Are you just starting out in the realm of photography and trying to figure out, WHAT DO I CHARGE?! I’m going to be talking about all of this pricing goodness today. I’ve pulled some amazing ideas from: How To Price Your Photography When Starting Out.

If you’re looking for prewritten photography pricing list templates. You’re in the right place. We also have those!

When Should I start Charging in My Photography Business

I hate coming up with pricing. I am constantly blog stalking different photogs to see what they charge. My thought process: “Oh. They are in the same area and they sort of shoot like me. I think I should charge exactly what they are charging.” Sounds like a great idea, right?

Here’s what I want you to keep in mind if you’re being tempted by other photographers’ pricing: Are they in the same area as me? Literally one house down? No? Then it’s not the same area.

You go 15 minutes away from me and you are suddenly in rich people land where everyone drives a Mercedes. Here I thought I was close and that I could charge $250 for one 8×10 print, but sadly, that is not the case. Ah! Fail. Maybe you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum and just beginning your photography business. When I was first starting out, my friends would be like, “Hey! I need a new MySpace photo.” Totally. Rockin’. I’m your gal. (I’m really showing my age here…eek!) That was fun until it seemed like everyone on campus knew me as the MySpace profile and suddenly my once empty schedule was FILLED to capacity.

That got me thinking. “Wait a minute. If this person wants me, I shoot them, and five of their friends now want photos, this has to mean that… I can’t suck that badly!” Woohoo for not sucking! When you notice your schedule filling up with a bunch of free sessions for everyone you know and their third cousin – and their third cousin’s friend whose kids go to the same daycare as their kids – it’s time to back that freaking train up. You need to start CHARGING.

Your time is worth something, if you are shooting a ton of FREE sessions and filling up your schedule, you need to start charging. If you already have your portfolio established, you need to start charging. The great thing about pricing, it can be gradual or you can perfect your craft and come out of the gate at top prices. It’s all up to you!

Now, I want to add in a disclaimer here. This post is for beginners. It is going to help you transform your hobby into an art that you get PAID for. This is not a post on pricing for photographers who have been doing this for years and years. So please, please, please don’t email me if you’ve been in this industry for several years and are wondering why I’m giving the advice I’m giving. It worked for me as a photographer in a small town where competition was fierce. I do not own and operate a boutique portrait business; that’s not what I do. However, I do own and operate a successful photography business.

If you know the average family where you live can’t afford $300 for a family session with everything else being purchased at a la carte prices, reduce your session fee. Another disclaimer, this is general pricing. If you have a way into a niche that will pay top dollar – DO NOT SELL YOURSELF SHORT.

Now, listen carefully. Do not – I repeat, do not go below that price ever again. You have to make money here. I understand that you’re really excited because you’re actually getting paid to do something you love and you want to make your clients happy, but you need to make yourself and your family happy, first.

That means you need to provide an income. You’re becoming a pro, now, not a hobbyist. Keep telling yourself that.

Again, you are the only person in control of how much you make. You can give yourself a raise whenever you feel like it based on how much you put into your career as a photographer. How exciting!

What if you said to yourself, “Self, I want to bring in $10,000 this month for photography.” You could do it. And I guarantee you could do it even if you’re just starting out. I was bringing in that kind of money within my first year and a half of shooting – per month – and it would have been a lot sooner had I just listened to my father’s advice and not waited so long to change how I run my business. You can do this.

OK, so we know you’re going to increase your prices, right? Right. Do it. But now you feel bad because you’ve been doing these free sessions for your family and friends for so long and now it’s awkward to tell them that it’s going to cost them money if they want to book you again. Been there, done that. I hated giving them a reality check, but the truth is that your time is money. The free session you do with them could be time you spend shooting a paying customer. It’s time to take the training wheels off and dive into a business where you’re going to do what you love and make money doing it. That’s the ultimate goal and that goal is in sight right now.

