hi matt!! I really enjoyed this topic as I am a new wedding filmmaker, (2 years by myself) and I found myself in the same boat that I live in a small town where people are not willing to pay more than $1600 for a wedding film. That being said thank you for always being transparent and help the community, (I actually started to do wedding because I took one of your courses). Thanks for being an inspiration, I know you probably hear this all the time but I really appreciate your channel.

All of these points are SPOT ON! On mistake 2, along with knowing your market, it's also important for new filmmakers (and even those that have been doing it a couple years) to not try to compare themselves to what they're seeing people post on FB groups, as far as what their pricing is. In most cases, you won't have context as to what all their pricing includes or if they're actually booking at that price. You would also have to look at where THEIR market is, in relation to their pricing. The cost of living in NYC is HIGH, there is a very dense population of people, especially wealthy people, and therefore the average wedding videography cost is going to to be higher. If you're going to compare, compare to those in similar markets, OR use that info to know how to push into those higher value markets (if thats something you want to do).

I have no idea how you only have 379K subscribers. Your videos have more value than many of those who have million(s) of subscribers. You are a super hero!

Hi Matt, Long time listener first time caller. I've sold all of my lenses except for my 10.5mm fisheye, and now my clients are complaining. For some reason they don't want everything shot with the fish. I know you shoot 90% of your films fisheye, and I'm just wondering how you made the transition from standard (boring) lenses to primarily fish based films. Thank you, Taylor

@whoismatt

7 ай бұрын

I’ve moved onto filming with actual fish, I just put a GoPro in their mouth

@TaylorJacksonPhoto

7 ай бұрын

@@whoismatt This is next level. You're going to change the world for us all

@averagejoefilmsofficial

7 ай бұрын

Underrated comment

@enduroacademy

7 ай бұрын

At first, I thought ya serious...

Good video! We think similarly, I offer add-ons as well. I dont know how far ill really go in this wedding industry but my marketing is weak and I dont like to be on my phone/social media daily or even weekly. I see so many photographers I worked with posting reels daily and just constantly getting steady work.😅 Did you ever struggle with that marketing part?

I love your videos Matt! Been a subscriber for a long time. I’ve filmed one…yeah one…wedding and I don’t even have it edited yet. 😄 That’s because I’m not a wedding videographer, but I am a videographer and your advice applies to what I do. This video definitely applies to non-wedding videography. I’ve been at it for 18 years and pricing still makes me question myself sometimes because every job is different and the markets change. Taking care of fixed costs is so important. Some people will take jobs without really thinking about the money they’re losing. Please keep making these informative videos! Thank you sir!

The luxury wedding cinematographers here in the UK are charging £4,500+ easily for a single day.

This info is great for not only weddings but all video production businesses.

As a regular ole filmmaker, I don't have any immediate plans to film weddings. But, I watched anyway knowing that you would provide valuable suggestions that I can apply to my filmmaking should I choose to take on a client. The McDonald's analogy was a very useful gem. Many thanks.

I’ve been waiting for this video for a long time!

Great video Matt!

Thank you for this video.

Thanks Matt, from Arlington & I'm not a wedding videographer but alot of the things you teach have helped me in other areas. You've been very helpful. Personally I like variety to my work & I would recommend folks explore other genres of video work & you might be surprised by their market. I really wanted to be a real estate content creator but the market is so cheap the moment I pivoted to being open to other work I started making significantly more money. P.s. finally got around to your tascam vids & got me 2 for 160. I was going to spend 400 on the new rodes but you save me alot of money! I went ahead & spent the extra on a m3 mic & leveled up my add ons 👌

Very good info, I can certainly relate. Expanding to more surrounding areas to secure more gigs has helped a ton. My only issue sometimes is marketing, because I don't want to pay hundreds on Google or Facebook ads, word of mouth and advertising on wedding groups on Facebook has me averaging 12 to 20 weddings a year with minimal effort.

