You’re carefully drafting the budget for your upcoming event when it dawns on you.

You’ve got no idea about event photography pricing.

Since you’re still in the phase of planning an event, you’re not ready to hunt for a specific photographer, but you still need a ballpark for your budget.

Breathe. You’ve just landed on Eventbrite’s event photography pricing guide.

With nearly 20 years of experience in the events game, we’ve worked with our fair share of photographers and event organizers. We’re here to guide you on how to find the perfect photographer for your event without making a gazillion phone calls.

Table of contents

How much does an event photographer cost?

What factors affect event photographer pricing?

How to find the perfect event photographer

Tips for negotiating a fair event photography price

How much does an event photographer cost?

Event photographers generally charge between $150 and $400+ per hour, depending on several factors (we’ll do a deep dive into those in the next section).

Miami-based Fortune 500 photographer Gustavo Fernandez charges $400+ an hour, and here’s a breakdown of his add-ons:

On the other end of the pricing spectrum, Dora Photography, offers a $150 business package, which includes:

When you hire an event photographer, you’re paying for specialized equipment and skills, time and labor during the event, and post-production editing time. 

A woman speaking into a microphone
Ladies Get Paid / Get Money Get Paid / Brooklyn Expo Centre, USA

What factors affect event photographer pricing? 

Comparing photography price lists via websites is useful, but it doesn’t take into account your specific event details. Here are some of the major factors that can influence how much event photography will set you back:

Your event’s location and travel

Location is a major factor.

The cost of living is different across various cities and states in the United States, which naturally affects hourly rates and wages. 

For example, here’s an indication of the cost of a two-hour photoshoot across different cities in just one state (Florida). 

A screenshot of event photography pricing across Florida, USA

Bear in mind as well that if your event is in a remote place, you’ll have to pay your photographer a premium to get all the way out to you to cover their transportation costs. 

The kind of event you run

The type of event you host also has a large impact on photography rates.

To give you an idea, these are the average prices for different event types:

There’s a big difference between a $300 birthday and a $3,000 wedding, huh? This price difference also takes into account a photographer’s professional experience, location, and other factors. 

The photographer’s experience 

Experience has a huge impact on pricing. Expert Photography notes that the top professional photographers can charge as much as 5x what a student photographer would for the same event.

A guide to photography pricing screenshot
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The big question is: How much experience do you want your photographer to have?

If you’re organizing a wedding or high-profile event, you might prefer someone who’s experienced in capturing a special day. After all, you can’t go back in time to repeat the photography session! But bear in mind that the more experienced the photographer will be, the more experience your ticket prices will need to be. 

While people can expect to pay a lot for a large event, they won’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on an event for a small gathering. So make sure the photographer rates are in line with your ticket costs.

The kind and quantity of photos you need

Occasionally, a photographer will provide all of the images taken during the session, but most photographers offer a basic package with a fixed number of photos and an option for extras at an additional cost. 

You also need to consider what kind of photos you’re after.

Live-action photography requires different skills and equipment than static photography. And if you want to add a photo booth to the event, you’ll need to factor in what your photographer charges for bringing that along, too.

Raw vs edited wedding photography
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The degree of photo editing required 

Finally, you need to consider how much post-production work you want or if you’ll handle the editing yourself.

Are you looking for a quick turnaround? (in which case, there will be minimal editing). Or do you want your photographer to put in time to make your images pop?

Take a look at the before and after example from Casey Brodley, a Michigan wedding photographer.

In the case of a wedding photo shoot, you’re probably going to opt for the edited version.

But if you’re putting on a corporate event and just want to capture the night and create a few memories to share with attendees afterward, then you might be happy with the raw files.

Plan an event worth photographing!

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Event planning app for wedding planner

How to find the perfect event photographer

About to start looking for a photographer for your event?

Follow these five tips for capturing the day with the perfect event photographer.

Get clear on your expectations 

What you end up paying for a photographer depends on the details of your event.

To start off pricing on the best foot, give your photographer detailed information about your expectations so they can factor that into their quote.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Three factors that increase your event photography rate: # of pictures, turnaround time, and retouching” user=”eventbrite” usehashtags=”no”]

“It’s helpful to know exactly how many images you expect to get from the photographer, how fast the turnaround time is, and the amount of retouching and color grading you’ll want from the photographer,” advises Joe Montana, a freelance photographer in San Francisco. “These three factors add the most amount of time to a photographer’s workload.”

Most event photographers want more details. Compiling a few examples of what you’re looking for is a good practice to help you here. Remember: Photographers are visual people!

Here’s a quick breakdown to make sure you’re prepped before contacting photographers:

Establishing this clarity will help prevent miscommunications and misaligned expectations.

In addition, establish up front if you’re paying for the memory card full of photos or per image. 

“More junior photographers will give you all the files on the card, whereas more experienced ones may charge you by the image that you license,” says Brian Beaver, ex-VP of Design at Eventbrite. 

A good practice here is to create an event photography brief that you can share with potential photographers.

No need to go searching. We’ve got a free photography brief template right here:

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Reach out to your network 

Across the board, the photographers we interviewed named “word of mouth” as their main driver of business. 

As someone looking to hire a photographer, going through the recommendations route is your best shot at finding a reliable, quality partner.

