Wedding Investment packages

Before I became a wedding photographer, I used to see them at work, learn their prices and think,

"Wow, their day rate is so high!"

Now that I've become one myself, I realised that someone on a wedding day may only see a small amount of what it actually takes to produce a beautiful gallery.

For most wedding photographers, the behind-the-scene hours is generally 4-5 times of the hours of wedding day coverage, including travel, culling and artful-hand-editing (the bulk of the time), and communications with the couple leading up to the wedding.

The "wedding premium" is valid, but it's not for the reasons you may think. It's because: there are no “do-overs”.

You can’t walk down the aisle again because my camera failed, so I carry two; you can’t afford to lose any photographs, so I shoot on two SD cards simultaneously and bring extra SD cards on hand; and I pay to back them up with good quality hard drives that are worth hundreds of dollars.

I invest even more in gear so I can shoot in any condition, such as low-light lenses for the indoor and night-time conditions, and high-powered flashlights to give creamy skin-tones even during a mid-day sun. 

I agree, charges for photography always look high, but consider the longevity of this service.  The food, the drinks get flushed down the drain (quite literally). The flowers will wilt and decorations gone the next day. The venue will serve as faint backdrops to your memories. Your makeup will be washed away and the hair slept on. Of all these luxury expenses, the photo and video documents hold the most utility. Their value increases with time, having an inverse relationship to your recollection of the day.