I do the exact opposite I offer the combo first so they see the highest package first and then offer them things off if they can’t afford my fast food 😂 (basically I found this strategy works best for us)

Yes Matt! I hardly ever have a couple that does not want a ceremony edit. The additional cost is just 1-2 more rental cameras, perhaps a lens (say $300-$400 rental), and 8-10hrs of editing ($100-$200 of my time).

I would love a video on having wedding videography as a part time business.

Awesome content man! How do you market yourself in other cities though?

Matt I am a wedding film maker in my first year and was wondering, beside ceremony, drone footage and raw reception footage, what other add ons would you suggest

Matt you really are the greatest. Thank you! The one topic that I can not find from any full time videographer and photographer is how to tackle health insurance. To me that is the scariest part about becoming a full time photographer/videographer.

@mike_s_media

7 ай бұрын

How so? You just sign up for health insurance and pay for it like normal? It's expensive regardless if you work corporate or freelance.

So do you have anything online that shows pricing tiers and how to set up pricing packages?

Very informative! Time at the event has to be a high enough hourly rate to cover those editing hours. $200 an hour time at the event seems to cover the 20-30 hours after the event for editing time for the long video. If they want an additional 15-20 min. highlight reel, $250. If they want an additional 3-5 min. social media highlight reel, $175. If they want the raw footage, $200. If they want a drone, $200 per hour. This could very easily add up to a $2,000 or more wedding film. Of course, there are ways to customize those services: Maybe they only want the raw footage + a 3-5 min. highlight film--they don't want a long edit.

Hi Matt! I have a question regarding desaturated iphone footage only appearing on premiere pro! where can I send you my question?! Thanks a lot!

Thanks Matt! Would you recommend listing a price on your website? Or leaving it off and negotiating client by client?

@seankenneyfilms

7 ай бұрын

You could list a "starting price" on your site, that way you can still charge appropriately depending on what kind of inquiry comes in.

I really wish in South Africa it can be as you say in this video Matt. Charging 1500 Dollars for a 5 minute video is a dream that seems impossible to come true, couples want everything on that tag, I'm talking about a 60 minute video and a 5 minute film plus a reel all in one tag.

hey matt! Id love to know how you actually expanded? I've been doing photography for 7 years and just started video this past year and although the are I live is a very strong market id love to be able to expand. Been trying but haven't had any success. Any thoughts?

HELLO MATT, YOUR CONTENT IS INCREDIBLE, COULD YOU HELP US WITH A VIDEO ABOUT HOW TO EXPORT WEDDING FILMS TO LOOK WELL ON ANY TV, FOR REASONS OF COLOR ETC.

Hello! I really love your videos! Im getting into wedding videography, can you make a video how to market your social media and website to get leads to your wedding videography business? Thank you. Love your videos again. From Hungary!🎬🎉👌

As a hobby business I am willing to take a loss to expand the business. What no one talks about is variations and extras, these happen quite often after the fact. What do you charge for requests, and how much do you add in as complimentary, or charge for everything. Also re-edits, I offer only one, what do you include everyone? Is one to severe?

my market segment has severely taken a hit with the competition! what do i do bro

How do you market to people outside your hometown? Do you think running ads are worth it?

This is great sales advice. The problem I run into (finishing 1st year of weddings) is the MASSIVE amount of competition offering to do any wedding for almost any price. Maybe it's a FB thing, but if a couple asks on FB for a videographer, there will be AT LEAST 150 ppl responding desperately (practically begging) to film it. I'm in Denver so it's not a small town. Again, maybe it's just FB and I need to get SEO going and more word of mouth, but it's pretty rediculous how many cheap videogs there are, and a lot of them have decent films. IDK, frustratiing because I feel like all the power is in the coulpes hands and we are just at whim to whatever they want to pay because 150 people will offer to film it at almost any price. OK, rant over, lol.. THANKS MATT

@whoismatt

7 ай бұрын

Concentrate on building relationships with other vendors. Ignore the people on Facebook it isn’t worth your time

I think the thing I struggle with most is being able to close a booking without ever having a phone call. It seems I have more couples contact via email and they don’t want a phone consultation, and I absolutely suck at making an email work for me in the booking process. Any tips? I’m shooting around 30 weddings every year, so I’m definitely booking a lot. But I feel like I’m missing opportunities in that instance.

