Photography Pricing Calculator
Price a photo session from shooting and editing time, your target hourly rate, session expenses and profit margin, and see the effective hourly rate you earn on the job.
Last updated: May 2026
Session price
$387
Formula below · 3 sources (bls.gov, IRS, sba.gov)
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About this calculator
The price covers your time, the job's expenses and a margin:
cost = (shooting hours + editing hours) × hourly rate + expenses price = cost ÷ (1 − profit margin)
Dividing by (1 − margin) makes the margin a share of the price: at 25%, a quarter of what the client pays is profit. Adding 25% on top of cost would only be a 20% margin.
What to put in the hourly rate. It should be your cost of doing business per billable hour, not a wage: income you want, plus self-employment tax (15.3% in the US on most net earnings), insurance, gear replacement, software subscriptions, website and marketing, divided by the hours you can actually bill. Many photographers bill only 15–25 hours a week once marketing, email and bookkeeping are counted. For reference, the BLS reports the median pay of photographers in the US; your rate should exceed an employee's hourly wage because you carry the overheads yourself.
Count editing honestly. A common ratio is one to three hours of culling and editing per hour shot, more for weddings and retouched portraits.
How to use
Enter the hours you will shoot (including travel) and edit, your target hourly rate, any session-specific expenses and the margin you want. Example (the defaults): 2 h shooting + 3 h editing at $50/h = $250, plus $40 expenses = $290 cost. At a 25% margin the price is $290 ÷ 0.75 = $386.67, shown as $387. Profit is $96.67, and the effective rate is ($386.67 − $40) ÷ 5 h = $69.33 per hour. Example 2: a 1-hour mini session with 1 hour of editing, $60/h, $15 expenses and a 35% margin: (2 × 60 + 15) ÷ 0.65 = $207.69.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a beginner photographer charge?
Price from your costs, not from the lowest competitor. Even a beginner pays for gear, insurance, software and self-employment tax, and spends hours editing. Run this calculator with a modest hourly rate, then compare the price with local photographers of similar experience. Underpricing makes it hard to raise rates later.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit as a share of the price; markup is profit as a share of the cost. A $300 cost sold at $400 is a 33% markup but a 25% margin. This calculator uses margin, so the percentage you pick is the share of the client's payment you keep as profit.
Should I include travel time?
Yes. Travel, setup and client meetings are hours you cannot bill elsewhere. Include them in shooting time, or add travel costs (mileage, parking) to expenses.
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