Pricing Your Wedding Photography: A 2026 Guide

Let’s talk about the thing that keeps photographers up at night. Not the fear of memory card failure. Not drunk uncles. Not even the nightmare of shooting a white dress in direct midday sun.

Pricing.

If you’ve ever stared at a blank quote wondering whether you’re charging too much (you’re probably not) or too little (you probably are), you’re not alone. Most wedding photographers have no idea if their pricing actually works until they’re either fully booked or completely broke.

Neither is ideal.

So let’s fix that. Here’s how to price your wedding photography based on actual maths rather than guesswork or panic-copying whatever the photographer down the road charges.

Why Copying Other Photographers’ Prices Doesn’t Work

This is how most photographers set their rates. Find a few competitors, see what they charge, pick something similar. Job done.

Except it’s not.

You have no idea if those photographers are actually making money. You don’t know their costs. You don’t know if they’re shooting 40 weddings a year and burning out or shooting 10 and subsidising their business with a part-time job. You don’t know if their partner pays the mortgage or if they’re slowly draining their savings.

Plenty of photographers charge rates that would put them out of business within two years. Others massively undercharge because they lack confidence, not because their work isn’t good enough.

Copying them just means copying their mistakes.

Start With Your Actual Costs

Every wedding costs you money before you earn a penny. You need to know this number.

Add it all up. If your annual costs are £10,000 and you shoot 25 weddings, that’s £400 per wedding just to break even. Before you pay yourself anything.

Count Your Actual Hours

The 8 hours you spend at a wedding is a fraction of the actual work. Be honest about the real time investment.

Most photographers massively underestimate this. If your package takes 45 hours of work and you charge £1,500, you’re earning £33 per hour before costs. After costs? Maybe £25.

Is that what you want to earn?

Set Your Target Hourly Rate

What do you actually want to make per hour? Not what you think you deserve or what feels “reasonable”. What would make this job sustainable and worthwhile?

Consider this: a plumber charges £60-80 an hour. An electrician charges similar. A half-decent accountant bills £100+. These are skilled trades, but they don’t require the artistic eye, technical expertise and ability to handle emotional family dynamics that wedding photography demands.

So why do so many photographers accept £25 an hour?

This isn’t what you should charge. It’s your floor. Below this, you’re losing money or underpaying yourself.

Factor in Your Booking Rate

Not everyone who enquires will book. If you respond to 50 enquiries and book 10, your conversion rate is 20%. That’s actually pretty decent.

But each enquiry takes time. Responding, maybe a call, writing up a quote. If you spend 30 minutes on each enquiry and only 20% book, that’s 2.5 hours of unpaid work for every booking.

That needs factoring into your hourly calculation too.

Market Positioning Matters

Your minimum viable price isn’t necessarily your optimal price. Where you sit in the market affects everything.

Budget End

High volume, lower prices, price-sensitive clients. You compete on value. This can work but requires serious efficiency. You need to edit fast, keep enquiry time minimal and book a lot of weddings. One slow season and you’re in trouble.

Mid-Market

Where most photographers sit. Reasonable prices, decent demand, competition based on portfolio quality. Sustainable if you get the numbers right.

Premium

Lower volume, higher prices, experience-focused clients. You compete on reputation and style rather than price. Requires exceptional work and strong positioning. Takes years to build but offers the best lifestyle once established.

Trying to compete in premium with a thin portfolio is frustrating. Trying to compete at budget with high overheads is unsustainable. Be honest about where you are.

Package Structures That Work

How you present your pricing affects how people perceive value.

Single Package

One option, one price. Simple, clear, no decision fatigue. The downside is you can’t capture extra budget from couples willing to pay more and you lose those who can’t quite afford it.

Three-Tier Packages (The Classic)

Good, better, best. Most people choose the middle option. This is well documented psychology. So price your middle package where you actually want to sell, with a budget option below and premium option above.

The budget option gives price-sensitive couples an entry point. The premium option makes the middle feel like good value. Most people book the middle.

Fully Custom

Build every package to the couple’s needs. Maximum flexibility but requires more back-and-forth. Works better at premium end where clients expect bespoke service.

When to Raise Your Prices

If you’re booking more than 80% of the weddings you quote, your prices are too low. You should be losing some bookings on price. That’s a sign you’re properly valued.

Other signs it’s time to go up:

• You’re fully booked 6+ months in advance
• Your costs have increased but prices haven’t
• Your work has significantly improved
• You’re turning down work to maintain sanity
• Couples are booking without negotiating

How to Communicate Value

Price objections are rarely about price. They’re about perceived value. Couples will happily pay more when they understand what they’re getting.

• Show full galleries – Not just the 20 best shots. Demonstrating consistency across an entire wedding justifies higher prices.
• Explain your process – When couples understand the 45+ hours of work they’re buying, the price makes more sense.
• Share testimonials – Social proof from happy couples reduces price sensitivity.
• Emphasise the irreplaceable – The flowers die, the cake gets eaten, the dress goes in a box. Photos are literally the only thing that lasts.

Stop apologising for your prices. If you’ve done the maths and they’re sustainable, stand behind them.

Special Situations

Weekdays and Off-Peak

Winter weddings, Fridays and Sundays have lower demand. Offering 10-15% off can fill gaps in your calendar without devaluing your Saturday summer bookings.

Destination Weddings

Travel costs money. Flights, accommodation, travel days. Be transparent about additional fees. Some photographers charge a flat travel fee, others add a percentage. Either works as long as couples know upfront.

Elopements

Smaller weddings need less coverage but similar admin and editing time. Create specific elopement packages starting at 2-4 hours. Don’t just pro-rate your full wedding price because the fixed costs per booking stay roughly the same.

Friends and Family

Your call. Some photographers offer 20-30% off, some shoot at cost, some politely decline. Whatever you decide, be consistent. And get a contract. Always get a contract.

Finding Couples Who Match Your Prices

Setting the right price is only half the battle. You also need to find couples whose budgets actually match what you charge.

Traditional directories show your work to everyone regardless of budget. You spend hours responding to enquiries from couples who can’t afford you. It’s exhausting and demoralising.

Phindr works differently. Couples set their budget upfront. When they like your portfolio, you see their budget before deciding to match. No more wasted time on enquiries that were never viable.

And because there are no featured placements or premium listings, your visibility comes from your portfolio quality rather than your marketing spend. A photographer charging £1,500 has the same chance of being discovered as one charging £5,000. The couples just filter differently.

The Bottom Line

Your prices should cover your costs, pay you fairly for your time and position you appropriately in your market. That’s it.

Stop feeling guilty about charging what your work is worth. Stop comparing yourself to photographers whose situations you don’t know. Stop dropping your prices to win bookings from people who don’t value photography anyway.

Do the maths. Set sustainable prices. Attract couples who appreciate what you do.

And if the enquiries aren’t coming at your price point, the solution isn’t always to charge less. Sometimes it’s better marketing, a stronger portfolio or different platforms.

Speaking of which.

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