About 12 mths ago I was contemplating what the correct charge should be for my wedding photography services. So given I am a little OCD I decided to list out all the items associated with undertaking wedding photography and set them out on a spreadsheet so I could determine the true cost of providing a wedding service. The initial list was fairly obvious and included;

• time expended during any pre-wedding meetings;
• time expended on the wedding day, determined by the package the couple choose;
• travel time and expenses to and from the wedding;
• time expended on post production;
• cost of supplying wedding usb;
• cost of supplying and preparing the wedding album (if selected);
• packaging and posting wedding usb and album.

But on reflection there was of course other overhead costs to include that were less obvious. These all have to be totalled up and divided by the expected number of wedding assignments;

• insurance costs;
• marketing costs (maintaining the website plus any subscription, referral and marketing campaign costs);
• Professional membership subscriptions for continuing professional development as well as providing clients with some confidence regarding standards of work;
• Equipment maintenance, cleaning, calibration and replacement.

I also had to determine my day or hourly rate and take into account the taxes I would need to pay.

When you set all this out on a spreadsheet it shows you the true cost of providing a wedding photography service and you soon recognise the cost difference between providing a professional service and a part time service.

Sadly correctly determining the cost of providing a professional wedding photography service does not guarantee you will get any more work because you also need to be competitive. Reviewing the competition is another interesting exercise to undertake and at the end of that process you can clearly determine where your charge sits compared to the other wedding photographers in your area.

I found this an interesting exercise, it ensures I correctly cost and charge for my services because I now have a model that determines my true cost so now I know what profit I am making on a wedding assignment or not depending on the agreed charge and I recommend everyone to do this.