andre_noble4 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 In all seriousnes, what would you estimate is the average annual income of a full time weding pro, established, major metropolitan region, U.S.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmowery Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Are you looking to persue a wedding photographer career or move to the city? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenm Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 awesome direct question Andre and a follow up I have wondered is, "how many here make a living doing just weddings (and maybe other portraits)?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjogo Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I am no longer full time --but my two colleagues average 8/12k per wedding @ 30+ weddings a year. They have both been shooting locally, about 30 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 As far as I can determine, the range for full time Wedding Photographers in the Detroit Metro geographical area is roughly from $40,000. before expenses to $300,000 profit. Big spread based on talent, and business ability. Probably more the business ability. The average is probably around $55,000. profit based on the average wedding package price here, and an average amount of weddings per year. Most that I know also do other forms of photography. A majority here, like myself, are "Weekend Warriors". Full time jobs, with weddings as a supplement. Or work part time for larger franchise studios like Fox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennie farnsworth Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Umm... yeah... Raise your hand if you're making 8-12k per wedding... We're talking averages here, right folks? That may be the high end for Carmel, California, but far from the high-end profit you'll see in Atlanta... and certainly no where near the average. This isn't just wedding photographers, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average professional photographer made $26,610 in 2004, with the average low being $15,390 and the average high being $54,100. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes274021.htm You also have to take two things into account: 1) The amount of hours spent both on-location or in the studio, as well as the pre- and post-work that is involved. Making a $50,000 income for a 40-hour week is decent, but for a 60- or 80-hour week, which is sometimes necessary to run a business, it's just not as pretty. 2) Also, just as Marc has mentioned, you defintely have to factor the talent of the photographer into the equation. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_clark___minnetonka_mi Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 It depends. Success is elusive to some no matter what they do. Can a person be successful in the wedding photography business? Yes. But it depends on choices you make. What kind of a life style do you have or want? What do you need to be successful in this business? How will you drive business, getting clients to your door then signing on with you? I'm 57, almost 58 and spent the majority of my life in another field that provided a nice living standard for my wife and family. I got out of it for mainly two reasons, it changed a lot and I didn't want to adapt to the changes and I was ready to move on. Last evening I was the host for a Pictage user group of folks who use their services but are located somewhere here in Minneapolis. With the exception of yours truly, everyone worked at another job. I've participated in some pretty in depth seminars and the vast majority of the people attending were working in some capacity other than wedding photography or were at a stage of life like myself. Just examine the fixed costs of operating a small business: health insurance saving a little for retirement possible studio rental costs lab costs automobile costs including gas, insurance and payments to own the vehicle. assistant(s) costs insurance such as liability, equipment and unemployment travel & entertainment hotel advertising equipment office expense such as paper, computer software, telephone and others education & seminars dues to various organizations like the PPA professional fees to accountants and lawyers not covered expenses like medical bills how about some money for yourself? Can you succeed? It's up to you. Don't take this as a bleak picture but realize what goes into running a small business before stepping into it with both feet. Working for someone else many of the above costs and tasks are completed by other people. As a small business most all of those you need to do yourself or, if you delegate them, be aware that all these things are pieces that makeup a business. Cheers and best to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anner Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Your income is only limited by your ability to sell yourself and work smarter.. that's the beauty of photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_nelson___atlanta__ga Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Anne Ruthmann said: Your income is only limited by your ability to sell yourself and work smarter.. that's the beauty of photography. ================= That is the absolute truth Anne. The ability to sell yourself is more important than how good your photos are. If you have the technical ability to take "good" photos but are great at selling yourself and are able to make people very happy to work with you, you will be a great success. If you take GREAT pictures but are a pain to work with you may become succesful but it will be very short lived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdkirk Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Do you want the median or the modal average? You probably want the modal average--what income occurs most frequently among wedding pros. From the surveys done by the Professional Photographers of America, the modal average is $20,000 net. That is the most common figure for wedding pros (which includes portrait work as well, because the vast majority of professionals who do weddings also do portraits). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Before expenses, about 100k >> after expenses, about $2.83 ;-) There is a vast range, low end porbably less than 40k. High end and sought after over the 150k mark. Don't seem to be a lot of 'tweeners' that I see around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nstock Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 this isn't too hard to figure out. Call photographers or go to Wedding Photography websites in your area and take the gross they charge and find the Median and the Mode and all of that. You will find large numbers tend to sit around a certain price. Then multiply that by the 25-40 weddings a full time pro does a year and you are pretty close. Add in some portrait work and there you about have it. I heard a photographer in the San Diego area state once that there are so many photographers in the $2500 range they are choking each other's business! This individual went on to say that at $2500 a wedding in that area a full time wedding photographer would starve even if they got full time work. Other areas photographers getting $1500 a wedding and shooting 40 a year are doing quite well. With the advent of the DSLR that is affordable and has the "P" mode (film cameras have "P" too), it seems there are a lot of "friends" who will shoot a wedding for next to nothing. Overall, the # of weddings shot by professionals has decreased something like 22% nationwide, or so I have heard. This may be due to the DSLR and the friend who has it or it may be that less emphasis is being placed on professional wedding photography altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susan_flewelling Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I would say I should make about 60-75k this year. That is with only me as the photographer and a assistant. So we are not outsourcing any weddings. It took me about 7 years to get to this point though. Many years with less than 25k in profits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjogo Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Yes, the working photographers, making the averages I spoke of ...do have to work for that kind of money. Full studio staff..2 or 3 shooters at each wedding--8+ hours of shooting, plus post work. But with $86k being poverty, with a family of 4..'round this area, one has to make some serious money.<p> So their upper scale pricing/package ..helps trickle the "budget" clients to my phone. We offer the B&G coverage ~ at more than half the price..but we offer nothing in the way of albums, on line, enlargements, etc. Straight "hand them the negs & proofs" style business and with half the hours of coverage. A considerable less stress/work load and nearly the same profit as my colleagues , after expenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colleendonovan Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Here you go...<a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos264.htm#earnings"> Photographer Earnings</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 $216,000. median income for Doctors after one year in their chosen field .... I should've listened to my Mother. Photography is $70,000. less median income than my day job median... and being in the top 5% of my field (advertising) that's no where near the median. Why I never went full time into photography no matter how much I loved it. And why I admire those that did it and made a go of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris m., central florida Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I'm full time for the past two years. Part time before that. The income is all over the board. The majority of photographers that I've met have no idea how much money they make, and eventually they figure out they're losing money. That's why we see so many appearing on The knot and then disappearing very quickly. Quite a few go out of business after their first year. To make it in this business and earn a substantial profit, it takes a substantial investment. Especially if you want to break six figures. To bottom line it for you, my first year as a full time photographer resulted in well under $25K profit. But then I pursued commercial work and started making a name for myself. 2005 was good. 2006 is shaping up very nicely. 2007 should put me where I want to be unless something really bad happens to our economy. As a side note, I've done business with some of the top companies in the US in my formal role as an operations manager. Being a self employed photographer is a LOT more challenging in some respects. Don't understimate what you are getting yourself into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenacolson Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Colleen, that link was really interesting and useful. It looks like my plan to go to business school instead of photography school is a good one....gives me something to fall back on, to keep me from being a starving artist. Ah, the things we do for art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ann_hodge Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 <p>Jena Olson from Wisconsin. I spent 20 years plus 8 years of college for the financial field. Now I am going back to what I love. Photography. Don't make my mistake. Selling your soul is a hard place to get out of. ANN </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now