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Pricing & profit / Photography Pricing Calculator

Photography Pricing Calculator

How much to charge for photography, worked out from the income you want to keep, the sessions you can book, your business costs, gear wear and the hours each session really takes.
$

Enter a number of at least 0

After business costs and self-employment tax, before income tax.

Whole number, 0–2000

Count what you can book, not what you could shoot. Seasonal work counts once.

$

Enter a number of at least 0

Insurance, editing software, website, gallery hosting, marketing, phone, studio rent and accounting.

$

Enter a number of at least 0

Cameras, lenses, lighting and computer, at what they cost to replace.

Whole number, 1–20

$

Enter a number of at least 0

Travel, prints or products included, a second shooter or assistant, location fees.

h

Enter a number from 0 to 24

h

Enter a number from 0 to 100

Culling, editing, delivery, emails, contracts and travel.

Adds the 15.3% Social Security and Medicare tax on 92.35% of profit that self-employed photographers pay.

Price per session
$654.05
$75.00you keep per hour worked
$327.02per hour of shooting
6 h 00 minhours per session
$0price $654.05
  • You keep
  • Self-employment tax
  • Business costs
  • Gear wear
  • Direct costs
Income you keep$45,000.00
Self-employment tax · 15.3% of 92.35% of profit+$7,404.52
Business costs+$6,000.00
Gear wear · $8,000.00 ÷ 4 years+$2,000.00
Needed per year$60,404.52
Per session · ÷ 100 sessions$604.05
Direct cost per session+$50.00
Price per session$654.05

That's 600 working hours a year. Price bigger jobs, like weddings, by their hours: a 10-hour job should cost about as much as several short sessions.

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A one-page PDF for your customer, filled in from the numbers above. Your markup isn't shown.

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How the photography pricing calculation works

  1. Start with what you want to keep

    Say $45,000 a year after costs and self-employment tax. Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of profit, so that takes about $52,405 of profit.

  2. Add business costs and gear wear

    $6,000 a year of insurance, software, website and marketing, plus $8,000 of gear that lasts 4 years ($2,000 a year), brings it to about $60,405.

  3. Divide by the sessions you can book

    100 sessions a year is $604.05 each. Add $50 of direct costs per session for travel and products.

  4. Check your hourly pay

    At $654.05 a session with 2 hours shooting and 4 hours editing and admin, you keep $75 for each hour worked.

Worked example. A photographer who wants to keep $45,000 from 100 sessions a year, with $6,000 of business costs, $8,000 of gear lasting 4 years and $50 of direct costs per session, should charge $654.05 a session. With 6 hours of work per session, that's $75 kept per hour.

Photography Pricing FAQ

How much should I charge for photography?

Add the income you want, self-employment tax, business costs and gear wear, divide by the sessions you can book in a year, then add each session's direct costs. Compare the result with photographers near you who shoot the same kind of work.

Why does my price seem high compared with my hourly rate?

A one-hour shoot is not one hour of work. Editing, delivery, travel and emails often take two or three times the shooting time, and the price has to pay for all of it.

How do I price a wedding or event?

Price it by the hours it takes. A wedding with 8 hours of shooting and 20 hours of editing uses the time of several portrait sessions, so it should cost about that much.

Should I include gear in my price?

Yes. Cameras, lenses and computers wear out. Dividing their replacement cost by the years they last gives a yearly cost to cover, as the calculator does.

How much do photographers charge?

There is no official price list for photo sessions, and prices vary a lot by city, type of work and experience. Rather than copying a number, work out the price that covers your own costs and income here, then compare it with photographers near you who shoot the same kind of work.

What is a typical photographer hourly rate?

For employed photographers, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025) reports a mean wage of $26.64 an hour and a median of $21.47 an hour. These are employee wages, not what self-employed photographers charge clients. A freelancer's rate must also cover editing time, unbooked days, gear, business costs and self-employment tax, which is why the default example keeps $75 per hour worked but charges $654.05 a session.

How much do photographers make a year?

BLS puts the mean annual wage for employed photographers at $55,410 (May 2025). The figure leaves out self-employed photographers. If you work for yourself, enter the income you want to keep as the first input and the calculator works back to a session price.

What about usage or licensing fees?

Commercial work often adds a usage fee for how and where the images are used. Set your session price here first, then add usage on top.

Sources: IRS: Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes) · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Photographers (27-4021), employee wages

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