Discussions (73)

Becoming professional

view profile

tinaaafeyyy says:

Hello! Love the photos people have posted! I was wondering if people had some advice about taking pictures and maybe a price range to charge people?
1:04AM, 9 August 2017 PDT (permalink)

view photostream

Pedro Sebastião says:

I want to follow this post.
85 months ago (permalink)

view photostream

MSalup says:

1. Join the PPA and go through their library. Very useful.
2. I charge minimum $400 for a two-hour session and any other costs (e.g., studio rental) at cost. Less than that, it is just not worth it
85 months ago (permalink)

view photostream

janegoodrichphotography says:

I know this is an old post but I fear people reading this will just think that it is simple to charge for your photography business. It really isn't that easy to do!

Have you figured out your costs? Have you figured out how long it takes to edit a shoot? How long does it take you to do the backend work of marketing, billing, client communication, prepping for a shoot, travel, education etc?

A good rule of thumb is for every hour you shoot there are 9 hours of backend / hidden work (shoot related but also admin, marketing, accounting, taxes, etc as well as education).

So figure out your hourly REVENUE.

From there you have to realize that the photography business is expensive so you have a profit margin of around 19%-25%.

So if you wanted to make $10/hour (before taxes and health insurance) you would times that by 4…$40 per hour of revenue. Don’t forget the backend work so approx. $400 for an hour shoot.

So. If you wanted to make $20/hr before taxes and insurance you need to charge $800 for the hour shoot.

So just keep in mind photography is a lot of hidden costs and expenses! Run your numbers. Get help from a CPA or financial advisor if you have to. Also, I highly recommend checking out picsello as their software easily helps you to run your business. They also will have a pricing calculator as well as there is a guide to help you to start your business off the right way!
Originally posted 28 months ago. (permalink)
janegoodrichphotography edited this topic 28 months ago.

Would you like to comment?

Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member).