How to Price Photography Packages (With Real Numbers)

Most photographers price by looking at what others charge and going a little lower. That is how you end up busy and broke. A better way starts with your own numbers and ends with packages that are easy for clients to compare and easy for you to upsell.

Step 1: Know your cost of doing business

Add up a year of business costs:

• Gear wear and replacement (bodies, lenses, flashes, computer)
• Insurance, software, editing tools, website, phone
• Car and travel, props, backdrops, studio rent if you have it
• Taxes and fees on what you earn

Then add the pay you need to live. As an example, $18,000 of costs plus $52,000 of pay is $70,000 a year.

Step 2: Count the sessions you can really shoot

Be honest. If you shoot portraits and families, a full-time photographer might handle 3 sessions a week for 45 weeks, about 135 sessions a year. Divide: $70,000 / 135 = about $520. That is your target average sale per session, session fee plus add-ons, before you take on a single client.

Step 3: Count the real hours

A one-hour family session is not one hour. A realistic count:

• 30 to 45 minutes of emails and planning
• Travel to and from the location
• The session itself
• 1 hour of culling
• 2 hours of editing
• 30 minutes of delivery and follow-up

That is 4 to 5 hours of work. If you charge $150 for it, you earn less than many hourly jobs before costs.

Step 4: Set a starting price and a step

Clients compare packages, so each session needs a starting price for its smallest version and a clear step up. These are typical US mid-market sample rates:

• Portrait session: $250 for the first hour, $150 each extra hour. Two hours is $400
• Family session: $325 for two people, $20 each extra person. Four people is $365, six is $405
• Headshots: $175 for one person, $125 each extra person. A team of five is $675
• Event coverage: $500 for two hours, $200 each extra hour. Four hours is $900
• Wedding coverage: $2,200 for four hours, $250 each extra hour. Eight hours is $3,200
• Mini session: $150 for 20 minutes, $15 each extra person

Per hour works for events and weddings, where coverage time is the variable. Per person works for families and headshots, where each person adds posing and editing.

Step 5: Close the gap with add-ons

Notice that a $365 family session is below the $520 target from step 2. That is normal. The add-ons close the gap:

• 10 extra edited images: $75
• Print package (one 8x10, four 5x7): $120
• 24x36 wall canvas: $325
• 20-page fine art album: $450
• Extra hour: $150
• Travel beyond 25 miles: $50

A family of four that adds extra images and a canvas spends $765. Two out of three families buying something is enough to hit your average. Read how to sell prints and albums for how to present them.

Step 6: Show the prices

"Contact me for pricing" makes people shop elsewhere at 10 p.m. A starting price on each session page, or a calculator where the client picks the session and the add-ons, brings inquiries from people who can afford you. Try the photography pricing calculator to see how that looks.

Step 7: Raise prices on a schedule

Raise prices when you are booked more than a month out, or once a year. Give returning clients notice and honor booked sessions at the old price. A 10 to 15 percent raise rarely changes who books; it changes how tired you are.

Example: one family, priced end to end

A family of five books a session. The session is $385: $325 for two people, plus $60 for three more. They want photos at a park 32 miles away, so travel adds $50. At booking they add 10 extra edited images for $75. After the gallery, they order the print package for $120. Total: $630, above your $520 target, and you did not discount anything.

Now compare that with charging $200 flat with every file included: the same 5 hours of work, less than a third of the money, and nothing left to sell. Pricing is not about being the cheapest in town. It is about being clear on what each session includes, what it costs and what else the client can add.

Common mistakes

• Including every file. Decide how many edited images come with each session and sell more in sets
• No minimum for travel. Set a free radius, then charge beyond it
• Discounting the session instead of adding value. A free 8x10 keeps your price intact; 20 percent off does not
• Different prices on the phone and the website. Keep one price list everywhere

Start with the numbers, publish the packages, and let the add-ons do the rest.