September 11, 2026
How Much Does a Wedding Photographer Cost in Las Vegas in 2026?
How much does a wedding photographer cost in Las Vegas? Real published rates, a price by hours table, what national averages say, and how to read a quote.
My rate for wedding photography in Las Vegas is $300 per hour when you book two or more hours, so most full wedding days land somewhere between $1,800 and $4,400. How many hours you book is what moves that number. There’s no package pricing to work out: I take my hourly rate, multiply it by the hours you want, and that’s your total.
Here’s what that looks like at the three lengths couples book most. Six hours with me photographing your day on my own is $1,800. Eight hours with a professional second photographer alongside me is $3,200. Twelve hours, with a second photographer for eight of those hours, is $4,400. I’m McKenzie Stewart. I’ve photographed weddings in Las Vegas since 2009, over 300 of them myself, and I’ll tell you what I charge before we ever meet.
Why you can’t find a Las Vegas wedding photography average
If you’ve been searching for a Las Vegas number and coming up empty, there’s a reason. The big wedding publishers only report national averages, and those averages don’t agree with each other. The Knot puts the national average at $3,000. Zola puts it at $4,400. WeddingWire puts it at about $2,000. None of the three reports a figure for Las Vegas or for Nevada.
| Publisher | Average they report | Range most couples fall in | Data year |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Knot | $3,000 | Not reported | Couples married in 2025 |
| Zola | $4,400 | $3,500 to $5,300 | 2026 |
| WeddingWire | About $2,000 | $1,150 to $3,000 | Undated cost guide |
Those numbers are still useful to you, just not as a Las Vegas benchmark. The top number is more than double the bottom one, so any photography quote from roughly $2,000 to $4,400 sits inside what the national publishers report, and a quote far outside that band is worth asking questions about. The Knot also puts the average American wedding at $34,200, which makes its $3,000 photography average right around 9% of a whole wedding. So if you already know roughly what your whole wedding will cost, taking about 9% of that total gives you a second way to check the size of your photography line.
What the table can’t do is tell you whether a Las Vegas quote in particular is normal, because prices move a lot from one city to the next. Hours of coverage is the one number you can pin down exactly, and it’s what sets your total.
Las Vegas wedding photography prices by hours of coverage
Short bookings have their own flat rates: $350 for a single hour, and $500 for an hour and a half. From two hours up it’s $300 per hour, so you can price any length you like by multiplying by $300.
| Hours of coverage | Price with me photographing on my own |
|---|---|
| 1 hour | $350 |
| 1.5 hours | $500 |
| 2 hours | $600 |
| 4 hours | $1,200 |
| 6 hours | $1,800 |
| 8 hours | $2,400 |
| 10 hours | $3,000 |
| 12 hours | $3,600 |
Every price in that table is for me photographing your day on my own. Adding a professional second photographer costs $100 per hour on top, and that’s where the two larger example packages on my pricing page come from. Eight hours with a second photographer alongside me the whole time is $3,200, and it’s my most popular package. Twelve hours with a second photographer for eight of those twelve hours is $4,400. The six hour package is $1,800, with me on my own.
You’re not limited to those three lengths. Couples book five hours, or seven, or nine, and the arithmetic works the same way every time. Coverage past 12 hours, which some multi day cultural weddings need, is priced a little higher per hour, and I explain that before anyone books.
My full Las Vegas wedding photography rates
Here’s the whole list for Las Vegas wedding photography. There are no hidden fees and no bundling games in any of it.
- Wedding day coverage: $300 per hour when you book two or more hours
- A single hour: $350
- An hour and a half: $500
- All inclusive elopement: starts around $2,000 for one hour. The photography is part of that price, not a separate line on top of it. The $2,000 covers the location permit, the officiant who writes and performs your ceremony, me photographing the whole thing, a witness if you need one, ceremony music, and champagne. Location and guest count can change the final price, and you can see the full list on my all inclusive elopement page.
- Booking: a $500 deposit and a signed contract hold your date, and the rest of the balance isn’t due until one month before the wedding
Prices are current as of August 2026 and subject to change. Rates can vary a little by weekday versus weekend and by location. I hold dates for couples who already have their venue booked, because until the venue is locked in, the date can still move.
Add ons and what they cost
None of these are required, and nothing lands in your total unless you ask for it. Here’s what each one costs, and where there’s no fixed price, here’s what decides it.
- A second photographer: $100 per hour for an established professional with their own business, shooting at my level, who could take over the wedding if something happened to me. My husband Ben, or a newer photographer, is $50 per hour for supplementary coverage.
- Engagement session: $500 on its own for an hour and a half, and free with wedding packages of eight hours or more. If your package includes one and you truly can’t use it, I usually swap it for an extra hour of wedding day or rehearsal dinner coverage. Here’s why I encourage every couple to do one.
- Rehearsal dinner coverage: priced by the hour like everything else, so what it costs comes down to how long you want me there. Tell me the time and the place and I’ll add it to your quote.
- Albums and prints: not included in any package, and available any time, even years later. Prints and some products can be ordered right from your gallery. Albums work differently because I design them myself, and my design time is what sets the price. Tell me roughly how big you want it and how many photos should go in it, and I’ll price it for you.
