Photography Pricing Calculator

How it works

pre-tax earnings = desired income ÷ (1 − tax reserve) · yearly need = pre-tax earnings + business costs · price per session = yearly need ÷ sessions per year + direct costs per session · sessions needed at price P = yearly need ÷ (P − direct costs)

This is a cost-of-doing-business calculation, the method professional photography associations recommend: start from the income you need, add every yearly business cost — camera bodies and lenses replaced over a few years, computer and software, insurance, website, marketing, accounting — and a reserve for income tax, then divide by the number of sessions you can realistically book. Each session takes far more than the shoot itself: travel, culling, editing, delivery and client emails often triple the hours, which the effective hourly rate makes visible.

Worked example

To take home $45,000 with a 25% tax reserve you need $60,000 of earnings, plus $9,000 of business costs: $69,000 a year. Spread over 120 sessions that is $575 each, plus $25 of direct costs: $600.00 per session, or $100.00 per hour for 6 hours of work per session. At $400 a session you would need 184 bookings a year.

Sources: NPPA — Cost of doing business calculator · U.S. SBA — Calculate your startup costs

Frequently asked questions