"Why do you charge what you charge?"

"Why do photographers charge so much for just working 8 hours at a wedding? Anyone with a camera can do their job. It's easy!"

Oh yeah?

Consider what some professional photographers offer...

1. He will be at the wedding for 8-12 hours of coverage at a typical wedding, rarely getting a chance to even sit down.
2. He has a couple of hours of consultation time before the wedding with the client and probably just as much time doing that after the wedding too when they give their input on their album design.
3. He'll shoot between 1000 to 1500 images on average at the wedding.
4. He'll use top of the line, professional grade camera gear and backup gear at the wedding which will cost nearly $20,000.
5. He has a professional office and doesn't meet you at Starbucks.
6. He will spend many hours (often 20 hours or more) in post production, working on the computer to enhance the look of each image using Photoshop.
7. He will spend many hours designing and re-designing your wedding album.
8. He will offer only the top-of-the-line wedding albums to make your album look good. That costs a lot more money than you might think... even at wholesale!
9. He will have insurance not only for his equipment, but to also cover you with errors and omissions insurance.
10. He will have to work professionally, dealing with all sorts of personalities at the wedding.
11. He will have experience to know what to shoot, when to shoot it, how to work without being obtrusive.
12. He will have the technical knowledge about photography to cover any situation that comes his way... dark churches without using a flash, being stuck in the back of the church the entire time and still get decent images, etc.
13. He will know when to take charge if required. Often times, without his input, nothing interesting happens at the wedding to take photos of. Sometimes shots need to be orchestrated and he'll know how to do that and when to do that.
14. He will know how to work with the other vendors to make your day run smoothly. This includes knowing how to work with the DJ or band, and how to work with the catering staff and the church staff as well.
15. He will have to advertise his business so that he will be able to stay in business.
16. He will continue to attend seminars and other training to keep up to date with current trends in the wedding industry.
17. He will need to network with other wedding professionals to offer you good advice and suggestions on how to make your wedding run smoothly.

Still think the job is easy? Can just anyone with a camera do it?

This is a small list of reasons why professional photographers charge what they do. There are plenty more reasons to hire a professional for your wedding rather than just anyone with a camera.