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The average wedding photographer works a lot harder today than they did ten to thirty years ago. The promise that digital photography would make life easier and cheaper just hasn’t eventuated.
We've been keeping statistics about our albums for thirty years, and I thought sharing a few numbers might reinforce that cliche, “We’re our own worst enemies”.
We’re talking averages here, and everybody's different, but this is how it looks to us.
Old World Wedding Photography
• Medium format camera, 120 roll film, 10 rolls x 12 exp. = 120 shots.
• Typical album: 12 pages (24 sides), 60-80 images.
• Studio sells 50-75% of their work.
35mm Era
• 35mm SLR camera, 12 rolls x 24 exp. = 288 shots.
• Typical album: 12-14 pages (24-28 sides), 70-90 images.
• Studio sells 25-30% of their work.
Pre-Digital Era
(Film companies boosting film sales ;) "Photojournalism" and "Action-Reaction".)
• 35mm SLR camera. 16-25 rolls x 36 exp. = 576 to 900 shots.
• Typical album: 15 pages (30 sides), 80 to 120 images.
• Studio sells 10-15% of their work.
Digital Wedding Photography
• Digital camera. 3,000, 5,000, 10,000 shots per event?
• Typical album: 15-20 pages (30-40 sides), 80-150 images.
• Studio sells <4% of their work.
Or to put it another way, in what the cynics call the Spray and Pray era, 96% of the images aren’t used in an album, but have to be culled, edited, colour corrected, and put online for clients to trawl through.
Customer experience is everything. I wonder how our customers feel when confronted with so much to look at. How do they feel when asked to select 100 images for an album?
We’d like to encourage photographers to get their lives back. Any chance of shooting less?
What do you think? What are your statistics telling you?
Best, Heather
PS Even if you aren't offering an album it seems wrong. And so much work.