Wedding video prices?
- Thread starter Azmyth
- Start date
dust'n the callipygous
Well-known member
Mine are typically from $2500-$4000. All shot with 3 operators and 4+ DSLRs. I still offer discounts and I'm not opposed to doing cheaper weddings from time to time with less coverage and time involved. I'd say do a few at first at cost. Figure out how you'd ideally shoot one, with crew and gear rentals involved, and do them for that amount. It's no good to do one cheaply and still not have an accurate example to show at your future pricing. I did several for $500 or less starting out, but got some good footage that allowed me to charge much more later
It doesn't matter what we charge. None of us are you.
Look up 'wedding video [your town]' on Google. Find every wedding videographer you can, write down the prices of various similar packages, and figure out what the curve is for different levels. Then place yourself somewhere fitting.
I started off really cheap, just like most people, but that wasn't just for experience. I used to live in a place with a median income half the national average, and a very different type of market. $300 was considered asking a bit much by most people, and selling an ad for more than $100 usually got people laughing. Now I live somewhere where the prices are above average nationally and people expect something completely different. You have to analyze the market. This forum isn't it.
Look up 'wedding video [your town]' on Google. Find every wedding videographer you can, write down the prices of various similar packages, and figure out what the curve is for different levels. Then place yourself somewhere fitting.
I started off really cheap, just like most people, but that wasn't just for experience. I used to live in a place with a median income half the national average, and a very different type of market. $300 was considered asking a bit much by most people, and selling an ad for more than $100 usually got people laughing. Now I live somewhere where the prices are above average nationally and people expect something completely different. You have to analyze the market. This forum isn't it.
Much is dependant on the demographics of your area. I could charge twice as much as I do if I lived 250 miles south but people around here won't pay that much. As Cassius said, figure out what the going rate is in your area and base your figure on that for the time being.
However, until you have a wedding video to show, you are really not worth much at all to the couple, and charging small numbers just messes with the local market because it sets the price unrealistically low, and all of a sudden you see the local prices spiralling downwards as more and more people try to undercut each other just to get those first few jobs. Once you set your price low (even just to get the first few jobs), you may find it hard to increase them dramatically and still get work.
In my opinion (take it or leave it) it's better to do a couple of weddings for FREE (without stealing those people from other videographers) because it does not effect the local market at all. In addition, working for free can easily be explained for what it is, whereas working for 'cheap' is not so clear cut and people will always want the same favor because they will all claim not to have enough budget and they really need you to help them out. One word here : RESIST! If you can get your name known, and if they really want you to shoot their wedding, they will find the money by saving on other things. As I pointed out to one couple who were playing the 'poor' game, the amount they were short of for their wedding video was less than they were going to spend each morning in Starbucks between now and their wedding. Stop going to Starbucks for a few months and you can afford the video! When you put things in simple terms, it's amazing to see how things turn around. We got the booking.
Not getting paid is really irrelevant to you on the first job (even if it actually ends up costing you money to do) because you are not doing it for the money, you are doing it for the show reel you will create from 'this' wedding in order to get the paid jobs in the future, at realistic market rates.
If a couple are paying you anything at all, they expect a good quality finished product, regardless of what you think you may have communicated and agreed. The biggest problem with communications/agreements like this is the assumption that it happened. Not everyone goes away from the "same" conversation remembering the "same" things! But, if they are not paying anything then it's hard to complain if you really do screw up (and it can easily happen on your first go).
Find couples who were not going to have a video, either because they never thought of it or because their budget wouldn't stretch that far. Pick couples that are getting married in the next few weeks (not months), because if they were going to book a videographer they would have done so already. If you book them too far out then you risk screwing with the local market once again, not to mention delaying getting your valuable show reel.
Weddings are not that same as shooting shorts, or music videos, or advertising pieces. Weddings are real time non repeatable events that run without any direction from the film crew on the day. The film crew are onlookers, not participants, you either get the shot or you don't get the shot, there are no retakes! A lot of the 'getting the shot' comes down to experience with weddings and not just knowing how to use a camera. Of course, you better know your camera inside out 'before' you shoot a wedding because in the heat of the moment anything that is not second nature may as well be not known at all!
