I'm brand new to photography, but have hopes of breaking into wedding photography. For the past six months or so I've been focused on building my portfolio by shooting my friends engagement pictures, bridal pics, etc. for free.

Last month I got an inquiry from a friend of one of my friends who wants me to shoot a family portrait - I was able to throw together pricing for that.

Now, I have another friend of a friend ask me to do her wedding photography. Can anyone offer me some guidance on how I should price this?

Thanks so much in advance!

Cheyenne

Cheyenne,

It all depends on what level of service you are planning on offering. Are you just going to shoot & burn and give them a disc? Or are you going to work on all of the images, and sell individual prints? Or any other number of possibilities? Obviously the more work you plan on putting into it, the more you should charge... But I think you need to decide what, exactly, you are offering... and only when you've made that decision can any real discussion go on about where to go from there.

Sean
mclellanstudio.com

Thanks for your response, Sean.

I'm *thinking* of offering the following:

6 hours of shooting
Post-processing of all images
online viewing for proof and print purchase

option to buy DVD of high res. files

Does that help any? Thanks!

How many hours do you think it will take you to do all of that work?

crap...um..the post processing will probably take 10-15 hours.

I'd go with the high end if you aren't sure... 15 hours... + 6 for shooting... + pre planning time... etc. Maybe 25 hours total, at least?

How much would you like to earn per hour for your time?

And I think that's a good starting point for you.

well that's the problem - how much I'd LIKE to earn isn't really what I DESERVE to earn.

I just don't know what an hourly rate for someone in my position with little experience should be charging.

Why not look at some local photoraphers that would be comprable to your own work?