Feb 28, 2025
Have you hit a pricing plateau in your photography business? Maybe you’ve mastered charging $5,000 for weddings but wonder what it would take to reach that coveted $10,000 level. If you’re curious about what truly separates photographers who command premium pricing from those still growing, this episode breaks down the exact differences and gives you a clear roadmap for your journey. I personally spent a year and a half in the $5-7K range before making the leap to $10-13K packages, so I’m sharing the real strategies that worked for me. Listen to the episode below, or keep reading for a summary of what’s covered.
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I know what it feels like to be in that $5,000 to $7,000 range. About a year and a half into my business, I was charging $5,000 to $7,000 for a wedding day, and only at the four-year mark—about a year ago—did I actually raise my pricing to be at the $10,000 to $13,000 mark. So if you’re currently charging in that $5,000 range and wondering what it takes to double or even go beyond doubling your pricing, or you’re just curious about what the journey ahead could look like for you, this episode will give you the clarity you need.
It’s important to understand that what we’re talking about isn’t a formula that you can apply overnight to suddenly charge $10K successfully. This is a gradual journey that requires intentional growth in specific areas of your business. Some of you might achieve this pricing in six months. For others, it might take a couple of years, and that is perfectly fine. You’re on your own journey, and that’s okay.
Before diving in, I should mention that one thing I’m not going to talk about extensively is the mindset behind pricing, which is really important. The mindset is a huge piece of being able to charge more premium rates. When I was getting married, I had a $2,000 budget for a photographer—I was on my dad’s dime and had to make it work. If you’re at the $2,000 mark now, or were also a budget bride like I was, know that’s okay and you’re doing fine. My goal is to help you reach a point in your business where you can be more profitable, work less, and be more intentional with the bookings you take on.
A $10,000 photographer has a portfolio that exudes excellence and a high-end feel in every single image. It’s also about being selective. A $5,000 photographer (which I was) often over-delivers photos. You look through the gallery and even though you’re not sending the same image repeatedly, there are too many similar shots.
In contrast, a $10,000 photographer’s style is more refined, more selective, and more distinctive—instantly recognizable with zero inconsistency across their work. No matter the couple, specific design elements, weather conditions, or venue type, the quality remains consistent.
When I was charging $5K, I had great images and a pretty set style, but what held me back was not fully embracing a documentary approach. At the $10K+ level, you need to show up and shoot the day as it actually is, taking more of that documentary style approach. This doesn’t mean you can’t have editorial or posed pieces too, but it comes down to photographing the day as it’s actually happening and interrupting moments less, which I found myself doing a lot at the $5K level. Instead of directing the day, take more of a backseat approach to truly photograph events as they unfold.
This was absolutely critical in my journey to $10,000+ weddings—my first $10K booking came directly from a planner referral. Couples willing to spend $10,000+ on photography are typically investing significantly in their wedding and usually hire a high-end planner first. They heavily trust their planner’s recommendations.
While a $5K photographer might have a few planner connections (as I did), a $10,000 photographer primarily depends on planner referrals because they’ve built strategic, deep, mutually beneficial relationships with planners. They understand the planner’s process, communicate effectively, and become reliable vendors that planners know will elevate the entire wedding experience.
When I wanted to reach that $10K level, I invested time in connecting with planners who worked with the kind of clients I wanted to work with. Most importantly, I made their jobs easier every time we worked together. I became known as the photographer who was always on time, respected the timeline, stayed in my zone of genius and let the planner do their job, communicated effectively, and made the planner look good to their clients.
Getting on a planner’s preferred vendor list is worth its weight in gold, and that doesn’t happen overnight. There are ways to genuinely build those relationships, which is important because planners can see through insincerity. They want to build their preferred vendor list with photographers who value their expertise and will be a great fit for their clients.
This might surprise you, but I’ve found that at the $10K+ level, clients expect something different than at the $5K level. When I was charging $5K, I emphasized all the ways I would serve my clients—helping with timelines, offering location advice, providing vendor recommendations, and truly giving an above-and-beyond experience.
While that will always be important to me as a servant-hearted person, the surprising truth is that $10K clients aren’t necessarily looking for a photographer who wears ten different hats. They’ve hired a planner for that. What they really want is a photographer who is exceptional at photography, period.
This doesn’t mean providing poor service; it means specializing deeply in photography rather than broadly in all these different areas. A $10K photographer has mastered their craft to such a degree that clients are paying primarily for the artistic vision, aesthetic, and technical expertise—not for additional planning services or help that you currently provide at the $5K mark.
