The short answer
Price wedding photography from your own numbers, not someone else's price list. Start with what you need to take home, add your business costs and taxes, then divide by the number of weddings you realistically expect to book and can shoot and edit in a year. That gives you an average revenue target to check against your expected mix of bookings.
The formula looks like this:
(Take-home income goal + business costs + taxes) ÷ weddings you expect to book and deliver per year = required average revenue per wedding
It works the same way for wedding videography. Only your costs and capacity change.
Step by step
1. Decide what you need to take home
Start with the number you need to live on in a year, after the business pays for itself. Be honest. A price built on wishful thinking about your rent is a price you'll resent by October.
Your take-home goal is personal. Build it from your household needs and the income you want this business to provide, rather than an employee wage figure or another studio's package price.
2. Add up your business costs
List everything the business pays for in a year. Common ones:
- Camera bodies, lenses, and replacing gear as it wears out
- Editing software, cloud storage, and backups
- Your CRM, gallery or delivery platform, and website
- Insurance
- Second shooters and assistants
- Travel, mileage, and parking
- Marketing, styled shoots, and education
- Albums and products, if they're included in packages
- Accounting and legal help
- Payment processing fees
Don't skip the boring ones. They're the ones that quietly eat your margin.
3. Set money aside for taxes
If you're self-employed in the U.S., you pay self-employment tax on top of income tax. The standard combined self-employment tax rate is 15.3%, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. Under the regular calculation, it generally applies to 92.35% of self-employment profit, with an annual cap on the Social Security portion and possible additional Medicare tax (IRS Publication 334). Federal and state income tax come on top of that.
Your tax situation depends on your income, deductions, state, and business structure, so ask an accountant what percentage to plan for. The point here is simply that taxes belong in the formula, not in a surprise every April.
4. Count your real capacity
This is the number that's easiest to get wrong. It isn't how many Saturdays there are. It's how many weddings you can shoot, edit, deliver, and still stay sane.
Track the real hours one wedding takes you: inquiries and calls, planning, travel, the wedding day itself, culling, editing, delivery, and the emails in between. Then compare that against the hours you're willing to work in a year. That's your capacity. For pricing, use a realistic booking forecast within that capacity, supported by your inquiry and booking history. Being able to deliver 25 weddings does not mean you will sell 25.
Filmmakers, your editing hours per wedding are usually far higher, so your capacity number is usually lower. Plan for it.
A worked example
These numbers are made up for illustration. Use your own.
| Line | Example amount |
|---|---|
| Take-home income goal | $60,000 |
| Business costs | $18,000 |
| Taxes to set aside (example estimate) | $20,000 |
| Total the business needs to bring in | $98,000 |
| Weddings you expect to book and can deliver | 25 |
| Required average revenue per wedding | $3,920 |
In this example, the business needs an average of $3,920 per wedding across those 25 bookings. Additional sessions or albums can contribute too, but subtract their own production and delivery costs before counting that contribution. If you expect fewer bookings, the required average goes up.
Use that average to check your expected mix of packages. A shorter booking may cost less to deliver and still contribute to your annual goal. Price each offer against its own work and costs, then check that the bookings you expect add up to enough for the year.
How to reply to a wedding inquiry, including when to share your starting price
Sanity checks against your market
The formula tells you what you need. Your market tells you whether people will pay it. You need both.
Look at what photographers with similar experience and a similar portfolio charge in your area, especially the ones booking the kind of weddings you want. If your floor lands well above them, that's a sign to cut costs, raise your capacity, or build the portfolio that justifies the gap. If it lands well below them, you may be undercharging.
Watch your inquiries, too. If almost every couple who sees your prices books, you're probably priced too low. If almost nobody does, either your price is out of step with your work, or the couples finding you aren't your couples.
And revisit the numbers every year. Your costs change, your taxes change, and your work gets better. Your prices should move with all three.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for wedding photography?
Enough to cover your take-home income goal, your business costs, and your taxes, divided across the weddings you realistically expect to book and can deliver in a year. Then check that number against what similar photographers in your market charge.
Do I need to account for taxes when pricing?
Yes. U.S. self-employed photographers generally need to plan for both self-employment tax and income tax. The standard combined self-employment rate is 15.3%, subject to calculation rules and earnings limits. Ask an accountant what to set aside for your situation.
How many weddings should I shoot a year?
As many as you can shoot, edit, and deliver well without burning out. Track the real hours each wedding takes, then compare that to the hours you're willing to work.
Is pricing wedding videography different?
The formula is the same. Videography usually has more editing hours per wedding and different gear costs, which lowers how many weddings you can take and raises your floor.
Try Bower free for 14 days. Build your packages and add-ons once, then send them in a proposal from any wedding's Project.