Wedding Pricing

(These estimates are only valid until December 31, 2013.)

Consultation: $37.50-$75 (Estimated and optional but recommended.  Minimum 1 hour.)

Engagement Shoot: $75-$450 and up. (Estimated and including assistant.  Minimum 2 hours.)
Assistant: $150  (Flat rate up to 8 hours.  $28.13/hour after 8.)
Engagement Photos Sort, Upload, Proof, and Retouch: $56.25 (Estimated, assuming 4 final photos selected.)
Engagement Photo Prints:  $100  (Estimated assuming six 8x10's, one 16x20, and shipping and handling.)

4-Hour Rehearsal: $120  (I knocked a little off my rate here because there's not much photography.)

Wedding Day Shoot: $300 (Assuming 8 hours.)
Second Shooter:  $250 (Flat rate up to 8 hours.  $46.88 after that.)
Sorting, Basic Corrections, Upload: $300 (Estimated assuming appx. 2000 pictures)
Final Formals Retouching and Upload: $75 (Estimated assuming 8 photos chosen.)
Final Formal Prints: $100 (Estimated assuming six 8x10's, one 16x20, and shipping and handling.)
Photo Books: $120-$660 and up (Depending on size, amount of photos, and revisions.)
Digitals: $200

Total Estimate: From potentially less than $965 to $1755 and up plus the cost of other prints and overtime.

50% non-refundable retainer based on your estimate is required.

Budget Tracker:  After our consultation, I'll create an Excel spreadsheet for all of us to keep track of services, accrued The Rubinos balance, and estimated costs.  This way, you'll be able to see if you can adjust something in your budget on the fly.  Maybe someone gave you an early present and you want to add a location to your engagement shoot or even go out on another one.  Maybe your engagement shoot went over budget so instead of the 20 page (40 sides) photo book, you knock it back to the 10 page (20 sides) book.

Consultation: $37.50-$75 (Estimated and optional but recommended.  Minimum 1 hour.)
(It’s not free.  Nothing’s free.  If a photographer doesn’t charge you for something, he’s raising the price of something else.)   Assume it will take about an hour.  This is where I get to know you so that I can make your photographs as personal as possible.  Be as descriptive as possible.  If you want it to go faster, fill out and either email or bring this pdf with you.

Engagement Shoot:  $75 for up to 2 hours of shooting.  ($37.50/hour for up to 6 more hours.  $56.25/hour after 8 total.  Minimum 2 hours.)
If we go walking through the city, maybe 4 hours.  If you want a second and separate location, maybe add another 4.  If we do it all in your back yard or local park, probably less than 2.  The more complex a shoot is, the more likely I am to recommend or even require an assistant.

Abbey and Aaron Assistant:  $150 (Flat day rate. $28.13/hour after 8 hours in a day.)
Assistants are useful and sometimes necessary for helping carry gear and extra clothes, setting up lights, moving props and many other possible needs.  If we shoot at a location that requires us to be complicated yet quick like a restaurant, an assistant will be necessary.  If we go running around a city or park, an assistant will be useful but not in all cases required.  If we do multiple locations such as go from the city to the country, an assistant could cut down on time depending on the complexity of the shoots.  This will be something I'll advise you on depending on what we decide for your photos.

Engagement Photos Sort/Edit/Upload:  $37.50/hour:
I’ll upload them to my website.  You’ll check them out.  Choose as many as you want.  I’ll touch up the ones you choose.  Figure 15 minutes for the transferring and uploading and 15 minutes to touch up each picture.  Touch-ups are all about cleaning up the pictures.  I'll clean up your skin while retaining texture so you don't look like a plastic doll.  If you have a stain, it's gone.  I can handle most if not all special touch-up requests but you have to let me know you want them and understand the amount of time involved will increase with the complexity of your request.

Wedding Rehearsal:  $30/hour:
This is where I’ll find out where I can and can’t go before, during, and after all the important stuff.  This is where I’ll find out what kind of light I’m going to have to deal with, and where I learn the itinerary so I can be in the right places at the right time.  Travel rate applies.

Travel : $0.58/mile AFTER 50 miles round trip from downtown Pittsburgh or Hopewell (whichever is closer to your event):
So if I was going 30 miles east of Pittsburgh that’s 60 round trip = 10 miles over x $.58 = $5.80 total travel cost.  30 miles Northwest of the city isn't that far from home base for me so there's no charge there.

