Each month I get hundreds of e-mails enquiring about wedding photography prices and most of them have similar responses . Some are plain honest , “sorry we won’t be able to have you as our budget is X” or “Aah !! thats way out of our budget” and some are rude , “Oh ! you guys are overcharging so much , so & so is providing me all this in Y amount” . As Ankitha left a comment on one of my previous blogs , “Please don’t bargain with the photographers for price. You ain’t buying vegetables. If they are charging X price then they know why they are charging so. You are paying for their art, time and effort. Photographers also expect respect and appreciation for their art 🙂 ”
Photographers are very emotional people . They charge because they have to , photography being the sole earning to them. Most of them take years to learn the business part of it and still don’t get it correct. As long as they are able to lead a decent life capturing moments , its deeply satisfying. No big dreams apart from travelling and creating wonderful art .
“Price bargaining is not the best way to deal with the photographers but respectful conversations are”
Here are few things which can get us on the same page :-
Incentive to shoot – Just like any relationship , photographer-client relationship is based on give and take. Photographers would be delivering you memories of a life time . But what about you ? what incentive can you offer to the photographer apart from their fee ? It can be a whole lot of things like a wonderful love story , a very off -beat location , runaway wedding , DIY decor , or a rare culture . We guys would jump at the opportunity to shoot unconventional weddings and maybe once in a while losing few bucks won’t matter much if its satisfying for our creative nerves.
Photographer’s Preferences – If you are willing to do anything for having your dream photographer , ask them their preferred date or month or location to shoot . Wedding photography is a cyclical business , with having its ups and downs . And if you are getting married in off season , I am sure we will be able to give you a great deal courtesy demand-supply variables.
Co-photographers- Most of us have our own teams or co-photographers who have been mentored by us over the years and have a similar approach to the photography . You can always ask the lead photographer to send in their portfolios along with the pricing . Trust is a major factor here . A reference from a previous client regarding the co-photographer’s way of handling the assignment will be the best bet.
Customisation- If you are keen for a certain photographer and your budget doesn’t permit you to go overboard , do not hesitate to ask them if reduction in the deliverables would lead to reduction of costs ( without offending them of course ! ) Photographers can suggest you cheaper album options , less number of edited images or less number of working hours even.
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