@VictorMBG17

7 ай бұрын

What I normally do is sending the couples a PDF doc very well desing in stead of trying to sell via email I let the PDF do my work. Also is a great solution to quickly response via WhatsApp. The desing, text, photos, and all the elements in the PDF need to be outstanding.

Sorry my English is not good. So how many for a wedding video shoot? 2000$ is right or not?

Thank you always for nice explanation, by experience people cheap when you tell him price for 12 hours wedding recording video is expensive, but they pay restoran for 300 or 400 people $40000.00 people eats drinks and go home, but video they can have for whole life and watch with grand children and others family.

Yeah, I just bought $20K of Sony gear, upgraded my lights and audio for my own project… and I was wondering if I should shoot a couple of weddings… but my IT gig pays $70 an hour so… nope! Can’t afford to be a wedding videographer… but my gig pays for the equipment! (Oh, yeah, shooting my own plays so I have to - pay - my actors and crew so I’m in a completely different scale)

Your beard looks great, sir!

I have been filming weddings for about 4 years now and have only bumped up my prices in small increments. After watching this, i pumped it up $1000 and apparently that's still not enough, but clients complain and i never hear back from them. I don't know how to move forward.

@Catholicweddingvideo

7 ай бұрын

How do you get the feedback of the clients “complaining?” and is it about your increased prices?

@juangaytanjr

7 ай бұрын

@@Catholicweddingvideo yes they complain about my prices.

Here in LA average price is actually lower than expected because of the MANY MANY underpriced desperate videographers. Average I’ve seen is around $2000

I shot my first and last wedding two years ago for my friends! I learned a ton shooting for them with the friends aspect because they were super cool and laid back. I did the shoot for free because it was my first and still got some tips from the parents so I made well over the gas money it cost me to drive there! Lessons learned: 90% of the wedding "shoot" is editing and that's an enormous 90% given the wedding day shoot itself was a 10 hour day. I had made an agreement with my friends that should anyone inquire that they not disclose their wedding was shot for free rather I invoiced them so that they could show any others what they paid vs what they got... I walked away from that wedding with 3 additional weddings to shoot (I ended up declining the work down the line hence this was my first and last shoot.) Made friends with the photographer at the wedding who was paid and lucky me shooting for my friends I got full disclosure of his rate ($3500) and what his deliverables were at that rate. Needless to say if you want to make "easier" money do wedding photography. Only digital deliverables with one small book for the bride and groom, everyone else could order their prints or books online... He also had a second shooter with him that I befriended as well to learn what the day rate was working for this particular photographer ($500). I'd originally hoped to average 1 wedding a month in side income but those editing hours were brutal and just didn't work with my full time work schedule! If you are in this full time then it can definitely be good money but it is probably the most work you will do freelancing videography. I'm sure the editing/shooting aspect streamlines the more you do it but it's definitely not the best option if you are working full time trying to transition into freelancing! BUUUUUT It's also something you should try regardless because there's a lot to learn from shooting just one wedding and it's a great exit plan to have in your back pocket on a rainy day!

Hmmm… “fries” are the unhealthiest part of a fast food meal… unless you get non-diet soda… worse, dessert!!! Good sndd analogy?

Would clients pay an extra $50 for a 30 second IG or TikTok reel?

@zestkauaifilms

7 ай бұрын

They are hiring content creators now (in addition to photo and video)! I'd say DEFINITELY!!!

