This is a very hard question to answer...
Prices for a full day of wedding photography can vary DRASTICALLY from £200-£5,000+ so I can totally get that as a client you're going to be confused! It's a huge price range and it's hard to know where to start to look, or to gauge whether you're getting value for your money. It may be tempting to book the girl down the road charging £200 all day with all the digitals but this is a day you can only do once, you wanna make sure you capture it right don't you?
Price Ranges
I've been shooting weddings for a good few years now and although these are only how I would categorise photographers, it's a bit of a starting guide for you at least:
<£800
If your photographer is charging less than £800 for a full day of shooting and full online gallery, in my experience this is someone just starting out or someone treating this as a side hustle rather than a business.
If you're happy taking a risk on someone new or a student then these sorts of photographers may be a good option for you if you have a lower budget in mind, but ALWAYS make sure you have a contract in place.
£900-£1,500
I view this price range as the start of the professional, legal businesses. Photographers charging in these brackets have at least a few years experience, are legally registered as a business for tax purposes and have necessary contracts etc in place. They know how to deliver consistent galleries and may even provide something a bit more than the 'average' wedding gallery.
£1,500+
From this price range up to me is the seasoned professional. Depending on style and service prices can increase a lot from here but this to me is where the best work can be found.
My 5 Tips For Choosing a Wedding Photographer
#1. Choose a style you like
Photographers have different styles and choosing one you love the most is the easiest place to start. You may like a photographer that's a little dramatic and moody (like me) or perhaps someone who's work is bright and airy?
Is your wedding colourful or more rustic? It's important to think about these things as a warmer toned photographer won't capture the colours of your day as well as someone who has a more bold and colourful style
#2. Set a Budget
Now you know the style you like you can start looking for photographers. I'd recommend setting a budget at this point so you can start to look around and compare pricing of people's work that you love. You may find they are more expensive than you originally thought. As a minimum I would say a £1,000 budget for a wedding will get you started but be open minded that you may either have to compromise on photographer or make cut backs elsewhere if they come in more expensive
#3. DONT ASK IN GROUPS
Just don't do it - trust me.
You'll be inundated with comments within seconds and it will overwhelm you. By all means browse through photographers that have posted in there but asking for recommendations is a mistake, believe me - I've seen hundreds of comments be left in minutes, all that will do is overwhelm you and that's not helpful.
#4. Think about what you want
Do you want digitals only? Albums? Wall Art?
Professional Albums and Wall Art products can increase costs due to the high quality products used. Is this important to you? If so around £300-£400 is standard for a high quality album.
#5. Make sure you actually like the photographer you book!
This may seem silly but you will be spending your whole day with your photographer on the biggest day of your life, you want to make sure you and your guests will get along with them!
Suggest to meet up or have a chat before you finalise the booking, read through their socials - do you think you would get along?
So how much was a wedding photographer again?
In short, pricing can vary depending on so many factors - experience, style, location etc. The best thing you can do is to find the style you want and go from there, but I would recommend having a budget of at least £1,500 in your head as a starting point.
Hope this has helped! You can see more of my wedding work by CLICKING HERE
Danielle x
