The popularity of videos these days has driven up the cost of hiring a videographer for your event, whether it’s a wedding, a birthday, a baptism, an anniversary, or a product launch.

The hourly wage of a videographer in the United States is around $31, though the more popular rate is between $25 and $38. But for freelance videographers, the story takes a very different turn.

There are several factors that drive up the costing of hiring a videographer and that may include the hours (though some videographers charge by the day), the editing process, the special shots requested, and the area where the footage will take place.

Backup videographer

Some events require a second videographer, a backup one in case the main videographer lost his footage or failed to shoot an important scene of the event.

A backup videographer can drive up the cost of the whole video package because he needs to be paid between $75 and $125 per hour. Unlike the main videographer, backup videographers can only stay up to two hours just to make sure that all areas have been properly covered.

Rush editing

If you would require a short-turnaround time for the final output of the video, meaning rush editing, this would cost you more.

Editing a video will typically take weeks but if you need the output to be rushed, the videographer can charge you an extra fee. Rush editing that ranges from same-day editing to less than five weeks cost between $50 and $195.

Aerial videography

Are you interested to have an aerial shot of your event? If you are, then you need to buckle up because that will cost maybe more than you bargained for. An aerial videography can cost up to $500 for the basic package to as much as $1,000 for a full coverage.

There are some videographers who will charge you less than $500 for a basic and simple shot of the location (just to add depth and drama to the whole footage). If you want this service, you need to be ready to pay up.

Out of town

Out-of-town fees can be astronomical depending on where you plan to have the event. It is generally advisable to hire videographers that are from the area where you are having the event so you won’t have to pay them out-of-town fees anymore.

But if you are deadest in hiring a particular videographer for an out-of-town event, then be prepared to pay their transportation fee and many more.