How to Price Your Photography Services
Want to start booking more photography clients… but aren’t sure what to charge? Been there, done that. I got your back! Here, I’ll break down how to price your photography services so you can rest easy and start making money. Grab a pen and a sheet of paper, put your math hat on, and let’s get to it!
@lishcreative Creativity is cool but a profitable business is even COOLER #tiktokpartner #learnontiktok #personalfinance #smallbusiness #photography 📸🌈
Calculate your fixed costs
First, let’s write down your fixed costs. Fixed costs are your expenses that are constant throughout the year. Your fixed costs might include:
💵 Salary
💵 Internet
💵 Subscriptions
💵 Phone
💵 Studio space
💵 Accounting fees
Add up your total in fixed costs and hang on to that number for later.
Calculate your variable costs
Then, add up your variable costs. Variable costs change depending on vendors, partners, season, the shoot itself, or other factors. Your variable costs might include:
💵 Props
💵 Models
💵 Makeup artists
💵 Location rentals
💵 Assistants
Add up your total in variable costs, which we’ll use in a minute.
Find your starting price
Divide your total in fixed costs by the number of shoots per year you’d like to do. Add this new number to your total in variable costs. Finally, add a profit margin (at least 50%).
This gives you your starting price! Use it as a baseline, and adjust for factors like high demand, usage, rushed timelines, you get the idea.
Your formula to calculate your starting price will look like this:
total in fixed costs = # of shoots per year + total in variable costs + profit margin (50%) = starting price
I hope this simple formula helps you get an idea of what to charge for your photography services! A couple things to remember: avoid spending more than you make, and charge what you’re worth. You’ll start making money with your new photography biz rather than losing it.
A tool to make pricing super easy
Still scared of working with numbers? Would you rather have a ready-made tool to calculate your pricing for you? I feel ya.
That’s why I put together a Pricing Calculator for my fellow creative entrepreneurs. It’s a plug-and-play spreadsheet that will calculate your fixed and variable business costs, helping you effectively price your services so you can grow your biz!
Plus, you get an intro guide explaining how to use the spreadsheet, and a list of FAQs on paying yourself, packaging your services, setting rates, and lots more. Grab your Pricing Calculator now!
