how much do you charge for a wedding. CEREMONY, RECEPTION AND EDIT

P

Paunch

Well-known member
Just wondering what some of you are charging to shoot a ceremony, reception and of course edit it and put it on dvd + dvd design & labeling...

i did one earlier this year for 1200, thinking of going upwards of 2g's for my bottom rate. too many hacks out there overcharging for substandard work...time for me to get mines!
 
In the midwest the going rate is $1200-1800 for a fairly basic 2-3 cam shoot... meaning 2 decent cams (like DVX) and optionally a third smaller cam on wide... on sticks... in the balcony.

Stating the obvious... but that means $1500 average for "normal" (yet "decent" quality) wedding videos.

I recently shot a wedding (photography, not video) and they hired a kid who was shooting with a second guy... and the package was 2 x 5DmkII... with an XHA-1 shooting (and capturing wireless audio)... and a HV20-30 with optional lens on it (in the balcony). This kid does a really really good job... I was very impressed with him, as well as the final edit of his videos (very cinematic and beautiful)... and if I were to guess... he should be getting at least $3K for his videos... but in his case... we're talking really good work, with really good gear (2 x libec tripods, steadicam, slider, etc.) Honestly I think over time this guy could get $4K on reputation/quality with his current package and product (in the midwest).

It's tough shooting weddings (wedding video is hard, but I actually enjoy wedding photography) but if you can make it a unique experience for both the bride/groom (as well as yourself) and offer something you're proud of... that is actually growing your shooting skills (as this kid is doing) then I think it could actually be FUN for a change... and you'd make some money.

If you have a solid track record with videos to prove your quality, you can ratchet your prices up with each new booking... but you gotta' produce... and it's got to be good, because you are right about one thing... MOST wedding videos are not very good or interesting, and still cost $1500 (approx.)

Another free tip... is any wedding photographer/videographer... has GOT to have a good personality and upbeat attitude all day, no matter what... the video will reflect everyone's mood including your own... that will lead to a better product and more word of mouth referrals... as well as increased rate, because YOU are also a part of their day... making it more enjoyable or more stressful based on your personality and attitude which is a valuable x-factor that most "professionals" don't think about... but the bride and groom will appreciate.
 
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Hey not to be coarse or too off topic, but I hear a lot about how hard it is to do weddings and all the pressure, but I don't see it.

I find field production and all the other commercial stuff to be more scary. I mean directors and producers breathing down your neck. They are more proficient in the technical stuff, so they're more apt to recognize a screwup on your part.

I find weddings to be pretty straight forward. Sure it's one take, but I bring 3 cameras.

_______________________

Back on topic: My average pricing is $1200 here in the southeast.
 
I charge: $1750 up to $4750

and I work just about every Saturday. Keep in mind we are now pretty much all HD, Blu-Ray discs, and steadicam.

http://www.avsday.com/videography.html

Thats a link to the company I work for. The owner is an audio/lighting guy, and I run the video side of the business.
 
What MattinSTL stated, $1,000 - $1,800 is pretty much the norm in the midwest. That is what most of the other companies in Chicago and the burbs where I'm located charge. Could be totally different in other cities. If I were you, I'd research what other companies charge in your immediate area to get a better ballpark idea of the normal rates. I usually have clients book me for my $1,200 package, which is one manned camera and a second camera unmanned at the ceremony, full editing, highlights reel. I also usually go to the rehearsal to make sure I've got a good plan for shooting the ceremony, and I can also grab some cutaways. Stuff like the church decor that can come in handy for intro/title sequence shots and cutaways during the ceremony.

I'd like to charge a little more, but especially during the down economy, it is harder to get people to go for the higher end packages. At least my usual clientele. They are very practical and aren't dazzled by all the bells and whistles. They just want to get a video that looks nice and is within their budget. I don't use dollies or steadicams, mainly because I would need an assistant to help set that up, and if the clients aren't willing to pay for the higher end packages, I'm not gonna kill myself just to have those extra bells and whistles. Maybe someday I will -- see Still Motion and their great cinematic videos.