This extends to your questionnaires, guides, and check-in emails—you probably won’t get responses because higher-end clients have planners handling all those things. They hired you because they connected with you, loved your images, and trusted you to capture their day beautifully as it actually was.
This realization is freeing because you can stop trying to be everything to everyone and adding more to your packages. Instead, you can focus on refining your artistic approach, photographing things as they happen, and improving your technical skills.
My packages at the $10K mark are actually simpler, not more complex. When I was at $5K (and I know from all the photographers I mentor that they experience this too), I thought I needed to add more value—more deliverables, extras, and things to justify raising prices.
But at the $10K level, luxury clients aren’t looking for more stuff or filler. They’re looking for more meaningful coverage. The real shift happens when you transition from single-day coverage to multi-day storytelling. These clients don’t just want their wedding day documented; they want the entire wedding experience captured—the welcome dinner, rehearsal, getting-ready morning, post-wedding brunch, pool party—a complete narrative of the celebration that focuses on the guest experience too.
My $10K packages don’t need elaborate add-ons or gimmicky things for “value.” They center around my presence at multiple events throughout the wedding weekend. This shift actually simplified my offerings while allowing me to deliver something far more valuable: the comprehensive story of their entire celebration.
The multi-day approach gives me more creative freedom, allows me to photograph everything as it actually happens, and helps me build deeper relationships with clients and their families. By the time the wedding day arrives, I’m not a stranger with a camera but someone they trust and feel comfortable around, which results in more authentic images.
A $5,000 photographer might have a nice brand, beautiful logo, and nice branding colors, but a $10,000 photographer will have a more cultivated luxury brand perception that extends far beyond those elements. Honestly, many luxury photographers don’t have as elaborate a “brand” as you might think.
It’s more about presence—how they present themselves at events or on calls, how they communicate, where they’ve been featured, the experience, and the distinguished final product. It all signals a refined luxury vibe.
This isn’t about pretending to be someone you’re not; it’s about ensuring every aspect of your brand aligns with your price point and the kinds of clients who will invest that much. More luxurious clients expect a luxury experience from the first interaction to the final delivery. This might seem to contradict what I shared about focusing on photography over experience, but it’s not that you give a poor experience—it’s that you provide a refined experience with photography as the focus.
A $10,000 photographer has the confidence to turn down work that isn’t aligned. If you’re at $5K and still doing double or triple headers, you won’t do that as a $10,000 photographer because, especially with multi-day coverage, you have to be fully invested in your clients and their story.
This doesn’t mean overworking or overbooking yourself. It means saying no to some inquiries and booking fewer but more aligned clients, which makes your business more profitable and sustainable. This confidence comes from knowing your value and trusting that the right clients will find you, as well as having a business foundation solid enough to weather the natural ebbs and flows of being more selective.
I didn’t jump from $5K to $10K overnight. I increased my pricing strategically as I implemented changes in my business. After each increase, I kept my prices there for a few bookings to build confidence and justify the increase by confirming I was attracting the right clients and that planners’ referrals were willing to pay my rates. This takes time, enhanced skills, artistic abilities, and experience.
As mentioned earlier, planner relationships are crucial. I created a specific, genuine strategy for connecting with planners and other vendors through events, styled shoots, and valuable connections. I made sure to over-deliver when shooting weddings with planners, sending galleries of images they could use for their portfolios, staying on timeline, and doing everything to make their jobs easier.
I ensured my best work made the cut in my portfolio and represented the kinds of clients and weddings I wanted to attract. It’s not easy to level up if you’re not already shooting at that next level, whatever that is for you. If clients can’t envision themselves in your work, you need a portfolio that shows that level of event. This might mean doing more styled shoots, planning your own, or networking with photographers who are shooting what you want to shoot by second shooting, third shooting, or assisting them.
To reach the $10K level, you need to refine both your artistic skills and your business. You need a solid foundation before you can reach higher price points. Many photographers try to jump into luxury pricing without having fundamentals in place, and it rarely works.
You need systems, client workflows, business foundations, pricing structures, packages, psychology, portfolio, marketing, and website—all the elements that support a luxury level of service. That’s why in my mentorship program, Book It, I focus on helping you build these foundations.
While Book It isn’t specifically about reaching $10K pricing, it gives you the business foundations, systems, marketing strategies, and client experience frameworks essential for any price point. Many of my students start by solidifying their $5K pricing and systems, which becomes the perfect launch pad for eventually reaching higher price points.
Thank you for reading along, friend! I hope this episode gave you clarity on what actually separates a $5K photographer from a $10K photographer, along with actionable steps to begin that journey. As mentioned, I’d love to see your application come through for Book It so that I can help you get there too. Until next time!
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