If you’ve priced a wedding photographer or videographer lately, you may have had a moment of sticker shock. Here’s what the numbers look like right now, and what you can get when your own people capture the day.
What the professionals charge
- In Canada, a standard wedding photography package averaged about $4,900 CAD in 2025, for roughly ten hours of coverage (Fearless Photographers).
- Canadian wedding videographers mostly offer packages between $2,200 and $5,000. A camera operator alone often charges $600 to $900 a day, with editing on top (Bridebook).
- In the United States, couples who married in 2025 spent an average of $3,000 on a photographer and $2,300 on a videographer (The Knot Real Weddings Study).
Prices are higher in big cities, and they climb with every extra hour, second shooter and album. These are fair prices for skilled people: years of experience, serious equipment and many hours of editing. But most of what you’re paying for is professional hours, so the more coverage you want, the more it costs.
Your people are already holding the cameras
Look around any wedding and you’ll see a room full of phones, each one able to shoot beautiful video. What’s usually missing isn’t the camera. It’s the sound, the plan, and someone bringing it all together. Some people would rather do it themselves, with the people who know them best. That’s what our production studio is for.
It’s not the same anymore, and that’s good news
When I started out in photography, owning a good camera was a big deal. I shot on Hasselblads, and you waited two weeks to find out whether you’d got the shot. Today, the phone in your pocket is better than some of the cameras I started with.
Since 1996 I’ve worked behind the scenes in just about every way there is: running a photography studio and shooting weddings, editing video, directing and producing for theatre, television and radio, planning events as a certified event manager, livestreaming, and teaching young filmmakers how to make amazing films. Rather than leave any of that behind, I’ve brought it all together and asked one question: how can I serve people?
Here’s something I learned along the way. When I worked as an esthetician, I’d hold an orientation for the bridesmaids and everyone doing makeup on the day, so they all matched the bride. No bright red lipstick if she’s wearing pale pink. With a little guidance, people do things beautifully. Event video is the same. With a little training and a good orientation, your own people can capture your day properly, and professionally. It’s the same hands-on, experience-based approach behind our workshops.
So the technology steps back, and your people step forward. Instead of a stranger with a camera in the aisle, it’s the people who love you, capturing the moments that matter most to them. And when Grandma’s in hospital and can’t be there, she’s still part of it. It brings the humanity back, and it brings the love back into the room.
Joani, executive producer, Character Driven
What you get, side by side
| A typical professional package | Character Driven production studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Who films | One or two hired professionals | Up to four of your own people per studio, filming from the guests’ point of view |
| Hours of coverage | A set number of hours; extra hours cost more | As many hours as you book, at $75 an hour per studio |
| Live for people who can’t be there | Often not included, or an extra | Live for your people, wherever they are in the world |
| Sound | The videographer’s own microphones | Straight from your DJ or venue when they can share their sound feed |
| Photos | Professional photos after editing | Your guests share their photos to one gallery, and you get them all as a zip file |
| Your video | An edited film, after editing time | Your switched programme, every angle as it happened, recorded and sent through a private link |
| Training | Not needed: they do the work | Your whole team is trained at orientation, and you can bring as many people as you like |
| Example cost | $2,200 to $5,000 for video; about $4,900 for photos | A four-hour event in one studio: $450 ($300 studio time + $150 orientation) |
How it works
- Your own team runs the day: a producer switching between the angles, a floor manager, and your camera people.
- Orientation comes first: one hour with our executive producer, before your event, never during it.
- Together we fill in your event form and timesheet, so everyone knows the plan.
- Our executive producer keeps an eye on the technical side while it happens.
- Want two rooms, say the ceremony and the reception? A second studio is $75 an hour.
Sound first
Most event videos look fine but sound terrible: muffled vows, echoey speeches, music drowning out the toasts. A shaky picture is forgivable. Vows you can’t hear aren’t. That’s why we start with sound.
Do it yourselves, or alongside a pro
If you want a cinematic film cut by a professional filmmaker, book one. You can still bring us in alongside them, so the people who can’t be there get to share the day live. And if you’d rather do it yourselves, we’ll train your people and give them the tools. Either way, it’s Your Day as You Want to Remember It.
Curious? See how booking works ↗, and have a read of Our Policies ↗ so you know exactly what to expect.
Your people. Our magic.
Leave a Reply