Also, there seems to be a stigma within the industry that if you're not doing the super cinematic-style wedding videos, you know with steadicams, cranes/jibs, dollies, 35mm adapters, vDSLR's, blu-ray disc etc. and charging like $7,000 or more, that you're a schmuck or a hack. Not saying that anybody here really acts like that, but I've encountered it or seen it online in other places.

Personally, I feel that, and especially for what my clients usually want, that whole approach is not right most of the time. My average clientele doesn't want obtrusiveness. All that stuff just draws all the attention to the videographer in my opinion. Also, do wedding videos really need tons and tons of movement? Sure it is nice to get some more dynamic shots here and there, but I see some videos that are just dolly shot, steadicam shot, jib shot, etc... repeated over and over. The whole idea of those types of shots in film theory is that they need to be motivated. I see a lot of wedding videos that have so many unmotivated shots with all this camera movement that it starts to loose the purpose of having a moving shot in the first place.

I guess that's my mini-rant on the industry. Bottom line is, don't feel like you have to copy anyone's style. Just like filmmakers do, we all try to differentiate ourselves from the pack.
 
I had no intentions of posting this link... but whatever... if you want to see some serious wedding video talent... here's the kid I was talking about...

www.gebbstotalvideo.com

The first one that plays is from the wedding I just shot (photography)... but a couple videos past that (you can click to the next one, etc.) and you'll see some that I think turned out a little better... but all of them are pretty damn slick.

My guess is that these are $3K to $4K... probably closer to $4K.


As for weddings being any kind of pressure... I have fun at them... but I think it's much harder then field production and corporate stuff. On any professional shoot there's somebody there that knows what they want... and it's easy to give people what they ask for IMO. I'd WAY rather deal with a producer then a bride... and I'd WAY rather be able to set a shot up to spec vs. manipulate chaos as it unfolds. The bride gives a split-second peck for the kiss... did you get it? (not through coverage, but GET IT with the best cam and angle?)... the kids come bolting down the aisle... and everybody thought it was so cute they can't wait to see what you did with it... etc... things like that happen at every wedding. If you can "spray" the whole place down with 3 cams then there's no pressure... and if you aren't doing anything cinematic then you may not feel any pressure, but you also won't be able to raise your rate significantly above the median rate for your area.
 
Just watched a really bad one from my cousins wedding, really bad on cheap cams that had sooo much noise, I looked at the website for the people who made it (so I would never hire them in the future) and they had their min package at $2k, max package at $5k in Kansas City. I'd guess they got the $3k or $4k pacakage becasue it had the rehersal night and other things in it. You could score it with dramatic shrieking music and call it a horror movie. Even the canon hv20's would smoke these cams. I'd post a link to it but I don't want to violate their privacy. I'll ask, she might not care. It's everything not to do for a wedding video, pretty much all shot dutch so your neck hurt after sitting through it.

Ohh BTW She loved it, wedding videos might be easy money.
 
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The best wedding video I have ever seen in my life was posted in a thread here, possibly a 7D thread, somewhere on the coast by the ocean, helcopter shots etc. It was awesome! It's the wedding video you want to make or learn from.

Thought they said t was a mixed assorment of cams, pretty sure the new 7D's and maybe hmc150, hard to remember.
 
I work for a very large wedding company. They range from 4,000-15,000 and up. They also have enough shooters to work 7-9 weddings in a day.
 
MattinSTL said:
Rick... 5DmkII with L-glass is responsible for the best shots.
Click to expand...

Really nice wedding montage that guy did. I was guessing it had to be a vDSLR he was using, it just had that quality to the image. I also saw that he had to be using 2 manned cameras, revealed by the shot of the bride and groom leaving the church. Having 2 people to shot as opposed to one is definitely something that can free you up to focus more on getting the types of shots you want, rather than running around to merely just get more basic coverage.

This is something I would like to get into with my weddings. A Canon 7D would give me much better low light performance as well, which is always a battle at any wedding. Plus it is smaller and lighter, maybe allowing for some more dynamic shots/motion. Although I do some of that when I can with my current set up.

I do like his editing style, which I think is what really makes or breaks any montage. The abundant use of moving and steadicam shots does work really well for a music video style montage/highlights reel too.

