How many picture you commit for wedding and engagement shoot ?

goodguy · Aug 4, 2016

When I shoot events for my main photographer I never worry about numbers and end result.
I give him the RAW files and he gives end product to the client.
I asked him how many pictures he gives for 4 hours wedding and how many pictures he gives to engagement he wasn't very clear.
So a client is asking me how many pictures do I give for a 4 hours wedding and an engagement shoot.
What is a reasonable numbers ?

I always worried about just shooting good pictures and now when I start doing my own events there is so much logistics I never thought of.

Designer · Aug 5, 2016

I'm not a pro, so I look at things from the standpoint of a customer. If I hired you for 4 hours, I would expect at least 4 good photos per hour, or a total of 16 excellent photographs for the session.

Vtec44 · Aug 5, 2016

The industry's average is about 50 delivered photos per hour. That's just the average. I deliver about 100/hr and I know others deliver less than 50 per hour. More or less isn't necessarily better in one way or another but you have to set the expectation correctly with your clients.

Big Mike · Aug 5, 2016

When somebody asks me that, I tell them that my photography is about quality, not quantity.

There are many, many factors that will determine how many shots end up being delivered per event, per time spent shooting etc.

For example, a regular uneventful wedding ceremony will only yield so many unique shots. Some ceremonies can last hours...all the while everyone is just standing in the same spot looking bored. Of course, a good photographer finds unique shots, like family members wiping a tear or small kids doing what they do. But for this part of the wedding, the photographer is documenting what happens....and if little is happening, then there isn't much happening (visually) and you only end up with so many great shots.

When it comes to the 'formal' photos and group shots, a lot of the time is spent organizing and arranging the groups, going from one location to another etc. And while I may take a bunch of photos of each grouping....they are only going to see the best one, so the number of photos per hour will likely be fairly low.

During the wedding reception, however, there might be many more unique shots....especially when the dancing starts. I will usually end up with many more 'keepers per hour' when shooting the dance portion of the wedding reception. Of course, these photos are usually less important than the ceremony and the formal photos.

So really, the answer (my answer) is.....it depends. But either way, I have the philosophy of quality over quantity....and I try to instill that in my clients.

vintagesnaps · Aug 5, 2016

Does your main photographer/boss use contracts with clients? Do the contracts specify any amount?

For whatever reason people seem to be fixated on the number instead of the quality. I suspect it's because many people taking pictures fire off their cameras so much that the subjects can't help but realize the photographer is shooting a bazillion times and they didn't get nearly as many photos as the number of times they heard the camera going off (or saw the flash being fired, etc.).

I think it probably takes helping people understand you're providing a finished product (which does not include photos where someone moved or blinked, etc.), and the number will vary with whatever is going on throughout the entire evening. Shooting events can be a certain amount of waiting then getting a number of pictures when something happens. If you explain to clients what you'll be doing that might help them have realistic expectations.

Hopefully you aren't learning to pray 'n spray where clients might wonder why you were shooting so many pictures they didn't get, and instead are learning good techniques and are developing skills so this may be less of a concern for you and your clients.

Try http://asmp.org for info. for professional photographers from a pro photographers organization.

goodguy · Aug 5, 2016

Big Mike said:
When somebody asks me that, I tell them that my photography is about quality, not quantity.

That's what I answered him too, so far didn't hear from him back

But that's ok, starting my first steps as an independent photographer and I will learn as I go, I know hwo to shoot events even though I have still lots more to learn and I am sure in time I will be very knowledgeable with all these details.

goodguy · Aug 5, 2016

vintagesnaps said:
Does your main photographer/boss use contracts with clients? Do the contracts specify any amount?

For whatever reason people seem to be fixated on the number instead of the quality. I suspect it's because many people taking pictures fire off their cameras so much that the subjects can't help but realize the photographer is shooting a bazillion times and they didn't get nearly as many photos as the number of times they heard the camera going off (or saw the flash being fired, etc.).

I think it probably takes helping people understand you're providing a finished product (which does not include photos where someone moved or blinked, etc.), and the number will vary with whatever is going on throughout the entire evening. Shooting events can be a certain amount of waiting then getting a number of pictures when something happens. If you explain to clients what you'll be doing that might help them have realistic expectations.

Hopefully you aren't learning to pray 'n spray where clients might wonder why you were shooting so many pictures they didn't get, and instead are learning good techniques and are developing skills so this may be less of a concern for you and your clients.

Try http://asmp.org for info. for professional photographers from a pro photographers organization.

My main photographer/mentor is a very tough person and gives me serious **** when I spray and pray, in most cases its one or two shots per item/issue and I learned to produce lots more keepers as time went on.
Today he send me alone to many smaller events and lately even bigger events supervising for him other people.
I try to bring high quality images and not large amount, I try to cover everything starting with décor shots, ceremony, candids, portraits, dancing and everything else is expected, learned so much with him and keep learning more and more very event

tirediron · Aug 6, 2016

I NEVER promise any. All of my literature, agreements, etc. uses phrases like "typically X images" or "on average", etc. While I don't shoot a lot of weddings (by intent) my plan with weddings as with most events, is to capture all the moments. I like to get 3-5 frames per "moment". For a typical full-wedding coverage (ceremony, formals & reception), I might shoot upwards of 500 frames, and probably turn over to the client something in the 100-150 proofs range.

dennybeall · Aug 7, 2016

Years ago, when I did weddings, the number of guests is one factor that determined number of shots. I did a fairly standard set of the wedding but tried to make sure to get every guest in at least one candid shot at the reception. One mob scene at a country club in Northern Virginia I had to just hold the camera way up in the air and shoot the crowd.

TamingRoman · Aug 24, 2016

Wow, good question. It really depends. I was main shooter and had 2 assistant shooters, and the end result was usually around 1500 photos because of the posed and the PJ stuff.

JennaLeighWeddings · Sep 2, 2016

I usually say 50-60 per hour..

tirediron · Sep 3, 2016

JennaLeighWeddings said:
I usually say 50-60 per hour..

pixmedic · Sep 3, 2016

I really hate that sort of question. So much depends on outside factors and no wedding is the same....

The last wedding me and my wife shot was 6 hours and we turned over a little under 250 finished photos.

The wedding before that was 8 hours and even with 2 shooters only turned over maybe 300 photos tops.

Both of those weddings included shots from the "getting ready" stages as well as the ceremony and reception.

Don't get hung up on trying to deliver massive amounts of photos. Quality is far more important than quantity.

theshortwhiteguy · Sep 5, 2016

Gone are the days when I used to say to the B&G "buy me a 30-pack of VPS 120 and I will give you the printed proofs." Now, whenever I bid on a wedding and get this question, usually because some noob has promised them 100+ per hour, I say to them "Do you want me to waste my time for the money you are paying me?". I then use the analogy from my wedding, when my wife an I put disposable cameras on the tables, and at least one of her cousin's had shot a whole roll peeling the label off a beer bottle. The first one or two were funny, but a whole roll was overkill, not to mention a waste of money. Just as pixmedic said, quality over quantity.