While most weddings run to a familiar formula, every wedding is unique. However, it's important to figure out for yourself how much to charge based on how much work you put in to it. I see people on these forums saying that all they ever give the couple is a 12 minute highlights video, but they are charging $2K for it. Frankly, that wouldn't wash around here. Other people are giving 3, 4 or even 5 disc sets (yes, 5 full DVDs!) and charging not very much at all. That wouldn't be very popular here ether!
Realistically, we have between 40 and 100 man hours per wedding. How much effort you put in to audio mixing, color correction etc, DVD/Blu-ray authoring, case design and printing is up to you (don't under estimate this stuff!), but once you figure it out, how much is your time worth to you, and how much is it actually worth to the other people in your area? Now add in the cost of the equipment amortised over 'X' weddings, then consider how much it's going to cost you to find more weddings, either via advertising or going to Wedding Fairs (or what even they are called in your area). The sums need to add up!
So, if you want a guide to prices (converted to US$), the range appears to be in the $800 to $25,000. Where do you think you fit in that for your first one?
However, until you have a wedding video to show, you are really not worth much at all to the couple, and charging small numbers just messes with the local market because it sets the price unrealistically low, and all of a sudden you see the local prices spiralling downwards as more and more people try to undercut each other just to get those first few jobs. Once you set your price low (even just to get the first few jobs), you may find it hard to increase them dramatically and still get work.
In my opinion (take it or leave it) it's better to do a couple of weddings for FREE (without stealing those people from other videographers) because it does not effect the local market at all. In addition, working for free can easily be explained for what it is, whereas working for 'cheap' is not so clear cut and people will always want the same favor because they will all claim not to have enough budget and they really need you to help them out. One word here : RESIST! If you can get your name known, and if they really want you to shoot their wedding, they will find the money by saving on other things. As I pointed out to one couple who were playing the 'poor' game, the amount they were short of for their wedding video was less than they were going to spend each morning in Starbucks between now and their wedding. Stop going to Starbucks for a few months and you can afford the video! When you put things in simple terms, it's amazing to see how things turn around. We got the booking.
Not getting paid is really irrelevant to you on the first job (even if it actually ends up costing you money to do) because you are not doing it for the money, you are doing it for the show reel you will create from 'this' wedding in order to get the paid jobs in the future, at realistic market rates.
If a couple are paying you anything at all, they expect a good quality finished product, regardless of what you think you may have communicated and agreed. The biggest problem with communications/agreements like this is the assumption that it happened. Not everyone goes away from the "same" conversation remembering the "same" things! But, if they are not paying anything then it's hard to complain if you really do screw up (and it can easily happen on your first go).
Find couples who were not going to have a video, either because they never thought of it or because their budget wouldn't stretch that far. Pick couples that are getting married in the next few weeks (not months), because if they were going to book a videographer they would have done so already. If you book them too far out then you risk screwing with the local market once again, not to mention delaying getting your valuable show reel.
Weddings are not that same as shooting shorts, or music videos, or advertising pieces. Weddings are real time non repeatable events that run without any direction from the film crew on the day. The film crew are onlookers, not participants, you either get the shot or you don't get the shot, there are no retakes! A lot of the 'getting the shot' comes down to experience with weddings and not just knowing how to use a camera. Of course, you better know your camera inside out 'before' you shoot a wedding because in the heat of the moment anything that is not second nature may as well be not known at all!
While most weddings run to a familiar formula, every wedding is unique. However, it's important to figure out for yourself how much to charge based on how much work you put in to it. I see people on these forums saying that all they ever give the couple is a 12 minute highlights video, but they are charging $2K for it. Frankly, that wouldn't wash around here. Other people are giving 3, 4 or even 5 disc sets (yes, 5 full DVDs!) and charging not very much at all. That wouldn't be very popular here ether!
Realistically, we have between 40 and 100 man hours per wedding. How much effort you put in to audio mixing, color correction etc, DVD/Blu-ray authoring, case design and printing is up to you (don't under estimate this stuff!), but once you figure it out, how much is your time worth to you, and how much is it actually worth to the other people in your area? Now add in the cost of the equipment amortised over 'X' weddings, then consider how much it's going to cost you to find more weddings, either via advertising or going to Wedding Fairs (or what even they are called in your area). The sums need to add up!
So, if you want a guide to prices (converted to US$), the range appears to be in the $800 to $25,000. Where do you think you fit in that for your first one?
