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Email template to ask a photographer for a quote

You need a photographer for a wedding, a family session, a corporate event, or a headshot, and you want to know what they charge and what you get for it. Photographers rarely list a full price, because the price depends on how many hours you need, whether a second photographer comes along, and how the photos are delivered. A written quote pins all of that down. It also settles the questions people forget to ask until later: how many edited photos you receive, whether you get the full-resolution files with a print release (the written permission to print the photos yourself), and how many weeks the editing takes.

Before you send

  • The date, the location, and the start and end times you want covered. A photographer cannot quote without knowing how many hours the job is.
  • The kind of event and roughly how many people will be in it.
  • What you want back: a set number of edited photos, an online gallery, an album, full-resolution files, or some mix.
  • Whether you want a second photographer or an engagement or pre-event session included.
  • Two or three photographers whose work you actually like. Send them all the same email so the quotes are comparable.
Subject Quote request for [event type] photography on [date] 
Hi [photographer's name],

I came across your work through [where you found them] and I'd like to ask about your availability and pricing.

The event is [a wedding / a family session / a corporate event] on [date] at [venue and city]. I'm looking for coverage from about [start time] to [end time], with roughly [number] people there.

Could you send me a written quote that includes:

- Your rate for that coverage, and whether a second photographer is included or extra
- How many edited photos we'd receive, and whether we get the full-resolution files with a print release
- Your typical turnaround time from the event to the finished gallery
- Your deposit and payment schedule, and your cancellation terms

If you have package options, please send those too. I'm hoping to book someone by [date].

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good reply answers all four bullets and often attaches a pricing guide. If the reply is just "my packages start at" with no detail, ask again for the specific numbers for your hours.
  • Read the delivery terms closely. "Up to 400 images" and "a curated gallery" are not the same promise, and turnaround of eight to twelve weeks is normal for weddings.
  • Ask whether travel is included. Anything beyond a set radius from the photographer's home base usually adds mileage or a hotel night.
  • If the photographer is booked, ask for a referral. Photographers know each other and a referral from one you like is worth more than another hour of searching.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get me photography quotes for an event 
Hi StandIn,

Please get written quotes from a few photographers for an event I'm planning.

The event: [type of event, date, venue and city].
Coverage: from [start time] to [end time], about [number] people.
What I want back: [number of edited photos, full-resolution files, print release, album, and so on].
Second photographer: [yes / no / if it's not much more].
Photographers I already like: [names or websites, if any].
Budget: [amount].

If any of them are booked or out of budget, find two or three others with a similar style, ask them the same questions, and send me the quotes side by side with their portfolio links.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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