What to Expect From a Wedding Photographer—What's Normal?
Deciding what you want from a wedding photographer can be overwhelming. There's a huge range of options. Here's what's most typical: Your photographer will spend 6-10 hours with you. You will collaborate on a list of shots that are important to you. Often, they will capture some of the magic that happens while you get ready for the wedding (these can be surprisingly special shots). Then they'll capture the ceremony, some posed shots with family and wedding party, and most of the reception.
In that time, it's typical to capture 2,000-3,000 photos! Your photographer will cull that down to fewer than 1,000 photos that they will edit individually and deliver to you digitally. For every hour they spend taking photos, they will spend 3-4 hours editing for color, exposure, and style. Editing 1,000 photos is no small feat! It's not unusual for them to deliver the photos over a month after the wedding (My POV: That's way too long to wait).
Prices? You can expect to pay $2,500-$5000 for a professional photographer—and up to $10k for an extraordinary photography team with extensive gear and planning. Hobbyists often do great work and may charge quite a bit less.
What to Expect From Me
What You Get: I'll deliver an online gallery with 500-1000 photos via an attractive and user-friendly webpage where you can easily mark your favorites and download one photo, selections, or all photos. I'd also like to create a designed page for you with a few hundred photos that tell the story of your wedding. Here's a recent example. This is a great (and super easy) way to share photos with your friends and family.
When You Get It: Whenever possible, I prefer to start editing your photos right away. So, I typically deliver photos within a week of your wedding while you're still reveling in all the great vibes.
The Experience: I'm a confident and engaging seasoned performer and business professional who can help make everyone feel comfortable, take charge when needed, and help solve any challenges that come up. I'm smiley, friendly, and articulate—but not showy. This is your show.
Quality: I bring a $3,500 lens, a $2,000 camera, and 30+ years of design experience. All that helps me make the magic even more magical. My portfolio is a good representation of my style and quality, but every wedding is different. This is a collaboration between you, the venue, the lighting, me, and my gear.
Pricing: My pricing starts at $2,000 for a 4-6 hour wedding day (usually: getting ready, wedding, reception). I'll spend many more hours culling, editing, and organizing than actually taking the photos. We can work out reasonable pricing for a shorter or longer session.
Where: I'm currently nomadic and making my way up the West Coast of the United States with stops planned in Cambria and Monterey (California), and then Brookings, Manzanita, and Sisters (Oregon), and Whitefish, MT. If you book out far enough in advance, I might even plan my travel around your wedding.
Want More?: Add-ons are available for printed products (there are some fun options) and designed social media posts.
Travel: I love to travel, so don't be afraid to ask—we just need to collaborate to make it cost-effective. Are you planning a wedding at a hiking destination like a National Park? Let's definitely talk. I want in!
Good Vibes with a Camera
I'm the guy friends think of when they plan their weddings. Over the years It has been a pleasure to help with planning and serve as the ceremony musician, the custom songwriter, the officiant, part of the reception band, and (of course) the photographer.
It's important to get a good vibe from your wedding photographer. Let's chat, by phone, email, or text (whatever you like best). There won't be any pressure from me. I've been a part of many, many weddings and seen some unique approaches. If you want some ideas for how to make your day special and memorable, I'm happy to help and then give you room to make your decisions.
Please fill in the form below, and let me know whether to text, call, or email.
