Wedding photographers pricing and what they have to cover

Written By Ian Petrie

The cost of doing business (CODB) for UK wedding photographers

Involves significant expenses beyond just taking photos, including high-end gear, insurance, marketing (fairs, ads, website), software, backups, travel, and extensive editing/admin time.

Often equating to hundreds of pounds per wedding, meaning photographers need to charge enough to cover these overheads and pay themselves a realistic wage (around £20-£60/hour take-home is common), not just the day rate. Many photographers spend £10k-£20k+ annually on running their business, making pricing crucial to avoid undercharging for the 40+ hours of work per wedding. 

Key Business Expenses

  • Equipment: Pro cameras (£1.5k+ each), multiple lenses (£1k+ each), backups, memory cards, flashes, and regular upgrades.

  • Insurance: Essential public liability, indemnity, and equipment insurance.

  • Software: Editing (Lightroom, Photoshop), gallery hosting, accounting.

  • Marketing & Sales: Websites, advertising (fairs, online ads), business cards, portfolio printing, second shooter costs.

  • Admin & Travel: Fuel, car maintenance, storage, business-related travel, time spent on emails, calls, research and editing.

  • Training: Continuous professional development to keep skills sharp and up to the current trends. 

The Reality of the Hourly Rate

  • A £1,500 average wedding might involve 40+ hours of work (shooting, editing, admin, travel).

  • This can break down to £30-£40 per hour before taxes, pension, or rainy-day funds are considered.

  • Many photographers aim for £20-£50+ per hour take-home after all expenses and tax, after all this is not a minimum wage style job, its a skilled trade and artform.

Why Pricing Matters

  • Protecting Your Business: CODB helps set a baseline so you don't lose money or work for free, this is why adding value for your clients is key.

  • Sustainability: Covers the cost of replacing gear, insurance, and paying yourself a real salary, unlike hobbyists.

  • Quality: Higher prices often reflect better equipment, experience, and more dedicated time for high-quality editing and backups, but this is not always true, so do your research and check potfolios and reviews out.

Key Takeaway

  • A wedding photographer's price isn't just for the wedding day; it's for all the pre- and post-production, overheads, and business sustainability, making understanding your Cost of Doing Business (CODB) vital for profitability, as explained in this article and this one. 

Ian Petrie

We Capture your memories and life milestones.

Hi, we are a family fun business offering wedding photography around Nottingham, Derby and beyond. We love nothing more than capturing the fun, natural photographs of your day. I live in South Normanton and can easily travel to the likes of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Birmingham, Sheffield & Doncaster allowing me the flexibility to cover weddings & corporate events around the East Midlands and South Yorkshire areas.

I am also a recommended Wedding photographer for Eastwood Hall and Clumber Park Hotel. I started my photography journey learning from wedding photography style photography which really helped me learn the fundamental skills needed for corporate and wedding photography, as this is one area that can only be done once, no replays, so it must be done right first time. 

I adore and love the job satisfaction of delivering memories for my customers that they will cherish for many years to come my goal is to make you excited to see your memories in print or digital forms like Wedding photographs, to proudly show friends and family your albums, framed prints, canvas art and other printing mediums.

Find out more here

https://www.ianpetriesphotography.co.uk
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