Let’s have a little talk about pricing.

Before we dig into this and wedding vendors everywhere start chasing me with torches and pitchforks, let me preface this post by saying two things up front:

1. There are wedding photographers doing amazing, revolutionary work and justifiably charging luxury prices.
2. This article is simply an explanation of my pricing philosophy and is not (entirely) meant to throw shade at the pricing structures of other photographers.

Cool? Okay. Now let’s have a little conversation about pricing.

The Knot’s latest figures place the average cost of a wedding in 2023 at $35,000. This means that, on average, people are paying the value of an entire year of college. For one day. Uff da.

With this money you could also buy:

• 10,000 pairs of Old Navy flip flops.
• A brand new 2024 Jeep Wrangler
• A decade of season tickets to the Vikings

Outside of the venue and catering, wedding photography is among the most expensive services couples will splurge on. And for good reason: photographs can preserve your hectic and joyous wedding day, allowing you to relive these memories time and time again.

Most couples spend between $2,500 and $4,000 for their wedding photographer, but couples unable to afford these prices are stuck with “basic” packages that reduce hours of service and deliverable products.

My wife and I were in this category. We had to have tough conversations about which elements of our wedding day we were okay not having pictures of. The great “Well, what if we just get married in a box under the bridge?” conversation of 2019 is one neither of us will soon forget.

Unlike your DJ or caterer, your wedding photographer is going to need to put in weeks of work to accomplish their job. In addition to the task of creating the best possible images on your wedding day, your photographer must have complete knowledge of your schedule, goals, and vision for the day. And, once the day is done, they must cull, refine, and edit a mountain of photographs. If your package includes custom albums, photo books, or prints, they must also dedicate the time to create these items with the care and attentiveness they deserve.

In short, it makes sense that some photographers charge hefty rates.

But how exactly we define hefty is tricky. Photographers can be among the most elusive wedding vendors to deal with for two reasons:

1. Nontransparent pricing. Many wedding photographers hide their rates. This is frustrating, but effective. In order to access those rates, you need to inquire, which results in, at the very least, a compelling lead for them to follow. Additionally, many photographers will offer a “custom quote” and “tailor pricing to your unique event”, which is really code for “determine what you can and can’t pay for”.
2. The Veblen effect. In traditional economics, as prices rise, demand decreases. If suddenly Taco Bell charged $20 for a taco, business would plummet. But some goods — such as clothes and wedding photography — benefit from something called the Veblen effect, in which demand rises alongside prices. This has to do with the fact that when we aren’t sure how to evaluate something, we use price as a determination of quality. (Again, some photographers are absolutely worth what they charge.) It’s important, however, that you be aware of what’s happening behind the scenes. In 2021, the Journal of Consumer Policy published a study examining the bizarre world of wedding pricing. It concluded that wedding consumers “will pay more for a product even if there is no evidence of an increase in quality.” Unlike, say, a car that you can test drive and get a feel for, it can be hard to judge the genuine quality of a wedding vendor. The bottom line is that many wedding shoppers use price as a guide under the flawed assumption that if something costs more, it must be better. And we photographers know this and can take full advantage of that.

Based on what we’ve covered so far, most of you would be more intrigued in my work if you saw that I charged $3,000. (And, for the record, I would be happy for you to pay that, should you feel compelled.)

Instead, I keep my rates low because I believe that all of us have a fundamental right to have memories of our most cherished days preserved with high quality photography.

Just because you are a teacher, paramedic, nurse or other high-value, lower compensation job doesn’t mean that you should have to miss out on essential services. Shoot, maybe you’re a doctor or lawyer who just wants to be reasonable with their money. Maybe you want to spend your money on charity work, preserving our wild places, or buying really weird stuff on eBay.

Whatever your situation, you deserve a wedding celebration without compromises. And that’s why I price how I price.