Wedding Photographer Salary

Today, any wedding will be an incomplete affair without a wedding photographer. A wedding is a special affair for those who take the vows and they would any day want the memories of that particular day to be captured in photographs. You might think how easy it is to become a wedding photographer, isn't it? After all, all that you need to do is capture photographs of the newly wed and the functions during the wedding. However, it isn't just that. A wedding photographer has to capture every moment the couple shares on this special day, a task that isn't at all simple. The job of a professional wedding photographer isn't as simple as it is thought of today and needs some great imagination and innovation. To understand the salary, and the profession in general, go through the information below.

Career As a Wedding Photographer

Before we learn how much does a wedding photographer earn, understanding the profession is very important. Wedding photography can be learned by anyone who wants to pursue this career. There are many courses available today that offer certificates to students who complete these with dedication and determination. Usually, people learn photography and then shift to the category of 'wedding photography' after understanding where their interest lies. However, the actual benefits of this profession and the income are justified only after some great experience. A wedding photographer has to click pictures of the couple before the wedding, during the wedding and at the reception as well. Listed below are some duties and responsibilities of a wedding photographer.

• A wedding photographer has to first and foremost talk to the couple who is getting married and see what do they have in mind in respect to the location and the theme of the wedding. This helps in building a little comfort between the two parties.
• Based on what is expected, the wedding photographer has to form a contract and get it signed before the start of the first photography session. This contract should be complete with all details of services and prices.
• The photographer should click all the special moments during the wedding and shouldn't miss even one. For example, the bride walking down the aisle, the couple taking the vows, exchange of rings etc. All these moments should be captured with adequate justice.
• The photographer is also responsible for the bringing in of equipment that he thinks is necessary. The customers are after all hiring his services and shouldn't be liable to pay for anything but those services.
• A wedding photographer should capture all the guests who came for the wedding and blessed the couple with their presence. Photographs of these guests with the couple are also very important.
• The wedding photographer is also responsible for editing photographs that require editing. Sometimes, the couple might want changes in some photographs and the photographer is then responsible for doing the needful.
• Sometimes, a particular package might help the couple financially. For example, a DVD along with the photographs might come cheap than hiring two separate people for these jobs. It is the duty of the photographer to also inform the customers of these packages, if any.

Now that we have some idea about these duties/responsibilities, we can check the salaries by state. Depending on these duties, the location of the photographer and his experience, the salary will vary for each candidate.

Wedding Photographer Salary: A Graph by States

Graph Displaying Salaries Offered by Percentage Number of States
$100,000 - $200,000	18.9%
$200,000 - $250,000	62.3%
$250,000 - $294,000	18.9%
Buzzle.com

According to this graph, 18.9% states pay wedding photographers more than $100,000 and less than $200,000 annually. These states are :-

• Louisiana - $166,000
• Alaska - $179,000
• Idaho - $192,000
• Washington - $193,000
• Wisconsin - $184,000
• Puerto Rico - $133,000
• Hawaii - $169,000
• Nebraska - $191,000
• New Mexico - $194,000
• South Dakota - $193,000

Similarly, 62.3% states pay wedding photographers somewhere between $200,000 to $250,000 annually. These states are :-

• South Carolina - $205,000
• North Carolina - $214,000
• Oklahoma - $206,000
• Virginia - $227,000
• Pennsylvania - $202,000
• Ohio - $212,000
• Missouri - $234,000
• New Hampshire - $230,000
• Arizona - $205,000
• Montana - $224,000
• Minnesota - $215,000
• Texas - $214,000
• Maine - $212,000
• New Jersey - $225,000
• Nevada - $207,000
• Oregon - $214,000
• Rhode Island - $229,000
• Utah - $206,000
• Tennessee - $214,000
• Kansas - $208,000
• North Dakota - $220,000
• Florida - $215,000
• Connecticut - $235,000
• Maryland - $227,000
• California - $237,000
• Iowa - $215,000
• Delaware - $210,000
• Colorado - $207,000
• Michigan - $206,000
• Vermont - $234,000
• Indiana - $243,000
• Arkansas - $221,000
• Georgia - $229,000

The rest, 18.9% pay wedding photographers more than $250,000 and less than $294,000 annually. These states are :-

• New York - $257,000
• Mississippi - $289,000
• District of Columbia - $264,000
• West Virginia - $254,000
• Massachusetts - $253,000
• Wyoming - $261,000
• Alabama - $255,000
• Virgin Islands - $261,000
• Illinois - $253,000
• Kentucky - $251,000

According to these statistics, the average salary of a wedding photographer would be yearly $218,754.71.

Note: The salaries mentioned here are approximate and are subject to change at any given point of time.

Now that we have this information about the wedding photographer salary, we also need to understand that wedding photography prices are going to be different for each photographer. Some wedding photographers are so famous that people don't mind paying extra to have them flown down. Similarly, some photographers charge more when orders come last minute and require greater work in lesser time. Depending on all these factors, you can put up your price tag!