aint put off yet, you must be brave, all the advice given so far is perfect, so if you aim to do this wedding follow it, to go shoot a wedding unprepared is fatal, not only will you be devasted if things go wrong, think of how the bride will feel, 50% of my work is weddings and believe me its hard work, you will end the day exhausted, and you havent even started post production yet, on the plus side it is a very rewarding job, if you get it right the look on the bride and grooms faces when they see the finished product is reward enough, the majority of the weddings I have done the couples are now personal friends, and thats a plus, because you want the chance then to become there family photographer, always think of future work, as to charging, do some research, look at other photographers in your area, see what they charge, dont just copy there rates tho, that just gives you an idea of what you are up against, you need to work out your own costs now, and see if it comes anywhere near other photographers just to get an idea of if you are near the mark, then last but not least ask yourself this, "am I a good enough photographer to do this job" if the answers yes go for it, if the answers no be honest and tell them, you dont want to disappoint them.

The ENTER key is your best friend.

Thought I would bring this to the front for Penny

Bringing this up front for Shannon

Here's my answer:

bringing this thread to the front Again

My price just went up: