How To Price Photography? – Photography Pricing Guide
In our photography business, we all come across the same question again and again. “How do I price photography to ensure that it attracts clients as well as pays me well?”
The balance is fairly important here. Not everyone would be willing to hand over your price. And at the same time, charging less would just undermine your value as an artist.
So in order to make sure that you, your client, and your photography business are satisfied with how you price photography, here is an ultimate guide for you.
In this article we are going to share:
- Most Popular photography Niche
- Best Approaches to Build your Pricing Model
- Factors to Consider When You Price Photography
- Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Photography
Most Popular Photography Niche
A Photography business offers a variety of niches to work in. And more importantly, you shall indulge yourselves in the niche which appeals to your creative needs. Here, along with which you shall also learn about the niche which is popular and is reliable to pay off your bills very easily.
In a recent report by PetaPixel for 2022, they showcased some of the most popular photography trends in the UK.
As per the report, Travel is the most used hashtag on Instagram, but Wedding photography, Portrait Photography, and Landscape photography have the most searched volume. Hence indicating the demand in the following niche is high.
In the same report as above, PetaPixel also shared the highest-paid photography niche.
The data is a clear representation of the potential of earning in each niche per day. Note that it isn’t a limit or standard price that you can follow out. There are different approaches to how you can price photography and here are some of the most popular ones.
Popular Approaches to Build your Pricing Model
how you price photography depends on how you approach your photography business. Are you a freelancer, or do you work with long-term contracts with firms? Do you work for or with the clients or do you earn through selling photographs online? Or do you use any Product Image Retouching Services?
To be fair, a photography business allows you to be part of each boat at the same time. The only thing you would need is time management.
You can learn more about photography career options in our ultimate guide on How to Start a Photography Career?
Moreover, here are the most popular ways to price photography that you can use.
Flat Rate or Hourly Rate
The following photograph pricing model is simple and to a point very effective, even when you achieve heights in your photography business. It is a leisure form of pricing as it allows you to get paid as per your investment of time in a project.
A flat rate is a price that is common and constant for a project that you are working on. On the other hand, the Hourly rate is the price that you will be earning based on the hour you invested in the project.
Here, the best approach could be having a fair flat rate for all the projects you accept + hourly rate that will vary as per the time you invest in the project.
Price = Your Fix Flat Rate + Your Hourly Rate
Rate-Based On the Use Of Image
This isn’t the most organized way to price your work, to be honest as many factors are to be considered here. Before deciding the cost of photography you need to take notice of
- Efforts that were required by you
- Equipment that was used
- The value your image will be bringing to the client
- Your brand value
- Cost of travel (if it was a destination shoot)
- Purpose of the shoot
And many other factors which vary from shoot to shoot. While we are the biggest fan of the following photography pricing model for the business, you can use your flat rate in addition to the other factors as it demands.
Price = Flat Rate + Your Investment in the Project + Other factors (such as time duration and difficulty)
Rate-Based On Specialization
Be it a doctor or a photographer, Specialization surely pays you well. If you are known to master a photography niche, you can set up your rates based on the demand and time+efforts it will consume.
For example: if you have mastered the product photography skill which is highly in demand right now, you will have to consider the efforts it took, your brand value, the value you will be bringing to your client and flat rate that can help you cover some percentage of equipment cost.
Formula won’t break through here, as the price depends only and only on the way your customer perceives your importance. You can increase your photography skill by practicing and exploring a singular niche until you master it and the word starts to spread.
Some models to price photography that specialists are charging across the niches are
- Portrait Photography : $150 – $300
- Wedding Photography: $1500 – $3500 (destination wedding can take the pricing to $15000)
- Website Photography : $25 – $150 per copy
- Product Photography : $25 – $150 per image
- Event Photography : $50 – $300 an hour
The rates can vary exponentially based on various factors, but these are the most popular rates among the people who have mastered their photography niche.
Factors to Consider When You Price Photography
Stay with us while we break down the math, to help you price photography tariffs. In the above section, we have covered the different ways you can charge your client. And here, we will break down How much to charge as per your photography business.
