How to Set Your Photography Prices and Why You Should Keep Them Regularly Updated

A Guide to Figuring Out How Much to Charge as a Photographer

Pricing yourself a photographer is really freakin’ difficult. Not because you have to do a little bit of math, but because deciding how much your services are worth is kinda scary.

But in order to create a sustainable business, pricing yourself is something that you need to really sit down and think about.

If you’re reading this right now you’re probably at a stage where you’re thinking about charging money for your services, or thinking about how you can do it better. Congratulations! This is a huge step. Artists are notorious for avoiding “the money chat”. I personally really hate talking about money with clients, but I know that in order to be successful in the long-term, I have to.

Don’t be like me. When I first started offering portrait photography sessions around 2019 I had NO idea how to charge my services. I was brand new at photography and had only ever shot my friends for free, but I was keen to see if I could make some money from it. So, I made a Facebook page and offered travel photography sessions around Tokyo. Later that day I got an enquiry. How exciting for me!

The client had a bit of a strange request: they wanted me to follow them around Tokyo for eight hours and shoot at five different locations. Like paparazzi? It was my first enquiry ever, and I’d never even heard of an eight hour shoot before… But I shrugged my shoulders, feeling glad that someone had chosen me, and replied to them:

“Sure! My fee for this is one hundred dollars.”

I literally followed these people around Tokyo for eight hours, taking hundreds of photos, and charged them a hundred bucks? If I could go back in time and have a stern word with myself…

To be fair it was my first shoot ever and I had no idea what I was doing, but one hundred dollars for eight hours of my shooting time (and then editing time… and email time… and…) is just not it.

I’ve grown a lot since then, and I know how to price myself appropriately now. But pricing yourself isn’t clear cut. It’s based on a number of different factors, such as what you do, your experience level, and what else is going on in the market.

Here are some key considerations and steps to research when setting your rates. So boil the kettle, get your favourite notepad and pen, and start making notes! 📝

1. Do your research on the market and what other people are doing

• Suss out what your competitors are charging

  • Research other photographers who are doing a similar thing to you and check out the rates on their website. Have a little poke around and see what’s up! Find at least ten people doing something similar to you and see how much they are charging. This will give you context.

  • Be mindful of what they include in their packages, such as the hours of coverage, number of photos provided to clients, etc, as this will help you create your own packages.

• Consider local and global market rates

  • If you're targeting local clients (e.g., travellers in Tokyo), consider local pricing standards. For example, right now the yen is weak, which means travellers may be willing to spend more of it, so you could consider upping the prices to reflect USD 💸

2. Consider your niche

• Take a deep look at your skills and experiences

  • The niche that you’ve chosen, whether hotel, travel, portraits or product, can impact how much clients are willing to pay. If you’re a portrait photographer but you specialise in a certain style or technique that nobody else in the market is replicating, you can justify higher rates.

• Consider client budgets

  • Larger clients (hotels, tourism boards) generally have bigger budgets (and higher quality expectations), while smaller businesses or personal clients may have tighter constraints (but you can be more creative).

3. Calculate costs

• Equipment costs

  • Factor in the cost of your equipment (cameras, lenses, tripods, lighting) including yearly repairs and cleaning.

• Software & subscriptions

  • Account for software costs like Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, or any other tools you use for editing.

• Travel expenses

  • If you’re a travel photographer, include transportation, accommodation, meals, and other travel-related expenses when pricing out projects. Factor this into your contract. Side note, always have a contract, even if it’s a with a friend.

• Insurance

  • If you’re a freelance photographer you may want to consider getting insurance for your gear and/or liability insurance for shoots. Liability insurance protects you in the event that a client hurts themselves during a shoot with you, or if you damage premises during the course of your shoot. I don’t think amateur photographers need this, but if you have a genuine photography service I would probably recommend doing some research into insurances.

• Tax, gah!

  • If you’re a law abiding citizen you'll need to pay taxes on your earnings, so factor in a percentage for taxes.

• General operating costs

  • Include the costs of running your business—website hosting, marketing, etc.

4. Your time and effort

• Shoot time

  • Consider the number of hours you'll spend on location shooting, setting up, and managing client needs. This includes email time!

• Post-processing time

  • Editing can take considerable time, so factor in how long you typically spend on post-production.

• Pre- and post-shoot services

  • Any pre-shoot consultations, scouting, or planning should also be included in your pricing.

  • Don’t forget to factor in the price of digital galleries, such as Pixieset.

5. Decide on your pricing model

• Hourly rate vs. flat fee

  • Some photographers charge hourly rates (especially for events), while others prefer flat fees based on the project. Decide which model works best for you.

• Packages

  • Offer tiered packages with varying levels of service to cater to different budgets. For example, you can offer 30 minute shoots, 1 hour shoots, or 1.5 hour shoots. Factor in add-ons such as the option to select more edited images or a quicker delivery time.

6. Your brand

• Experience and portfolio

  • Your level of experience, portfolio quality, and reputation will influence your pricing. As you improve as a photographer, update your pricing.

• Perceived value

  • You might want to offer a cheap rate to attract more clients, but the psychology shows that this is not a good strategy! Clients often perceive higher rates as a sign of higher quality. Don’t undervalue yourself—pricing too low can give the impression that your work is less valuable. Let me say it again: it is not a good idea to price yourself too cheaply, as it will lead people to believe that there is a reason why it’s cheap. No. Don’t do this.

7. Considering licensing and usage rights

• Usage rights

  • If clients want to use your images commercially (e.g., for ads, websites, or promotions), you should charge more for licensing rights. Research usage rights!!!!!!!

• Exclusive vs. non-exclusive rights

  • Clients can pay more for exclusive rights to your photos, which is where they’re the only people who can use your photos. Non-exclusive rights is where you retain the right to sell or use the photos elsewhere.

8. Constantly review your rates to make sure you’re not ripping yourself off!

• Check in with yourself

  • Reevaluate your rates at least once every six months. As your experience grows and your skills improve, your pricing should reflect that. Pencil a review into your diary for six months’ time.

I hope that this has given you some food for thought on how to price yourself! It’s really important that you really sit down and think this through so that you can ensure your business in sustainable in the long term. You don’t want to be working hard, losing money and burning out? No way babe!

You deserve to make money (GOOD MONEY!) from your passions! It just means you have to be confident in who you are and how you price yourself. I know you can do it.

Good luck!

Lisa x