Last edited:
Azmyth
Veteran
I like in a rural area. There's only one other videographer in the immediate area who does any kind of event videography, and he only gets business because he's the only one. He uses EXTREMELY outddated technology, and doesn't do any editing outside of the camera. He literally does everything "in camera" including any kind of effects or titles. Its like watching a cable access show fused with a wedding. I have no idea what he charges, but I know its way too much for what the end result is. What I'd like to do is film the entire ceremony and then maybe do one of those 12 minute montage videos of everything else, and charge 2 or 300.00 for it starting off. But I may do the first few for free as suggested.
I cringe when ever I hear this. There was no excuse for it back in the 80s and there is certainly no excuse for it now! Ba video cuts are one thing, but bad audio cuts (made in camera) are nasty!
Well, there is your very first task. Find out what they charge. Do one wedding and make a good show reel for the web and a good sample DVD to send out if any one wants to see the finished product. If he is as bad as you think, and you are as good as you think, you should have no trouble getting 'some' business.
Don't forget the speeches! While most people will only ever watch them once or twice, it does provide a record of the day and they are relatively easy to edit. You can include these as part of the documentary cut very easily and really, speeches don't take much editing time.
DCTBradJohnson
Active member
Those are great words of wisdom exact... I am moving from the "creating show reels" stage to the "I'm not working for free" stage and it is tiresome. I would also suggest looking for couples who can't afford a videographer, or can only afford a very little. Then take whatever they can afford and SPEND it on their wedding. Rent gear, hire a second camera operator, do whatever you can to push your own current limitations and create a product worthy of inflated prices. I did a half dozen weddings of all different packages/styles/cameras/ and coverage a couple for free (friends/family be prepared to be asked to do everyone you have ever knowns wedding for free or slave wages and practice telling them no), but most I charged three to five hundred, and spent every penny on gear, gas, and staff.
scapsinger
Well-known member
I'm here in Georgia as well, and I know that in having done a few weddings all around the state, I've run into these people who are shooting terrible work but getting all kinds of jobs because he's "the guy" and because people have low standards.
Money plays a role. Usually "the guy" doesn't charge much, and promises very little. Everybody is "happy." When "the new guy" shows up and blows people away with his work, people still go back to "the guy" because that's the one they know.
Happens all over the country actually, anywhere you get into the truly rural areas. If I were you, I'd start by charging just slightly more than "the guy" until you're better established. That's about the only way to displace the bad work and fill it with your own GREAT work.
The hardest part though...shooting great wedding videos requires thought, time and people skills. Luckily, that's the part that you have the greatest control over.
Good luck with it!
Money plays a role. Usually "the guy" doesn't charge much, and promises very little. Everybody is "happy." When "the new guy" shows up and blows people away with his work, people still go back to "the guy" because that's the one they know.
Happens all over the country actually, anywhere you get into the truly rural areas. If I were you, I'd start by charging just slightly more than "the guy" until you're better established. That's about the only way to displace the bad work and fill it with your own GREAT work.
The hardest part though...shooting great wedding videos requires thought, time and people skills. Luckily, that's the part that you have the greatest control over.
Good luck with it!
Norman99
Well-known member
I have been doing wedding videos since 1978 and shot/edited well over 3000 of them. I have learned a lot of things in those 33 years behind the lens. My gospel is:
Sell yourself , meaning your clients must like your personality and enthusiasm BEFORE you show them your price list. Sell yourself first and the contract is sure to follow. Be professional and have a knockout demo ready. Don't be cheap on the price as that shows you are hungry for money but not over their budget as not to be affordable. Be honest with them, show you are willing to work with them in payment arrangements. Know your clients needs and go over every detail of the wedding day well in advance. Keep in touch with your clients often for any possible event date changes. The least amount of profit makes for the most amount of headaches.
How much to charge ? A one man shoot for around 10 hours including editing should be NO LESS than $1500 (typically $2200). Don't forget you have equipment to upgrade, suits at the cleaners, gas to buy, paperwork to do, time for client meetings and appointments, etc. etc. Don't work for the equipment, let the equipment work and make money for you. Good luck !