Let us begin with the factors to consider when you’re looking to price photography for your photography business.
Cost of Running Your Business
The very first factor to price photography is to consider would be the cost of running your business. Photography can be everything at some time, but not affordable like other businesses. You invest in equipment and more equipment to deliver the best result and you shall consider it in your pricing.
The cost of running a photography business shall include:
Cost of Equipment
Camera, lenses, lights, tripods, backdrop, and much more. You might not need everything to start, but if you have invested in them, you must add the percentage of their cost in your pricing. You shall also include the price of repair and maintenance as they go through.
The goal here is to find a fair flat rate that can help you know when your investment will turn up, pay-off the price you paid and start paying you the profit.
Rental Cost
Another major factor that you will need to consider will be the rental cost of your office or the studio you are working at right now. Even if you are working from home, consider treating it like rent and add the cost of your photography pricing tariffs.
Marketing Cost
In order to attract clients, you need to market your photography business. This surely is an addition to the cost of your business but should be cut-off due to its importance. Rather add in the cost of your marketing in your photography pricing tariffs.
Fees of Professionals
This includes the cost of your assistant, your employees, your accountant, etc.
And lastly, any other expense that is associated with your photography business.
Cost of your time and labor
In order to grow your photography business, you need to value your time. It is important that you keep a track of the time you invest and set the return you will be getting out of it. The problem can be easily solved by having an hourly hour.
But in addition, you will also have to consider the additional work that you would have to put in. This includes the traveling cost, time that you put in setting up the equipment, etc.
Profit
Until now you haven’t added profit to your photography business, rather you have only price photography based on the equipment and the time you invested. Your profit margin will again depend on various factors, which such as:
Competition
Knowing what your competitors are charging would give you heads-up on price. If you are working in a product photography niche where competition is on a higher scale, cutting down your cost to -10% can be a great idea for beginners.
Your Brand Value
Another factor that would help you decide your profit margin, would be the way your customer perceives you and your brand. If you are a beginner, but people are liking your work and are ready to pay you your price, you have a higher profit margin.
Your demand in your niche
As said above, when you price photography, it can vary exponentially based on the niche you are working in. Moreover, if you are popular in your niche and have earned respect from your clients, you can increase your profit margin.
In addition, if you have returning clients in your niche, like in product photography, you can set a profit margin that appeals to your customer to always prefer you over your competitor.
Taxes
Lastly, you also need to take care of the taxes. If you are providing all the incentives that you promised and making it a fair cost to your customer, make sure to add tax as the norm requires you to. You do not have to end up paying taxes out of your own profit.
So the final photography pricing for your photography business would be
Cost of Running Your Business + Cost of your time and labor + Profit = Photography Pricing + Taxes
And that is how you should price your photography.
Frequently Asked Questions regarding Photography Career
Above we have unfolded the guide to develop the best ways to price photography for your photography business. But if you are just starting your photography career, you might have some questions in your head. So here are some of the most Frequently Asked Questions regarding a Photography Career.
How much should I charge as a Beginner Photographer?
After learning photography and at the beginning of a photography career, most of the entry-level photographers charge about $50 – $150 per hour or $25-$125 per image. Further, the pricing depends on their skill set, niche, and the equipment they use.
Is Photography a dying career?
In no manner the photography career is dying, rather it is just changing its niche it was previously used in. For example, due to smartphones travel photography has seen a downfall, but at the same time the demand for wedding photography and product photography has grown exponentially.
What is the highest-paid photography job?
◘ Freelance Photography
◘ Wedding Photography
◘ Portrait Photography
◘ Product Photography
◘ Real estate Photography
What do professional photographers use to edit their photos?
The most used editing tools are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. But on the other hand, most photographers, especially eCommerce photographers prefer outsourcing the image to the Product Image Editing Services.
Bonus read
And with this, we finally conclude our Guide To Price Photography business. Also, if you are an eCommerce product photographer, looking to get your images edited by professionals, send them to PixelPhant.
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