You do not wait until they ask you to do another session for them to let people know you’re increasing your prices. Go to your Facebook page and say, “Prices are increasing next month. Want to book your session at the lower rates? Email us to get on the calendar.” Or say, “Only 10 sessions left before prices raise!”

OK, so if I hear anyone saying, “I don’t think I’m worth $75 to $125 an hour… “ or “No one will pay me that…” or “I just don’t think I can do it…” then I will never write again. This may be extreme, but you need to understand this post is not the “I’m going to keep complaining about how much I want to do this, but I don’t think I can do this” post. This is the “I can do it” post. And you, my friend, are gonna do it.

Psst. I’m looking at the person who’s currently charging $0 for their sessions. I want to take a moment to have a heart to heart with you. First, whip out a notebook and answer these questions.

How long have I been shooting?
How much have I spent on camera equipment, software, props, computers and camera bags
How much time am I spending doing photography related things?
What is my ultimate goal for my photography business?

Now, I know it’s tempting, but do not skip over those questions. For real, go get yourself a pen and paper and figure out the answers. Bottom line: we can’t move on about pricing until we address some real life issues going on when it comes to your business.

When I say “real life issues,” I’m talking about how you’ve been a photographer for an extended period of time and aren’t charging. Honey, what is the problem here? I mean that with the utmost sincerity. Don’t cut yourself short. You are worth it. Everyone starts somewhere. Do not let your insecurities keep you from your dreams. The only issue regarding why you aren’t selling, booking or making money off of this is, well, you.

Do Not Compare Yourself To Other Photographers

You are good enough. You can make this happen. You are going to do this.

Do not compare yourself to other photographers. That’s the golden rule of photography. For real. Don’t do it; it is a death trap. I know some of the best photographers and they have successful businesses and I look up to them and think they are pretty much the best of the best, but get this: they still don’t think they are the best. Is this for real?! This is like that girl who wears a size 0 and is like, “Oh my gosh. I have to lose ﬁve pounds.” Dude, you are skinny. When you have a kid and gain 75 pounds, you’re gonna wish you were that size 0 again. Moral of the story: We can’t see what’s right in front of us sometimes.

We need to look in the mirror and accept ourselves for where we are in our journey. We need to embrace us at the point we are at. We can’t compare our road to someone else’s path because it’s just not the same.

Photography Pricing for Beginners

OK, now we’re getting to the good stuff.

I’m going to give you a pricing sheet and then I’m going to explain my logic behind the numbers. Just to remind you again, these prices are for photographers starting out and are nervous to start charging. You need to be charging for your time and effort and this will help get you going. These are sample pricing sheets, so feel free to customize according to your business’ pricing structure.

If a client inquires about portrait sessions and you send her the above pricing, here’s what she’ll automatically do: First, she’ll add up how much the package is actually worth, then she’ll base her decision off what seems the most bang for her buck.

Keep in mind that the above is an example of a simple pricing setup. You’re not offering all the bells and whistles, but it’s a good start- ing point. So, if your client added up Package A, she’d discover it was worth $100, but that you’re offering it for $75.

Notice that I added “Please note this package may only be available certain dates. Please contact us for more details” at the bottom of Package A. That disclaimer was intended to deter people from choosing that package because we don’t want to really sell that one. The more work people have to do (ex. call you), the less likely they are to choose that package.

If you start to offer mini sessions, I would increase your prices based off the price point of your mini sessions. You only want them to be able to get that mini session price at the time of the mini session. That’s the intrigue behind the mini session. So if you’re session price starting out for mini sessions is $75, increase all of these packages by $25 and adjust the a la carte pricing accordingly.

Also notice that I did not provide the online web gallery in Package A, which means your client will never get to see all the images. Additionally, they will receive five images of the photographer’s choice, creating added value to Packages B and C since those packages allow the client to have a say in the images they choose.

If you’re anything like me, I normally always put the images in an online web gallery, so it’s not really a big deal for me to offer this service. However, the client doesn’t know this. In the second and third package, you give them more control over what they get by letting them select the edited images. (For this, I suggest editing the images you would like your clients to see, loading them to the gallery and have them give you an image number for the ones they would like.)

When we move to the third package, just the time alone is worth the package and they feel like they are getting the rest of the stuff for free. Everyone loves the feeling of getting stuff for free.

Now, also notice how we added on all edited high resolution images to the a la carte for $100. We did that because it’s possible the client will see all 50 images you added to the gallery and want them all. If you’re lucky, they won’t be able to decide which of the 15 images they want included in their package. In this case, they can either pay for 10 photos, or pay the $100 to get the rest of the images. You are setting them up to purchase the entire collection of images from you because it’s a better deal. If you wouldn’t have had that in the a la carte pricing, they would have never known it was an option.

Scenario: Let’s say you have someone book the $75 package. After the session, you want your client to see all the images because they are adorable and you think you could sell them. In this case, I’d send them an email worded like this:

This works great because if you use an online web gallery system like PASS where they can order prints online, it adds another opportunity for revenue stream. The idea is to create as many revenue opportunities as possible. So maybe they couldn’t afford to go up in the package, but you’re adding value to their package as a thank you. This is great customer service and it allows them the opportunity to want to purchase items either off the online Web gallery or even the option to purchase all the images for the $100.

I have so many more tips and tricks for photographers that are starting to charge for their work. Want them all?

Click here for all access pass to my Pricing For Beginners.

Frequently Asked Questions for Beginner Photographer Pricing

Note: Photo Tips are answers to questions that are asked from our Facebook page. If you would like to submit a question, please visit our Facebook page to submit your question. We will then post them on our Facebook page and let our fans respond to the question. We will then transfer the question over to our blog so we can keep them in an organized way for others to see.

Question: “Ok… Just starting out… I’m still learning:) I’ve been getting a lot of emails regarding prices!! I have no clue!!!!! I’m now charging $50 for shoot and edited CD… Am I being unreasonable?!? Should I offer packages?!? I’m lost & confused… Please help!!! 🙂 SN: I have your business guide but I don’t think I can get $125 for a package here in my area :(“

Jennifer:Yes I need ideas for pricing as well

Julie: do a 50 session fee and price your prints low. Call it portfolio building pricing and move up from there. You can even offer low priced collections on prints. Please, please take it from me, you will hurt your business in the long run if you give it all away early and decide you want to make money in this business.

Christian: I would worry more about what your time (shooting & editing) is worth rather than market rates. I provide packages because each type of job requires different resources. Good luck!

Kendall: Keep in mind that your prices reflect the value of your work- if you’re saying all your time you spend on shooting, editing, cost of running your business etc is only worth $50 they’re not going to value your time and what you do. You’ll be surprised what people who value what you do will pay for your services- $50 is nothing! My basic 1-2 hour session is $225, a CD of images isn’t included with that nor are prints. Look around at what other photogs in your area are charging and take an honest look at what it costs you to run your business and how much you’d like to pay yourself (per hour or salary) and charge what you’re worth!

Becky: totally agree with Julie – If you start out really low and give away the discs of all the images it will be VERY hard to get away from doing that. If you need to build your portfolio then charge a lower rate to start, but make sure those clients know that they are getting a deal and that those rates are not doing to be the standard. Where are you located?

Tammy: Yes, you can get $125 for a package in your area…. a common theme with photographers is that you should not price yourself so low, you hurt the other photogs in your area. Maybe start @$75 for 45 min (a very wise woman taught me that LOL) Brooke is a great resource for this, but thought I would add my 2 cents. Remember you are not competing with the big box stores that offer sessions and prints for $9.99 – you are an artist, you think of each client as a close friend and want to help create a lasting memory. Big box doesn’t care. There will be trial and error for sure, but don’t forget you need to actually make $ too 🙂 Good Luck!

