If you’ve been deep in wedding planning, you’ve probably noticed that wedding photography costs way more than most other types of photography—except maybe high fashion. A portrait session might cost a few hundred dollars, while a wedding can run into the thousands. The difference isn’t just about the number of hours worked—it’s about everything that goes into capturing a wedding in a way that’s artistic and meaningful.
With most types of photography—portraits, commercial shoots, even events—there’s room for do-overs. If a brand doesn’t like their campaign photos, they can reshoot. If a headshot isn’t right, the person can book another session. Weddings don’t have that luxury.
A wedding photographer gets one chance to capture a moment. That means we have to be prepared for everything—low light, fast-moving moments, unpredictable weather, shifting schedules, and the chaos of a hundred people all doing different things at once.
We don’t just show up and take photos; we anticipate moments before they happen, adjust on the fly, and make sure nothing important is missed.
A wedding photographer isn’t just working the eight to ten hours of the actual wedding. The process starts long before that and continues long after:
Wedding photographers invest tens of thousands of dollars into their equipment. High-end cameras, multiple lenses, flashes, lighting setups, memory cards, and backup systems are all essential. Unlike a studio photographer who can control the environment, we have to be prepared for any lighting condition—dark churches, bright midday sun, candlelit receptions.
And because there are no second chances in wedding photography, we have to carry backups of everything. If a camera fails mid-ceremony, we need another one ready immediately. That level of preparedness comes at a cost.
Then our computers, most of us have multiple of them, and they have to be top tier often in the 5k plus cost range with storage and ram capacity.
If you’re getting married in New York or Philly, you’ve probably already seen the numbers. Most experienced photographers charge somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 for full wedding coverage. Some go higher, especially in the luxury market, while others charge less, but may offer limited coverage, minimal editing, or be newer to the industry.
I’ve spent years refining my approach—documenting weddings in a way that feels like movie stills and intentional without being intrusive. I work with couples who value real moments over staged ones, and I structure my pricing to reflect that.
I shoot both 35mm film and digital, which means you’re getting something deeper than standard wedding photos. Film has a richness, imperfection, and texture that digital can’t replicate. Blending the two creates a fuller, more honest story of your day. As well a the extra cost of film, to demystify its around 50-60 a roll for high resolution scans plus the film. And the extra step of sending in or hand delivering the film to my scan store.
You’re paying for more than just someone with a camera. I am a real artist and truly love my work. With so many years in this field I know how to anticipate moments, and document the energy of the day without forcing anything. I capture what’s actually happening—without making it feel like a wedding factory assembly line.
Other photographers with a similar artistic, film-based style in NYC and Philly charge anywhere from $8,000-$15,000 for this level of storytelling. I Really try to keep my pricing on the lower end of this margin, I am also middle class and love working with folks I can relate to, and can relate to me. As well as prefering a more laid back wedding vs the 500k productions that tend to want the 15-30k wedding photographer and to be publish in vogue, of course I care about vogue in theory, I have an ego, but I don’t read vogue and I really don’t care. I am more earthy than that.
I hope this helped to illuminate more about pricing and about my price structure.
