3 Ways To Price and Package Your Wedding Photography To Stay In Business

by Virtual Photography 

I’ve been reading a ton of rants this past week on the state of wedding photography, and whether a photographer can truly have a full time business photographing weddings. Those of us that have “been there, done that” know its more than possible – I routinely pulled in $250,000 and more each year photographing around 25 weddings. Yet those consistently charging “nothing” for their services are turning the industry into something that makes it difficult to earn a full time living with.

So in this post, I thought I would share 3 tips to help you price and package your wedding photography better, and hopefully answer many of the questions I hear every day when it comes to selling your services.

1. Quit confusing your potential customers.
I randomly chose a wedding photographer out of Google (I see the same type of wedding packages everywhere) – here was his pricing structure.
 Wedding Package 1

• Up to 5 hours of photography.
• Over 200 4×6 professional prints plus the same images on copyright-free CD
• 11×14 Portrait Print – choose any image from your wedding photos
• Choose $50 in additional prints
• Online gallery of your wedding photos to share with friends and family worldwide.

Wedding Package 2

• Up to 5 hours of photography.
• Over 200 images in print and on copyright-free CD
• 20 page 8×8 or 8×10 album
• 11×14 Portrait Print – choose any image from your wedding photos
• $75 in additional prints
• Online gallery of your wedding photos to share with friends and family worldwide.

Wedding Package 3

• This package includes six hours of shooting time on your wedding day plus a 20 page custom designed album.
• 6 hours of photography.
• Mix of color and black and white, creative effects.
• 250+ professionally processed wedding photos, in print and on copyright-free CD.
• 20 page custom wedding album – all prints on archival quality Kodak Endura Pro Paper
• Album is top quality, elegant and built to last a lifetime.
• 11×14 Portrait Print – choose any image from your wedding photos
• $100 in additional prints
• You wedding album is displayed online as it is created so you can comment on it as it is designed

Wedding Package 4

• 6 – 7 hours of photography.
• 300+ professionally processed wedding photos, in print and on copyright-free CD.
• 20 page custom album.
• 16×20 Portrait Print – choose any image from your wedding photos
• Choose $125 in additional individual prints
• Includes your choice of the Engagement Photo package, or $100 in additional prints

Wedding Package 5

• Includes everything in Wedding Collection 4  plus……
• Wedding albums for Mom – one album for each of your moms.  Same photos as the bride’s album
• (2) additional 11×14 copies of your portrait print

All five packages ranged from $1000 – $2100. Now lets analyze them. What’s the difference between 1 and 4? 2 and 5? How about 4 and 5? Difficult to tell, right? Sure, it’s a few photographs here, and an extra hour there. But if its hard for a photographer to tell the difference, how can your prospects tell? Do they really understand the difference between 50 photographs? And does one extra hour truly mean that much? What if they book the bottom package, and need an extra hour – they won’t even ask. They usually just book and let you deal with it the day of the event.
Don’t create too many packages that it leaves very little difference between them. Instead, focus in on huge differences, and make your customer instantly aware of what they need.

2. Watch your words.
Let me give you a set of words. Think of the meaning of each set, and which one appeals to you more.

Shoot  -  Photograph
Images  -  Pictures
Collections  -  Packages

See the difference? Watch an ad for BMW, or look through ads for elite stores like Nordstrom. They speak differently about their products and services than companies like Kia and Walmart. Because they are charging more, and reaching out to a different clientele, they speak in a different manner.

The same goes for your photography. I read comments by people all the time wondering who would pay $10,000 or more for wedding photography. If a bride is having an original Vera Wang gown (not dress) created for her, would she really hire a photographer who’s only charging $1,000? Of course not. The math doesn’t add up. If she spends $5,000 on her bouquet, and $7,500 on her cake, why wouldn’t she spend $15,000 or more on her photographer?

But she also would never hire anyone who is going to “shoot” her. She wants an elegant collection or original images that capture the beauty and grace of her special day.

3. Restructure the order.
In the above example, the photographer listed his cheapest package first, and proceeded to build from there. As the price goes up, the bride gets more confused, she shuts down, and quits reading forward. Why should she pay any more for a package – why not just take the first one and get it over with?

Instead, start with your top package and work down. Stick with 3 of fewer collections, and again, make a dramatic difference between the two. Now look at the following collections, and see what you think.

Collection One

• Unlimited amount of time, as our goal is to give you complete coverage from beginning to end.
• Unlimited number of photographs – how can we count your images as they are being taken? What if we hit 200, and you haven’t cut the cake yet? We wouldn’t be professional if we didn’t promise to capture every detail, from beginning to end.
• $2,000 credit to apply to any of our products, from album design, to framed portraits, to gifts for your parents and attendants
• Full online viewing to make your selections.

Collection Two

• Perfect for small, intimate gatherings with less than 25 guests.
• Four hours of coverage, one location only.
• Unlimited number of photographs during our time with you.
• $500 credit to apply to any of our products.
• Full online viewing to make your selections.

By putting your most expensive collection on top, they start big and work their way down. They often come up with a compromise towards the top of your price list instead of at the bottom.