How Much Do Wedding Photographers Make? (Plus Related Jobs)

Updated 7 May 2023

A wedding photographer is someone who captures photographs of a wedding ceremony, reception and other aspects of a wedding day. They capture the special moments of a wedding day, including the first time the couple see each other and the exchange of wedding vows and rings. Knowing how much a wedding photographer earns can provide you with a deeper understanding of the career and help you decide if it may be the right choice for you.

In this article, we discuss how much a wedding photographer makes, share tips for setting your pricing, explain ways of increasing your earnings, review the skills you may require, explore the job outlook for this career and list some related jobs and their salaries.

How much do wedding photographers make?

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries and the quoted websites at time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.

The answer to ‘How much do wedding photographers make?’ can vary based on several factors. These factors may include their years of experience, where they work and who employs them. Wedding photographers may also choose to be self-employed and run their own wedding photography business or sub-contract to other wedding photography services which can also affect their earnings. The national average salary for a wedding photographer is $54,000 per year.

Tips for setting your wedding photography pricing

If you operate your own photography business, how much you charge for your wedding photography services may depend on several factors. For example, travel, the equipment you use and your years of experience may influence your pricing. Below, you can find some tips for setting your pricing:

Set goals: It's important to have a clear idea of what the purpose of your business is before setting your pricing. Setting solid, measurable goals can help you decide on your pricing with your end goal in mind.
Recognise your worth: When setting your pricing, ensure you balance the value of your work with other factors, such as your location and the cost of your equipment. Recognising the value of your work involves considering everything you put into achieving the end result, including your time and energy.
Define your services: It can help to have clearly defined services and packages to help you set and commit to a pricing structure. For example, you may offer an all-inclusive package or the choice for customers to build their own package from a list of your individual services.
Consider a deposit: When setting your photography prices, it's beneficial to consider a deposit amount. Having a customer pay a deposit not only secures their booking but covers you in the case of a last-minute cancellation.
Continuously revisit your pricing: As your photography business develops, it's a good idea to revisit your pricing. Doing this can ensure your pricing remains aligned with your talent, experience, equipment and the current market.

How to increase your earnings as a wedding photographer

Below, you can find methods of increasing how much you earn as a wedding photographer:

1. Gain experience

When people choose to have photographs taken at their wedding, they're putting trust in someone to capture their special moments in quality photos that they can cherish for years ahead. The more experience you have taking photographs at weddings, the more appealing you're likely to be to potential clients and employers. Experience can also increase your ability to capture the photographs your clients seek. You may develop your experience by finding a mentor to work with who can share their photography skills with you. You may also consider offering your services at a cheaper rate to help develop your experience.

2. Create a portfolio

When searching for a photographer to capture photographs of their wedding day, clients often request to see a portfolio of work. Having a portfolio to present to potential clients can help them familiarise themselves with your style and the quality of photographs. It's a good idea to seek permission from previous clients you have photographed to share their photographs for marketing purposes. Sharing your portfolio may involve submitting it to potential employers along with your job application or showing it to potential clients who enquire about your wedding photography service.

3. Update your marketing strategy

Another great way to increase your income as a wedding photographer can be to update your marketing strategy to ensure you know who your customers are and how to reach them. Strong marketing tells a story about you and your business and may entice a customer to use your services instead of those of your competitors. There are many ways to market your business, including social media for creating marketing campaigns or attending local wedding exhibitions in your local town for business promotion.

Wedding photographer duties

Some wedding photographers may take on more or fewer duties than others depending on whether they're employed by an agency or run their own business. Typically, their duties may include:

Providing potential customers with accurate quotes for covering their day
Discussing customer requirements prior to the wedding, including any style, theme and prop choices
Setting up equipment, including any props or backdrops before the event and packing it away properly at the end of the event
Using and maintaining a broad range of photography equipment, including lenses and lighting set-ups
Taking high-quality photos of special moments throughout the event
Communicating appropriately with photographic subjects to help them feel relaxed while being photographed
Proving batch images to customers from which to choose their final images
Processing and editing photos
Supplying customers with their final photographs in a digital album
Arranging printed photos per customer requests
Performing market analysis and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends

Helpful skills for wedding photographers

There are many skills that can help a wedding photographer to become successful in their role. You can find some of them below:

Interpersonal skills

Wedding photographers spend a lot of time working with people, from meeting with potential clients to discuss their wedding plans to attending weddings to capture photographs. Successful wedding photographers generally know how to read people's emotions and share their excitement for their wedding day. You may develop these skills by listening attentively to clients when they're discussing their wedding plans and ideas and advising on the best way to capture their special moments.

Technical skills

It's important for wedding photographers to possess strong technical skills to ensure they're confident in using cameras and various lenses to capture wedding photographs. Technical skills can help you become familiar with photo editing software to assist with editing photographs prior to sending them to clients. You may develop these skills by reading photography equipment instruction manuals and using the equipment and editing software to become familiar with their capabilities and functions.

Creativity skills

Photography is ‌an art form and there are many styles of photography to choose from depending on your preference or that of your clients. Having a creative mind can be helpful in broadening your photography skills and providing new ideas to your clients to capture their wedding day uniquely. You may choose to develop your creativity skills by visiting galleries to view other photographers' work for inspiration or by trying new lenses and lighting techniques when taking photographs.

Job outlook for wedding photographers

Photography is a medium-sized occupation with potential for future growth. Wedding photographers can work throughout the country and may also seek wedding photography opportunities globally. Agencies and individuals commonly contract freelance wedding photographers, typically favouring multi-skilled candidates, such as those who can capture and edit digital video and photographs or someone with drone skills and camera skills. While weddings take place throughout the year, it can be a seasonal industry, with many weddings taking place through the warmer months of the year.

Related careers and salaries

Below, you can find some related careers, their national average salaries and primary duties:

1. Photography assistant

National average salary: $52,857 per year

Primary duties: The role of a photography assistant is to help a photographer plan, set up and capture photos in studios or on-site locations. They assist with creating the correct lighting, adding and removing props and making the subject of the photographs feel at ease. A photography assistant often carries the photography equipment and ensures the lenses and cameras are clean following a photography session.

2. Fashion stylist

National average salary: $54,211 per year

Primary duties: A fashion stylist may work for an individual, a boutique fashion house or major clothing brands, providing fashion and style advice. They often choose garments and put outfits together for people to wear for events, photo shoots, television advertising or films. Fashion stylists may also help choose props and accessories for models for various shows and projects.

3. Graphic designer

National average salary: $73,088 per year

Primary duties: A graphic designer creates 2D and 3D designs for clients. Their designs may be for ‌posters, packaging, wall art or other marketing material to help draw attention to a specific product or person. Graphic designers meet with clients to discuss their projects to understand exactly what their requirements are. They usually spend most of their time creating images and designs using advanced design software.