One thing I've noticed is that the couples willing to pay $3,000 to $4,000 as opposed to $1,000 are more open to letting the wedding videographer direct them or interact with them to get the more stylized and dynamic shots. The people who are on a stricter budget seem to want to just not be bothered and experience their wedding day unobstructed, because they've already got the photographer telling them to pose this way and that way, etc. Totally understandable though, as I don't think I'd want my wedding day to be overshadowed by the photo and video people.

Also, a lot of the time there is just no time for a lot of extra artsy shots most of the time. When I am editing later on, I sometimes think, "how the heck did I manage to get all these shots in the tiny window of time they allowed?" This is more often the case, basically after the ceremony its a mad dash to get to the reception.

So overall, I agree with Mattin's sentiment:

MattinSTL said:
As for weddings being any kind of pressure... I have fun at them... but I think it's much harder then field production and corporate stuff. On any professional shoot there's somebody there that knows what they want... and it's easy to give people what they ask for IMO.
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and it's easy to give people what they ask for IMO... and might I add, you can do retakes. With weddings there is just one take of pretty much everything.
 
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Nektonic said:
With weddings there is just one take of pretty much everything.
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I think the key is to know the shot that you want and to be aggressive.

The wedding photographer at my sisters wedding did NOT take "no" for an answer. She was going to get her shots. When she wanted a shot, she sprung into action...my sister would throw the bouquet and she would swoop in grab her by the wrist and pull her towards the subject, pose them together and *snap*, *snap*, *snap. Then she'd wave them off and go on to other things. But she was ALL over the place, firm but tactful and her pictures were absolutely stunning.
 
Rick Meyer said:
I think the key is to know the shot that you want and to be aggressive.
Click to expand...

I agree, planing is key for certain times of the wedding day and sometimes you have to be pushy to get your shots because sometimes the clients don't know what type of cooperation you need from them. This is actually something I'm starting to weed out in the initial meetings with couples. I try to get a feel for how much direction from me they will be able to take on their wedding day versus me being a little more low key.

I guess for me, its always trying to not step over the line where I piss off the bride and groom. Example: this summer I shot a wedding where the groom flat out refused to wear the wireless mic. I've never had this happen, so I politely explained to him the reason for the mic. He didn't care and no matter how much sense I talked into him, how many times I said, "we'll take it off for your post ceremony pictures" -- he just wouldn't do it. It was getting to the point where it would've gotten ugly had I persisted more. I'd rather not ruin someone's wedding day in an extreme case like this, even if it does compromise the audio a bit.

But as I said, this was a very rare occurrence indeed.

The wedding photographer at my sisters wedding did NOT take "no" for an answer. She was going to get her shots. When she wanted a shot, she sprung into action...my sister would throw the bouquet and she would swoop in grab her by the wrist and pull her towards the subject, pose them together and *snap*, *snap*, *snap. Then she'd wave them off and go on to other things. But she was ALL over the place, firm but tactful and her pictures were absolutely stunning.
Click to expand...

The good thing with video is you don't need as many posed shots as with photography. Just two similar but also different beasts, if that makes sense.
 
MattinSTL said:
Rick... 5DmkII with L-glass is responsible for the best shots.
Click to expand...
Great work on videographers part. Hate to sound like a newbie, but I am! What is a L-Glass. Also this post has been extremely helpful in my pursuit to begin doing wedding videos.

I am new to weddings, but I did one last weekend with one HMC 150. I thought I did an "OK" job, but the bride loved it. Told all her friends and even gave me compliments on a wedding blog. Since it ws my first wedding I made many mistakes and given the chance I would do SOOOOOO much different. I approached the project wanted to make it cinematic, but it was far from that...lol. Again though the bride loved it.

I feel as long as you capture romantic scenes and add some nice music, half your work is done. Going all out with steadicam's, dollies, etc i nice if you have it, but might be more work than needed. I too have seen videos from videographers who charged $2000 and the couple loved it! Who knows.

Side question...I'm looking to add a second camera to my wedding operation. DSLR or another HMC150(or equivalent?) If I go with the DSLR I'm thinking the 7D, but on average how many lens will i need. I know nothing about DSLR's. Maybe I should start a thread huh?
 
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