How to price wedding photography packages in India (with GST)
A simple way to price wedding photography packages in India: cost per crew day, deliverables, travel, margin and 18% GST, with a worked example.
ShotSync team · 27 October 2026 · 2 min read
Most studios price the way the studio down the road does. That works until a three-day destination wedding eats your margin. Here is a simple method that starts from what a wedding actually costs you.
Start from crew days, not "packages"
A wedding is a set of sessions: haldi, mehendi, sangeet, the wedding itself, reception. Each session needs a crew. Write down, for every session:
- who shoots it (lead photographer, candid, traditional, cinematographer, drone, assistant)
- how many hours, including travel and setup
- what you pay each person for that day, including freelancers
Add the days up. This is your crew cost, and it is the number most studios underestimate.
Add everything after the shoot
Post-production is where the hours hide:
- culling and colour (often two to three days of editor time for a big wedding)
- the album design, revisions and printing
- the same-day edit or teaser, if you offer one
- storage and backups (cards, drives, cloud)
Travel and stay
For destination weddings in Udaipur, Goa or Jaipur, add flights or trains, local transport, rooms and food for every crew member. Put travel on its own line in the proposal, so the couple sees why a Jaipur wedding costs more than a Mumbai one.
Margin, then GST
Add your margin on top of costs: this is your business, your equipment wear and your time selling. Then add GST.
Photography and videography are services taxed at 18% GST. Within your own state you charge CGST 9% and SGST 9%. For a client in another state you charge IGST 18%. If your turnover is under the registration threshold you may not need to register yet; ask your CA what applies to you.
A worked example
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Crew: 3 sessions, 4 people | ₹1,20,000 |
| Editing, album design and print | ₹45,000 |
| Travel and stay | ₹35,000 |
| Margin | ₹60,000 |
| Price before GST | ₹2,60,000 |
| GST 18% | ₹46,800 |
| Total for the couple | ₹3,06,800 |
Turn it into three packages
Couples like choice. Build three packages from the same blocks:
- Essential: wedding day only, one photographer and one candid, a digital gallery.
- Signature: all main ceremonies, a cinematographer, an album.
- Grand: everything, plus drone, a same-day teaser and a second album for parents.
Show them side by side, with what is included as ticks, and the price in ₹ with GST shown clearly. The middle one is the one most couples pick, so make it the one you are happiest to sell.
Send it while they are still excited
A proposal sent the same evening beats a perfect one sent next week. In ShotSync you build packages once, pick them for each enquiry, and the couple opens one link on their phone, compares, picks add-ons and signs. Prices and GST are worked out for you.