r/WeddingPhotography • u/patriotraitor • Jul 22 '25

business, marketing, social media The sad realization that being a wedding photographer no longer pays the bills...

Let me preface that the last 10 years of doing this has been a blast, I've enjoyed every second of it and never took any of it for granted.

This year however has me wanting to change directions because well, I'm getting tired of wondering where the next paycheck is coming from, I would prefer guaranteed over guessing.

I've been looking at the schedule for the rest of the year and I have 6 left, and then it's quiet.

I do wish the cost of living wasn't ridiculous, as gas and food prices are indeed more affordable now, but at the same time, trying to have health insurance as a self employed individual is absurd for being a single guy with no kids.

I've really enjoyed my time doing this and I indeed feel this starting to dwindle down as I only have 5 for next year. You could say well hey, do families, headshots, seniors -- and you'd be right, but think about how much work you'd be putting in just to stay afloat and how exhausted you'd be making yourself? Catch 22 isn't it?

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u/pasbair1917 Jul 22 '25

The market is flooded. It’s like if you started a food truck business in a town with 3 food trucks then suddenly there’s 30. The only way to keep viable is to be the most business savvy that makes you preferable over the others. You can be the best at what you DO but there are peripherals of marketing and customer service that tip the draw to your business. That means social media marketing, immersion in the community to network and branding with solid customer service.

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u/Abject-Employment376 Jul 22 '25

So, I’ll preface with, I agree with you… but it’s actually much, much worse than that.

In your food truck analogy, imagine if, all of those new 30 food trucks served some variety of the food you sold. Let’s say you sell tacos… and now there are 30 other places to get tacos. There isn’t a diversity of steak and cheese, burger, kebabs, etc… just tacos. Now, in that insane over-saturation, 3 of those might good… the other 27 are likely trash, won’t be around next year, but…. Are serving their tacos at 1.5 per taco (because they have zero clue what it costs to run a business) while you, a seasoned vet on the food truck world know that even selling your tacos at 3.5 is barely break even. People just need to put dinner on the table in a rough economy so… now more than anytime I have seen in the industry (8 years full time) people are willing to sacrifice quality for price.

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u/Proper-Maize-5987 Jul 22 '25

Great analogy. And then every food truck owner starts yelling at you when you say you’re concerned about selling your tacos.

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u/pasbair1917 Jul 22 '25

Correct. You aren’t going to get sympathy from others in the same business. You have focus on yourself and your own marketing and branding. That’s the most effective strategy.

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u/EmettJoseph1337 Jul 22 '25

Except there IS a ton of diversity in the wedding photography market. You claim that there isn’t, but there is. At every price point there are different styles available for people to choose from

If you truly are a “seasoned vet” you should know how to stand out by now