[keyser]

I'm writing to ask how much I should be paying for a wedding photographer?

I'm getting married at 4PM on Saturday, August 28th in Richmond, BC (Canada). What I want is a single shooter to catch the key parts of the ceremony and to conduct and take the portraits after the ceremony.

I only require the unsorted and unprocessed raw images as I'm adept at Post-processing and I'm willing to spend the time to construct the album.

Our alloted time at the ceremony venue is only 90 minutes. so this would not at all be an all day gig.

Any thoughts?

Take a look through this thread - https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/professional-photography-business/92774-a...raw-files.html

The problem may be in finding a photographer to hand over the unprocessed files. As far as they are concerned their work is not complete until they have done the PP.

If you have a university nearby that has photography programs, that might be the best place to search. Most uni's have a website where jobs can be posted. A student might need the money more than the artistic rights to the shots.

If that's really what you're looking for, you probably need to find the photographer first and agree terms second.

It's quite a few months away, another alternative would be to teach a friend how to use your camera. Try and teach more than one, then you have backup. That, obviously would be your cheapest option as, I'm sure, a few beers would be accepted as payment.

[keyser]

My concern is that most photographers set a minimum rate of, say $2000. That assumes 8 hours of shooting plus PP and a couple of albums.

Now, I'm not saying I want to go cheap and get somebody in that doesn't know what they're doing. I'm just trying to find a middle ground. To cut out the cost of PP, the full res shots are necessary.

I simply want to hire somebody to turn up and shoot. I'm sure there are guys who have a good eye for composition, but really do not care for the business end of things. I'm looking for technically solid, not necessarily flashy. If the key shots are sharp, well exposed and in focus, I will be very happy. Maybe a photography student would fill that gap, but I'd need to make sure they're not a 'student' for a reason!

Now, I'll go to the other thread to discuss the RAW thing. I don't want to derail this thread with that argument.

[MJB DIGITAL]

My rate is $3000 (ish)

You aren't just asking your photographer to 'do a smaller amount of work,' you are asking that photographer to lessen the amount of money he/she can make on that day. Consider that if you are looking for a pro photog, that person will probably have other inquiries for your day and possibly will not want to book for the package you want because it costs the tog money in the long run

If you wan't to purchase digital negs (RAW) from me, that's another $1000 but you'll get copyright with it as well.

My hourly rate for shooting is normally $125 (for non wedding/special event stuff)


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I'm just throwing some numbers out there so you get a feel for what you want to ask of your photographer.

As a wedding tog myself, if I had the same wishes as you, my pitch to hiring someone would be something like, "Will you shoot for $100/hr for 8hrs and allow me to acquire the RAW's for $xxx?"

[George Lama]

Some of us believe that this kind of request, handing over RAW files, is like asking us to hand over an unfinished job. It's going to be difficult, particularly for those of us who care about the final product we allow the public to see.

In addition to what DB and MJB said, you might want to ask photographers you talk to about custom packages. I do them regularly, whether for weddings, portraits, or HS senior sessions. If they are willing to work with you, perhaps you could ask for a custom 2 hr package with minimal processing (no effects, just cleanup) and digital negatives.

[Wheatfield]

You should probably expect to pay a few hundred for this.
I was in a wedding party at the end of January. I arranged for the photography to happen, and I was given a DVD of out of camera raw files, which was what I wanted.
I happen to be friends with the photographer.
I'd check with the local camera clubs if you don't know anyone competent well enough to ask for this.
I'm betting you'll find someone who is both experienced and willing to make an easy few hundred dollars for a couple of hours work fairly easily.