Debra: I’m in the same situation! {minus the guide} I feel like I’m too new to charge more.

Rebecca: if you charge that, advertise it as a special!!! then go up once you feel confident enough. that is my plan… I do family and close friends for free and hope for referrals

Becky: Also, if you don’t think that you are worth $125 a package than you will never get anyone else to believe it either! I haven’t seen your work, but like Tammy said you’re not the big box stores. You’re providing custom photography and that costs more than photos that you get at Wal-Mart that look the same as everyone else. I know that if I walk into a boutique store I can expect to pay more for an article of clothing than I would if I walked in to Target because it’s more custom and not everyone and their brother are going to have the same look… Sometimes it’s just about educating clients on the value of your work

Amy: People take forever sometimes to order & they sometimes book you BECAUSE you don’t have a sitting fee. But we don’t wanna work for free… So I have started out charging a $30 “sitting fee” that goes towards your print order ONLY IF they order within a month of the proofs being posted. Solves both problems 😉

Mel: A professional photographer earns a professional fee. Clients cannot get the art that a professional creates for $9.99 @ Walmart or Sears.

Amy: I’m having a VERY hard time trying to come up with a price for a newborn-1 year package or maternity-1 year package!!! Any suggestions? I just had someone email me an hour ago asking specifically for this and I have been sitting on this for a while trying to figure it out and now I really need to since someone has asked me for it! Please help!

Jennifer: I did this and big mistake. I put a lot of time in each session and even gave out a lot of free ones just to build my portfolio. Now not only did I loose out on a lot of time it takes to edit and the session time. But props and equipment costs a lot of money and if you have a $50 session fee your never going to make enough to cover upgrades, props or workshops so you will basically sitting in the same spot.

Becky: There is no magic # for what your price should be. You need to figure out your Cost of Doing Business. What do you want to make in a year? How many sessions do you want to do? Do you have a studio that you pay rent for? Taxes, insurance, equipment etc. Are you full time? Are you part time? All that factors into what you need to charge to make a profit and be successful – any everyone is different.

Becky: Here a good link to a a CODB calculator 🙂 oh the joys of running your own business haha…http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/cdb/cdbcalc.cfm

Becky: 🙂 I’m full of random information haha

Stephanie: Thanks Becky!!! Like I said, I’m new to this… Still learning… Doing shoots maybe 1-2 days a month!!! I work full time as an xray tech, but want to devote more time to photography! I love it so much!!! 🙂 I just received an email asking fir pricing and was rejected for saying $50!!!! 🙁 Bummer!!!
Thanks for ALL the responses, I really appreciate it!! I do think I’m worth more, but again don’t think lil ole town in VA has more!!
All these young people want is a CD to post to Facebook!!! LOL!!! And that’s my market!!! 🙂

Kendall: I include a CD of web sized images with watermark for people to post to Facebook (without cropping or altering in any way) and they’re not print quality so people still order prints or high-res images so that I don’t lose money 🙂

Becky: exactly what kendall said – so many ppl want the disc just for FB so I give them images with my logo to post but they can’t print from them…. and it’s free advertising for you that your name is on all the images

Kelli: Someone once told me this (unfortunately it was too late), to charge nothing while you are learning. Soak up everything. Take everyone you can and learn,learn,learn! Figure out what you love the best and begin your business. Then charge. It’s very difficult to charge $50 for a Cd and session, then try to increase your prices. It will take you SO long to get where you want to be. You can’t have a profitable business off of $50 a session, it’s impossible.

I wish I had heard that when I was ‘starting out’.

Sarah: Pricing is very hard for me too. When I set my prices I think of what I would be happy with if I were the customer and what others in my area are charging. Then I look at what the prints will cost me and about how much time I would spend on an average session including editing time – placing in a gallery – etc. Then I set my prices. You also want to set your prices and stick to them (by that I mean not changing them 5 times a year). Good luck!!

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