- Travel: there’s never a travel fee anywhere in Clark County. Farther out, I charge only actual travel costs, and they’re often waived or minimal. Always ask, because there’s frequently no fee at all.
What’s included at that price
Every package includes the same core things, no matter how many hours you book.
- All of the edited digital images. Not a selection, all of them. If you want a number to plan around, it’s at least 60 edited images per hour of coverage.
- An online gallery you download everything from. I ask you to download within three months. Galleries usually stay open a lot longer than three months, but I don’t promise a date, so get yours downloaded early. Keep your own copies, and I’ll keep mine.
- Full printing and posting rights. You can print your photos, post them, and edit them however you like. You just can’t say someone else took them or sell them.
- Planning help. We talk through your timeline at the consultation and lock it in at the planning call a month before the wedding, and we build the family photo list around then too.
How to compare two wedding photography quotes
If you already have a quote or two and no idea whether they’re normal, here’s the comparison that actually works. Divide each total by the hours of coverage it buys, which gives you a price per hour for each one. Then check whether a second photographer is sitting inside that hourly figure, because a quote that pays two photographers will always run higher than one that pays one.
Say one photographer quotes $2,800 for seven hours and another quotes $3,200 for eight. That’s $400 an hour on both sides, so the two are priced identically, and the only real difference between them is one hour of coverage. Once your quotes are on the same per hour footing, five things explain whatever gap is left.
- Hours of coverage. If a quote doesn’t say how many hours it buys, ask before you compare anything else. You can’t weigh two numbers until you know what each one covers.
- Whether a second photographer is inside the number. Some quotes fold one in and others price it separately, and that alone can account for hundreds of dollars.
- What you actually receive. All of the edited images, or a set number? An online gallery you download everything from, or a handful of files? Full printing rights, or prints you have to order through the photographer?
- Add ons that are already bundled. An engagement session, an album, or a rehearsal dinner hour can be sitting inside a package price without being called out.
- The date and the location. A Saturday quote and a Tuesday quote for the same hours can come back different, and so can a quote for a venue that’s a long drive out. Ask each photographer whether their rate changes for your date and your venue. My own rate shifts a little for both of those reasons.
How many hours of coverage you actually need
The number of hours you book is what turns my hourly rate into your actual total, so this is the question I walk every couple through at the consultation. Most budget questions get answered right here. Usually the fix isn’t giving anything up, it’s booking the number of hours your day actually needs.
A chapel ceremony or a small elopement
If the ceremony is the whole event, one hour is usually enough, and an hour and a half gives you room for portraits afterward. My all inclusive elopement package is built around one hour for exactly this reason.
A shorter wedding at a venue
If you’re covering the ceremony, portraits with your families, and the first part of the reception, four to six hours does it. That’s what a smaller wedding usually looks like, and it also fits a day where you’re happy to let the late dancing go unphotographed.
A full traditional wedding day
Eight hours is the most popular choice, and it covers getting ready in the morning through the toasts, the first dances, and a good stretch of the reception. If you want photos from the first hair appointment all the way to the send off, or you have a large family, a first look, and a long portrait window, ten to twelve hours is the realistic number.
A multi day or cultural wedding
Some celebrations run across two or three days, and those get priced hour by hour like everything else. Send me the schedule for each day and I’ll work out the hours with you.
If you’re not sure which of these your day is, send me your rough timeline. Working out the hours is a normal part of the conversation, and I’d rather do it with you than have you guess at it.
Common questions about wedding photography costs in Las Vegas
How far in advance should you book a Las Vegas wedding photographer?
Book as soon as your venue and date are confirmed. Zola advises booking your photographer at least nine months out, and a year or more if the photographer is in demand. A $500 deposit and a signed contract hold a specific date, and once yours is held, that date isn’t open to another couple. I only do that for couples whose venue is already booked, so as soon as your venue contract is signed, start emailing photographers.
Do you tip a wedding photographer in Las Vegas?
Tipping is optional, and Zola says outright that you’re not expected to tip a vendor who owns their own business, since they set their own rates. Most wedding photographers, including me, own theirs. If you want to tip anyway, The Knot puts the typical amount at $50 to $200 per photographer. You don’t need a tip line in your photography budget.
How long does it take to get your wedding photos back?
There’s no industry standard for this, and The Knot says so outright: couples wait anywhere from three to twelve weeks for a full gallery. Get the window written into your contract before you book anyone. My contract allows eight weeks, and I try my best to deliver in two.
Can you bring your own photographer to a Las Vegas chapel or resort?
Not always, and this is worth settling before you spend a dollar on photography. Some Strip resorts and chapels restrict outside photographers or charge a fee for bringing one in, and the policy differs by property and changes over time. Ask your venue for their current policy in writing before you book a photographer, not after. It’s a short email, and it can save you from paying for coverage you’re not allowed to use.
Tell me about your day
If you want a real number for your wedding, email me your date, your venue, and a rough idea of your timeline. I’ll send pricing right back, and we can talk through how many hours your day actually needs. You can reach me on my contact page. Even if you’re months away from deciding anything, I’m happy to send the numbers now so you can build the rest of your budget around them.