Who says planning a wedding is simple especially when it comes time to ask, “What’s this going to cost us?”  As we know, many factors play into this daunting thought and we often wonder why some aspects of a wedding are so darn expensive.  This very thought lead us to create a new my Kate Parker Wedding series, first focusing on wedding photography.  This series features myKPW photographers as they give us a more in-depth, behind-the scenes look into the wedding photography industry.

So why can wedding photography be so expensive?  We learned from several photographers that this isn’t a quick answer, as several factors were brought to our attention through pages and pages of entries which seemed more like term papers.  Wow, we really hit something here!   After reading through all of the entries, we’ve been able to summarize a handful of main factors that play into the cost of  wedding photography.  So factor number 1:

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE

New Hampshire photographer, Matthew Lomanno quoted James McNeill Whistler (a British-based artist and painter), “An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.”  Well put and actually well fitted for this topic.  For many photographers, their vision is based on education and actual experience.  Sure there is a such thing as raw talent, however would you trust a surgeon who has a steady hand but no practical experience?  This isn’t to say that all photographers need to have years and years of schooling to be good, but it’s seen as an advantage in such a competitive industry.  Vermont photographer, Kathleen Porter of North Photography, revealed that her pricing is related to the level of the photographer’s expertise:

“Many people can pick up a camera, set it to auto and capture a few decent images.  I’ve seen it done!  But over the years, a professional photographer develops an eye for detail and a mind for the flow of a wedding day.  They even have experience with the things we do not want to think about occurring on the wedding day.  Pouring rain?  No problem!  One hundred degree weather and no clouds?  Easy.  Hurricane on the coast?  Sure.  Drunken uncle during family photos?  A walk in the park.  We’ve been there and know what we are doing.”

To be a little more specific, many photographers have gone to school for photography, but must also constantly stay in the know and learn new techniques and practices.  In today’s wedding world, trends are always changing and as we all know, everyone wants the latest and greatest.  It’s not easy to keep up in this fast-changing industry as Savannah photographer Scott Hopkins points out:

“Photography is an art that requires continuing education.  As client preferences change, photographers have to learn new approaches to their craft.  Seminars, both online and in-person, can run several hundreds of dollars and multi-day workshops can run several thousands of dollars.”

Furthermore, New Hampshire photographer, Audra Bayette explains:

“Wedding photography, like all photography, is an art – one that requires learning and practice.  All professional photographers invest their time and money on education in order to stay up to date on new techniques and to grow their craft.  Education for photographers can include workshops, seminars and apprenticeships.  Even after all of that there is more to learn!  Photographers spend a lot of their time learning and practicing new techniques before your wedding.

What does this mean to you?  Having a photographer that is committed to improving their skills, who will stay up to date on technological advances and who will practice, practice, practice results in rock-star pictures of your wedding day!”

The money that photographers spend to enhance their education directly benefits the clients, because it refines their ability to capture one of the most important days of your life- and this is no easy task!  Matthew Lomanno continues to relate constant education to a photographer’s vision when he says:

“Developing and establishing a vision and style can take a considerable amount of experience of both photography in general and weddings in particular:  For me, that means having manual control of the camera (no automatic settings), and knowing how to anticipate and react to events, actions, and expressions (there are no second chances in a wedding).  How does one measure such things?”

Well, although a vision cannot be measured, it can be felt in the emotion and nuances of your photos, and this makes a quality photographer well worth the price.

image above by Matthew Lomanno Photography
my Kate Parker Wedding State and Budget: New Hampshire under $25k and $25-50k

image above by Scott Hopkins Photographer
my Kate Parker Wedding State and Budget: Savannah $25-50k and $50-80k

image above by North Photography
my Kate Parker Wedding State and Budget: Vermont $25-50k

image above by Audra Bayette
my Kate Parker Wedding State and Budget: Maine under $25k

The photographers above are members of my Kate Parker Wedding, your online wedding resource guide geared towards directing couples to quality vendors based on their price range and state.