Sell yourself , meaning your clients must like your personality and enthusiasm BEFORE you show them your price list. Sell yourself first and the contract is sure to follow. Be professional and have a knockout demo ready. Don't be cheap on the price as that shows you are hungry for money but not over their budget as not to be affordable. Be honest with them, show you are willing to work with them in payment arrangements. Know your clients needs and go over every detail of the wedding day well in advance. Keep in touch with your clients often for any possible event date changes. The least amount of profit makes for the most amount of headaches.
How much to charge ? A one man shoot for around 10 hours including editing should be NO LESS than $1500 (typically $2200). Don't forget you have equipment to upgrade, suits at the cleaners, gas to buy, paperwork to do, time for client meetings and appointments, etc. etc. Don't work for the equipment, let the equipment work and make money for you. Good luck !
All tremendous advice you've gotten. The most often-repeated line "analyze your market" is worth repeating until you feel like you have a new mantra.
I relocated last fall to a city 500 miles away from where I'd been for over 50 years. I knew absolutely no one, and had no idea if there was a market here.
.
Really careful, highly detailed and thoroughly objective examination of the local market showed that there were dozens of people shooting weddings, most were charging far too much for what they were producing ( think soccer mom with a $300 handycam, shooting a wedding hand-held...you get the picture).
the Market for wedding video was/is saturated. Could I do far better work than most of them? absolutely...but was it worth the work needed? For me, no...I don't particularily like shooting weddings anyway. My market evaluation also determined that there was all of these wedding videographers, there were a couple of high end commercial production houses with their attendant high dollar product....and virtually nothing in between.
Since what I want to shoot is more documentary/corporate training sort of thing, and there was really no one fulfilling that market, it was pretty easy to get out, get some work and build a reel.
Talking to people and selling yourself if crucial; if they don't know who you are, they aren't likely to chase around looking for you. If you don't have a demo reel at all, start working on one. Even though you want to shoot weddings, and ideally weddings should make up your demo reel, ANYTHING that shows your technical abilities is better than no demo reel at all.
Shoot B-roll footage...street scenes, sporting events, festivals, fairs...a wedding or two if you can. Work on your edit and show your skill to prospective clients...but get your name out there. If you have a product that isn't well represented in your area, you will find work.
Knowing my market and it's needs has worked out very well so far. I have work booked for a couple of months out, and I've been working pretty steadily since last October. It takes work, and it takes time, but once things start rolling, you'll see the payoff for that work upfront.
I relocated last fall to a city 500 miles away from where I'd been for over 50 years. I knew absolutely no one, and had no idea if there was a market here.
.
Really careful, highly detailed and thoroughly objective examination of the local market showed that there were dozens of people shooting weddings, most were charging far too much for what they were producing ( think soccer mom with a $300 handycam, shooting a wedding hand-held...you get the picture).
the Market for wedding video was/is saturated. Could I do far better work than most of them? absolutely...but was it worth the work needed? For me, no...I don't particularily like shooting weddings anyway. My market evaluation also determined that there was all of these wedding videographers, there were a couple of high end commercial production houses with their attendant high dollar product....and virtually nothing in between.
Since what I want to shoot is more documentary/corporate training sort of thing, and there was really no one fulfilling that market, it was pretty easy to get out, get some work and build a reel.
Talking to people and selling yourself if crucial; if they don't know who you are, they aren't likely to chase around looking for you. If you don't have a demo reel at all, start working on one. Even though you want to shoot weddings, and ideally weddings should make up your demo reel, ANYTHING that shows your technical abilities is better than no demo reel at all.
Shoot B-roll footage...street scenes, sporting events, festivals, fairs...a wedding or two if you can. Work on your edit and show your skill to prospective clients...but get your name out there. If you have a product that isn't well represented in your area, you will find work.
Knowing my market and it's needs has worked out very well so far. I have work booked for a couple of months out, and I've been working pretty steadily since last October. It takes work, and it takes time, but once things start rolling, you'll see the payoff for that work upfront.
I gotta ask how much you pay the two camera operators for the $2500 package?
humpakistani
New member
not so much charging according to the wedding demand and quality of the video We charge not so much .
JONJON
Well-known member
I started doing that this summer. I bought a new dvx 3 yrs ago and haven't made a dime off of it yet lol. I'm not a pro by any means so im thinking for a basic package 2 cams (dvx and a small 3ccd consumer cam) around $500 and go up from there. my plan is to do about 10 weddings at those rates and then move up to HD next year and charge more(yippie)