@MichaelWTurner

7 ай бұрын

I charge $195 for a 1 minute trailer

how about freelance videographer ? dealing with vendors

All you say is so relevant, it's hard to find anything to contradict... if ever. But there's one mistake, at 09:35. No, at those places you won't eat "delicious French fries"... no way. The oil heats up for hours without being changed, potatoes are not selected from the best varieties created specifically for this end result, the cooking process is not the one it takes for the best result. French fries actually are not, they were "born" in Flanders in a time when France and Belgium did not exist under their current forms. Most of the belgian territory belonged to the French crown and the "Spanish Netherlands" (yes, it was the name of this country, way before it became Holland or more appropriately Netherlands) were at war, most of the time, with the French crown. So... Flanders was composed of what is (about a) third of today's Belgium, of most of today's Netherlands, of today's "Nord de la France" (the northernmost region of the country, at the tip of its territory and materialising the frontier with Belgium). This is Flanders, the birthplace of "French fries" or "frites" ( = freet) as we call them. They were named "French" because 1) USA always cut corners on historical topics (this is something you always twist, turn, torture, and often make-up) 2) France was the prominent country for inventing then promoting gastronomy and cuisine 3) Flanders had no concrete existence, it has always been a cultural entity but not a state or a country (still today) 4) France has always had a very strong agriculture and agro-industry. When you eat those fries (please, trust me on that !) you know you have never had real ones before that moment. It happened to me, even though I'm a native, when my (Belgian-born) grandma was cooking them for me... it's something. Traditionally they are double-fried in beef fat, with a cooling stage in-between, they rest on paper for a minute and a half, then they are salted with accuracy before getting packed in a huge cone made with (a loud and crispy) paper. And the fat can withstand very high temperature without darkening ( = being turned into trans-fats) and gets changed/renewed several times per day. Plus, those are specific varieties selected for their high resistance to breaking in bits and absorbing fat, and their taste/texture after being brought above boiling point. Eat them from the first, you won't be able to stop before the last. This is what occured when I had a show to perform in Lens ( = "lance") and passed by the French fries booth parked next to the train station... I knew it would be me getting hooked ! And it just happened. 😜👌 Those are the real ones, in Northen France or in Belgium, because they know how to make them crispy on the outside while soft on the inside, yet perfectly cooked and warm for all tastes to be diffused when you bite and chew. Now you know, and this shall be usefull for your next visit in France (by the way, tell me if you want a guide... this is the second string to my bow), then you'll be back home and can spread the word "Now I know what real French fries are.". That was my humble contribution to the growth of the wedding filmmaking industry... hope it helped ! 😉

It’s amazing how much wedding videos cost… for something people one watch 2-3x max. It’s even more amazing that people pay those prices.

@MaunoKoivistoOfficial

7 ай бұрын

I think most people who employ a videographer don't pay for their own wedding

@JoseTheRover

7 ай бұрын

@@MaunoKoivistoOfficial makes sense

@hoemalone

7 ай бұрын

You’re very wrong. I have couples tell me they’ve watched their film 2-3 times in the first week. This is something people will watch every year on their anniversary. Show to their kids later on, and revisit when family members pass and they are looking for footage of them.

@hoemalone

7 ай бұрын

@@MaunoKoivistoOfficialI don’t agree with this assessment. I’d say 1/15 have someone else pay for it for a gift. But most often the couple does budget in a wedding film that they pay for.

@seankenneyfilms

7 ай бұрын

@@hoemalone I think it depends on what market you're in. The majority of my couples have their weddings paid for by their parents, and the couples aren't paying separately for specific vendors, like a videographer.

I only ever charge $8000, it's cheap

driving 6 hours wedding🤣

@kthx1138

7 ай бұрын

So 12 hours round trip? I live in Broward county, Florida and I charge $50 an hour travel time if north of Palm Beach or south of Miami like the Florida Keys.

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