Ask for recommendations from friends and colleagues, and talk to fellow organizers for recommendations. They can tell you what typical photography rates are in your area.

Need to expand your network? Here are a few great Facebook groups for event planners and organizers:

Take your search to the web 

Head to social media, and upload a couple of posts asking for recommendations (sharing a little bit about the event itself so people can point you in the right direction).

Dive into relevant Facebook groups and threads on Reddit. You can bet your bottom dollar that others have already asked the same question, and the answers are already out there.

Here are a few super helpful Reddit groups to search:

Another great option is Snappr, the event planner’s secret weapon for organizing event photography. 

You can use Snappr to find photographers in your local area, book a shoot, and manage photo editing and delivery.

A final option is to check out other event websites and look for photo credits as a direct method of finding photographers whose work you like.

Use portfolios to find your perfect photography partner 

Most professional and freelance photographers will have some type of portfolio or website. 

For example, photographer Tamara Knight has a detailed portfolio divided neatly into different event types so potential customers can quickly determine if she’s the right fit. 

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Now, dig through that list of potential photographers you’ve found, and narrow it down to a shortlist by reviewing each photographer’s portfolio.

Half of this exercise is simply to browse each photographer’s online gallery of past work to see if they’ve shot similar events and have the right level of experience.

But more than that, you’re looking for photos that make you say, “That’s what I want!” That might be a specific style or feel, or it might even be something you can’t specifically describe, but you know it’s what you’ve been hunting for.

Search for reviews 

Finally, take a look at some reviews from previous customers, preferably those who’ve run a similar kind of event to the one you’re planning. 

Ideally, you’ll want to find reviews published on a public forum rather than testimonials the photographer shares on their own site, which are obviously only positive.

Cannonball Productions / Bacon & Beer Classic / SF, USA

Both are valuable in assessing whether you want to work with a given photographer. Bear in mind that reviews on a platform like Trustpilot are likely to be more objective and paint a fuller picture of what it’s like to work with a given event photographer.

Tips for negotiating a fair event photography price

Event organizers often negotiate pricing with photographers to stay within their event budget.

It’s important to stay respectful during the process.

Beyond that golden rule, here are a couple of helpful tips to help you secure a reasonable price.

Negotiate on the package price, not the hourly rate

Rather than asking a photographer to reduce their hourly rate, ask for a discount on a package. That way, you don’t come across as if you’re discounting the value of their time, and you’ll have a better shot at getting a positive response.

For example, if a photographer’s headline rate is $400 an hour, you might ask for a six-hour package at $2,000 (usually $2,400).

Note that in many cases, a reduction in price will likely come with a reduction in services, and not all negotiations are guaranteed. 

Only negotiate with photographers close to your price range

Don’t come into the conversation looking to haggle a $3,000 package down to $1,200. That’s just going to be interpreted as disrespectful and isn’t likely to get you very far.

A good ballpark is to negotiate in the 5–10% range, maybe pushing it to 20% for larger packages.

For example, you could attempt to negotiate a $4,000 package down to $3,200.

Expect that most photographers will respond to your initial offer with a counteroffer.

Think about other benefits you could provide 

“There are ways to subsidize the photographer,” says Misha Vladimirskiy, a partner at Filterless.co who has photographed events like Coachella. 

“Put the photos in a gallery on your website that gets a lot of views, and get a brand to sponsor that page. Or, if your Instagram account has amazing photographers and followers, brands may give you money to be featured.”

Be careful here. 

The photography industry is infamous for receiving requests for work in exchange for “exposure.” 

Don’t ask someone to work for free. Instead, negotiate using these “extras” as part of a package that does include remuneration.

Be as detailed as possible in your vendor contract

Contracts are vital when working with event vendors like photographers.

They help you state the exact scope of work and avoid any issues down the line.

More details are better here, but at a minimum, your event agreement should include:

Frequently asked questions

What should be included in an event photography package?

Every event photography package looks slightly different depending on factors like the kind of event you’re running and what photo format you need.

Most event photography packages include the following (with variations depending on your needs):

How much is a photoshoot for a concert?

Concert photography typically costs between $300 and $1,000.

Some photographers will offer a package deal, whereas others charge a fixed rate per hour (e.g., $350).

How many photos should an event photographer take?

The number of photos an event photographer takes depends entirely on the length of the event. It goes without saying that a full-day event should give you more photos than a two-hour one.

A good ballpark is around 50–80 photos an hour.

It’s a common practice for a photographer not to share all of the photos they take. 

That’s because event photos typically require some editing and digital correction, and there’s no point going through this process for hundreds of photos when you’re only going to use a few dozen.

How many photos do you need for a 2-hour event?

Somewhere in the range of 80–160 photos is a good expectation for a two-hour event.

How much to pay a photographer 

As you’ve seen, a lot goes into determining photography event rates.

From location to event type and length to the experience level of your chosen photographer, many factors influence what you pay.

Whether you have a $1,000 or a $10,000 budget for event photography, you’ll have to find a person and package that fits your scope.

The important thing is that you do your research and make sure you’re paying a fair and reasonable price for your area.

Once you’ve got your photographer locked in, it’s time to check off the next thing on your event planning checklist: choosing an event theme.