Wedding Shoot:  $37.50/hour (minimum 2 hours $56.25/hour after 8 hours):
Do we want bride and groom preparations shots?  Just the ceremony?  Ceremony, then formals, then reception?  After party? Rubinos
Of course there's no limit.  If you want me done at a certain time, I'll come to you a half hour before the agreed upon time and give you a chance to get some final requests in if you've thought of anything, or the chance to keep me longer if you choose.  Or if you don't have a set time you want me to leave, I'll shoot until I feel like there's nothing left to capture and let you know when I feel I can't do any more.
So you know more of what to expect from me, besides the capturing of moments in the most artistic and most representative ways possible, I always try to get every face in attendance smiling nice for the camera.  This way, if for some reason you hate everything I've done, you'll at least have the record of who was there.  Wise man says, "The couple would rather have a shot of grandma cheesing for the camera than nothing at all."  This helps make sure I don't miss someone important.

Second Shooter ($250/up to 8 hours $46.88/hour after that) or Assistant ($150/up to 8 hours $28.13/hour after that):  (optional but recommended):
Want the bride and the groom’s faces as she enters?  One camera can’t do it.  Close-ups of each face at the altar?  I might be able to do it if I’ve got room and leeway to run around but I prefer to be as inconspicuous as possible during your ceremony.  It’s your wedding though and you can do what you want.  With a second shooter you’ll get up to twice Abbey, Aaron, and magician. as many photos to choose from at the end of the day.  By myself, I will probably end up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 photos give or take 250.  The question you have to ask yourself is, is it worth an extra $250 (plus the cost of the extra sort/edit/upload time) to you to have up to double the photos, extra angles covered, and someone to help me unpack, set up, tear down, and repack so we can get the formals done quicker and I can beat you to the reception?  An assistant is like a second shooter but without a camera.  There for help setting up, moving things, tearing down, wrangling the families for the formals, handing me stuff helpful for that formal part but not necessarily much use after unless we think of something creative to use him or her for.  If your wedding and/or reception is in a public place or complicated enough, I may require an assistant.

Sorting, Edit, Upload: $37.50/hour
I take all the photos, upload them to my computer, weed out the ones that are all black or too blurry, then I give them all tonal corrections to make sure they’re all as perfect as they can be.  (Figure maybe an hour for every 400 photos.)  Then I do it all again in black and white.  It's just easier and quicker than going through and picking and choosing.

There will be a gallery for any of your guests to access as long as you give them the password.  And there will be a gallery of the more personal shots (like the formals) that will have a different password on them for you to keep or give out as you see fit.

Final formals retouching and upload: $37.50/hour
Once you decide on what you want out of the formals, let me know and I’ll touch them up to make sure they’re perfect (removing blemishes, evening skin tones out, smoothing out the skin but retaining texture so you don’t look like plastic dolls, if there’s a stain consider it gone).  You’ll already be pretty much perfectly put together that day anyway so a touch-up shouldn’t take long.  I estimate 15 minutes for each photo you choose, just to be safe. Rubino Reception Guests
If you've got any custom requests beyond that, just ask.
Did you like your face better in one picture and your partner's in the other?  I might be able to fix it.
Does your picture desperately need a velociraptor?  I can add it.
Is there a picture that would have been great if you hadn't been photo-bombed by that guy you didn't even invite?  I can likely make him disappear... from the photo that is.
Just be aware all of those requests and requests like them will add to the edit time.

Print Ordering:
I don't mark my prints up that much.  Prints are a good way for a lot of photographers to make money on the back end (like recouping the lost money on a free consultation or engagement session) but I since I charge up front for everything, this is where you get to save.
The print labs I use offer TONS of professionally printed products and I've made many of them available for your printing needs.  Some of them offer different things.  Some of them offer similar things at different prices.  Feel free to browse but remember you get what you pay for.  I personally recommend anything Miller's does.  They're the best and their customer service is phenomenal if anything's wrong.
 

Here's a short list to give you and idea (price may vary depending on paper, finishing choices, and print company):
Set of 4 wallets: $7.99
8X10": $9.99
10x15": $11.99
16x20": $26.99

 Photo Books: $120-$980 and up

The cost of the photo book itself depends what you want and ranges from $17 - $580. You'll be able to view what the book will look like online and have 2 rounds of approvals. Simple changes or rearranges cost nothing extra, but if you start getting into adding photos that need corrected or addin Abbey and Aaron's Guests g pages I'll have to start the clock again.

So as far as labor cost I can estimate:
$100 to assemble the book if you go with a 10 page/20 side one.
$37.50 to re-touch another 4 photos you may have chosen besides some formals that will appear large enough to need corrected.
Those are all just estimates. You can choose however much of whatever you want.

CD's/DVD's with all digital copies: $200

My finished products are my advertising and because of that, I can't give you permission to print them anywhere and any way you like.  You must use one of my print services.
I do understand the desire to be able to keep all of your memories with you even if they didn't make it into the book and that is why I've made the CD available.
I will also provide you with watermarked digitals that you may publish without alteration to social media.  However, the copyright for all the images stays with me.
The copyright may be purchased for $800.

Best man's toast. Dance floor at Shadow Lakes