How many photos on average do you take at a wedding?

[nicfargo]

3000 seems a bit high for me personally. I do photo-journalistic but 3000 shots almost seems like you're filming the darn thing...just kidding. I think when you start out you shoot a lot more. You then start to learn the pace of a wedding and where you need to be and what you need to shoot and what you don't. I've heard this is how it is for most people...especially with digital. Shooting film, this may be opposite because a newbie would be concerned about spending so much on film. Who knows. As long as you get enough shots that you can present the B&G and they are happy, then you did a good job.

 

[eravedesigns]

I usually do like 5,000 between me and my two assistants. I found that it may be a bit much but what it comes down to is making sure you get every single moment the bride and groom want to see in print.

 

[skieur]

I find that the type of wedding has a lot to do with it, too. At one extreme I remember the small wedding with the triangle sandwiches and no liquor where it was really tough trying to get interesting shots. At the other extreme was the joyous celebration with several cultures and traditions involved.

skieur

 

[uberben]

I think Tony is referring to me in this post. . .

Most of my weddings are all day events. So I show up at 8-9am for the hair and make up and pretty much hang with them untill the dance is over. So sometimes that means a 8am to midnight shoot. I always have 2 cameras on me and my wife(second shooter) has 2 camera's on her. I subscribe to the photo-journalistic style of photography and hate sitting around when I could be shooting small stuff. Some of my best shots have been from off the cuff candid stuff. I bring a rediculas amount of CF to my gigs, so I just shoot all day. I have 6 camera's and I upgrade annually as the older ones get higher in the click count. I have never worried about the few grand a year in upgrading bodies when that investment makes more then 10 times over its lifetime. Plus you can sell it for cheap to someone getting into photography and they are stoked about scoring a deal.

Digitial is a freedom for us and why not embrace it. I have a super dialed workflow and get get a wedding done in 6-10 hours of processing and editing. Lightroom is the best thing to happen to Wedding photogs since the digital DSLR.

Mike is right. . . I don't make much if any money on actual prints. I sell my services and my goal is to document the day. Most of my print prices are only 20% above cost and that is to cover my costs of using pictage.

 

[Mike_E]

When I do weddings I make sure that I have the shots I intended to get and fill with X number per location to assure I'll have the number I've said I would present. And then I shoot for fun- whatever I get out of this is just a bonus.

I don't care to process over 600 though. (unless of course the money's right! )

 

[shorty6049]

yea, i was referring to you Ben,
i just cant fathom taking 3000 photos in one day, or owning enough CF cards to fit it all. Thats why I don't do weddings right now though.

 

[Rhys]

I did a wedding not long ago and got through 540 photos. I was concentrating on quality rather than quantity - they were all flash as the ceremony and reception were held in a candle-lit sports hall after dark.

 

[uberben]

I did a wedding not long ago and got through 540 photos. I was concentrating on quality rather than quantity - they were all flash as the ceremony and reception were held in a candle-lit sports hall after dark.

That sounds like a blackhole of a venue.

 

[uberben]

yea, i was referring to you Ben,
i just cant fathom taking 3000 photos in one day, or owning enough CF cards to fit it all. Thats why I don't do weddings right now though.

Technically, its both my wife and I. So its happen's pretty easily if you just get into a groove.

 

[shorty6049]

yea, i'm sure you'd get used to it pretty fast. The most i've done was a 4 hour event where i took around 200 shots, and they only needed 2 or 3 probably so it didnt matter how many good ones i got really. as long as you get results (and i know you do) thats all that really matters

 

[Rhys]

That sounds like a blackhole of a venue.

Yup - no chance of bounce flash at all. I had to use direct flash and found the 30D and 420EX liked to underexpose by a stop and a half that way!

 

[RyanLilly]

I just took about 275 as a guest at a wedding, I really had to "ration" my exposures because thats all the memory I brought with me. If I had brought more, I would have spent too much time clicking and not enough time with my friends. I've never shot a wedding though I could imagine taking 700-800 for the ceremony and reception.

 

[raider]

864,000 for an 8 hour wedding. i shoot video as well. photo - i usually end up having no more than 100 per hour for the couple - little more exposures - i really watch framing and composition, so a lot of them end up being presentable.

 

[jols]

864,000

eight hundred and sixty four thousand.

did i read that right?

 

[kmarie]

864,000

eight hundred and sixty four thousand.

did i read that right?

LOL, I think he's talking about video....in video you get 30 frames per second (I shoot video too). Sooooo:

30 frames x 60 seconds = 1,800 frames for 1 minute
1,800 frames x 60 minutes = 108,000 frames for 1 hour
108,000 frames x 8 hours = 864,000 frames for 8 hours of video