Wedding photographers like Baton Rouge-based Eric Garcia are noticing a shift in their industry, with clients planning smaller events and requesting a faster turnaround on photos.
These changes are a result of broader cultural shifts thanks to both the pandemic and social media.
Photographers are increasingly expected to turn in photos in a matter of days or even hours to be ready to post online as soon as the bride and groom say “I do.” The tight turnarounds mean many are now outsourcing aspects of photo editing to meet expedited deadlines. As a result, they’ve also had to raise their rates, which were already going up because of inflation.
Garcia, who started Geauxgarcia Photography eight years ago, is thinking about outsourcing some of his editing work, too, though he hasn’t made the jump yet. He says has had to raise his prices because of growing equipment costs, among other factors.
“People are choosing to do these smaller ceremonies to make it more special and more intimate for the couple,” Garcia says. “But also to save a little bit of money.”
According to the Associated Press, wedding photographers across the country are being asked to shoot more elopements and micro weddings—weddings with 50 or fewer guests—and to provide behind-the-scenes videos on top of the regular wedding photos.
Sarah and Peter Olson, a husband-and-wife team who run CityLux Studios in Boston, told AP they’re spending much more time creating social media content than they did in years past, and are hiring an assistant to “specifically grab content we can use for social media and behind-the-scenes type content.”
They recently started to take videos vertically in short clips so their clients can use them for social media Reels on Instagram.
The trend of couples working together has also made its way to Baton Rouge, Garcia says, because having two pairs of hands makes the job easier. Other trends include a renewed interest in film photography and an increased reliance on word of mouth from referrals as opposed to traditional advertising. Garcia says that most of the clients he has photographed weddings for have been people he has worked with before in some capacity.
These trends come as a regular wedding cadence returns, along with higher costs, following the pandemic. According to wedding website The Knot, the national average cost of a wedding in 2022 was $30,000, up $2,000 from 2021. At the same time, the average cost of a wedding photographer in 2022 was $2,600, up just $100 from 2021.
Read more about the wedding industry trends from the Associated Press, and more about Garcia from a 2019 225 magazine feature.
