You’re Probably Overwhelmed…

Or At Least A Little Stressed


You’re planning a wedding! There is so much excitement that you’re feeling but the high you were feeling from the engagement, celebration with friends, and announcements has started to fade. Then, you start to plan a wedding. You’re starting to feel stressed because you have never planned a wedding, everyone is asking you so many questions (even people outside of your friends and family), and you haven’t ever hired a photographer. Well, maybe you did senior photos. But that was a while ago!


This is the case for so many newly engaged couples. Honestly, this was how I felt when I was hiring a wedding photographer. Even though I loved photography, I had no idea what was overcharging and what was fair. I could look at photos and see what photographers’ portfolios I liked but they tended to be either out of my budget or wanted me to reach out before giving me their prices.


There are many questions you might have. But, I’m going to help those of you who are trying to find a great photographer on a budget. Let’s say get the best bang for your buck in a wedding photographer.

 

So, why are photographers so expensive?


This was honestly my first thought when I was looking for a wedding photographer.  All of the photographers that seemed good seemed to be expensive. I’ve tried to lay out what you can do to get the best bang for your buck. However, it is probably helpful to understand how wedding photography is priced before getting into all of that!


The Math

If a photographer charged $2,000 for a wedding and engagement shoot and did 40 weddings a year (~35 hr / week with non-day-of-wedding hours), they would only make about $50,000 a year after taxes and general business expenses. With that insight, we can start to understand why we generally see wedding photographers charging over $2,000 per wedding.


What you get with a more expensive photographer

More expensive photographers are generally more experienced. And more experience means being more prepared for all situations (both emotional and photography wise), being more helpful in the planning phase of a wedding, and more peace of mind for you on your wedding day- knowing your photos turn out good.

What makes good photographers charge less?



A good way to find out how to better afford photographers you love is to get inside the mind of a photographer.  If we consider why a photographer might charge less, we might be better able to know which photographers to ask or what to look for.



They are trying to shoot their first few weddings

Just like trying to land your first job when you have no experience, first time wedding photographers are looking for someone to give them their first opportunity. This is their job. But, just because a photographer has not photographed a wedding does not mean that he or she is not experienced. Couples and engagement photographers are good at capturing your intimate one-on-one images, family photographers are used to capturing all sorts of group photos, sports photographers are experienced at capturing fast moving images like a dance floor or a quick moment during a ceremony, and product photographers have an eye for those detailed shots.


So, if you see a photographer that has a style you love and you like their personality, don’t immediately skip over him or her!



They are asked to negotiate on a price

Ask the photographer if he or she is willing to negotiate the price.  It couldn’t hurt to ask! And, just because a photographer has a price on his or her website doesn’t mean that he or she isn’t willing to work with you on the price.  Now, negotiating price typically doesn’t get you as good of price reductions as other methods- if you get price negotiated.  However, if you connect well with a photographer at the right time, he or she might be willing to work with you!



They are a close family member or friend

This isn’t the case for every photographer.  But, many photographers have a family and friends discount. It pays to know a guy! That said, you do want to make sure that person would be a good fit relationally:  a. a wedding photographer will be around you almost all day so you want to enjoy being around them that much and b. If the photographer would be a best man or maid of honor then you probably would not want him or her to be pulled away to capture your day when they could be fully with you.



They are looking for work in slower seasons

The middle of winter and the very peak of summer are often slower times of year for wedding photographers. If you and your spouse-to-be are comfortable with having a wedding in a slower season, then you might be able to get a little more of a discount from your desired wedding photographer. Some photographers like to use slower seasons for more logistical oriented business work. So, it’ll depend on the photographer.



They are offering early booking sign-up discounts

We are all familiar with Black Friday deals. Well, many photographers like to run discount sales on their work in order to book their clients. So, if there is a photographer that you like, follow them on social media and then wait for him or her to post about a sale.

How Do You Find A Photographer?

“Know a guy” (or girl)

It is not a guarantee that you know someone trying to start doing wedding photography. But, chances are you know someone who knows someone trying to start doing wedding photography.


Look for people in school

Like I said earlier, photographers trying to get their first few weddings photographed will likely heavily charge less (even below their normal rates) just to get their starts. So, look in places where these people are likely to be: like people in university or who always seem to have a camera but it’s not their main full-time job.


Use AI

AI is a great way to deep dive searches for comparing different things.  That said, AI currently (in 2026) heavily favors photographers with already built up SEO- meaning they’re probably more established.


The Knott

You can use wedding websites like the Knott to use a filter for how much wedding photographers charge.  Something to watch out for is that a lot of photographers will use “starting price” to make you think they are in your budget when it’s normally a package you wouldn’t want. And, photographers have to pay an annual fee to be on the Knott- making them typically not fully beginners.

 

What if the only photographers I like are out of my budget?



Look at all of their packages

Are all of their packages out of your budget?  Photographers will normally try to sell you on their top packages.  Some of the push for getting the 8-hour package truly is because it captures the full day- which is something photographers love to be able to capture. But at the end of the day, your wedding photos are for you.  If you just want pictures of the ceremony and you and your spouse, a 4 hour package is fine.  So, if the photographers you find in your search only fit your budget with smaller packages and you truly only want a few parts of your wedding photographed, then there is nothing wrong with choosing the smallest package.  Ask yourself the question of what photo or photos do you want of your wedding in 10, 20 years.  Maybe that will help you think through if you absolutely need the whole day.



Figure out what is most important to you for your wedding

Are there other areas of your wedding budget that you could contribute to your wedding photography?  If photos are the most important thing to you, then you may need to take a step back and holistically re-evaluate the percent of your budget going to a wedding photographer.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO INTO MAJOR DEBT FOR YOUR WEDDING.  For my wedding, we took some of the money we initially thought of going towards food and put that to our wedding photography part of the budget.



Do a self-evaltuation

Planning a wedding comes with so much stress. And there is some feeling- wherever it comes from- that drives us into perfectionism with every part of our wedding. Remember that your wedding is the celebration of you and your future spouse coming together. That matters more than the perfect photos. And, what makes those photos “the perfect photos” comes from the beauty of your love. So, if after all of your searching and investigation, you still can’t find a photographer you love- whatever that means to you- then at least do a reflective check and see if there are any photographers in that budget range with the question of “do I think that they could get me one (just one) great photo”.