Pricing is one of the hardest parts of running a photography business. Charge too little and you work hard for nothing; charge too much without showing your value and clients go elsewhere. This guide walks you through working out your prices, packaging them so clients can choose easily, and setting them up in RebookMedia.
In this guide: know your costs, set your rates, build packages, protect your time with deposits, set it all up in RebookMedia, and review your prices over time.
1. Know what each job really costs you
Before you pick a number, work out what a job costs you. Include:
- Your time: not just the shoot, but travel, editing, delivery, emails and admin. A 1-hour shoot is often 3 to 4 hours of work in total.
- Business costs: equipment and its replacement, software, insurance, your RebookMedia plan, marketing, phone and car, spread across the jobs you do in a year.
- Payment fees: the processing fee on online payments.
- Taxes: set aside what you will owe.
Add these up and divide by the number of jobs you realistically do each month. That is your break-even price per job. Your price must be comfortably above it.
2. Set your rates
- Look at your market. Check what professionals near you charge for similar work in the RebookMedia directory. You don't need to be the cheapest; aim to be clearly worth your price.
- Price for value, not hours. A real estate agent cares about selling the listing faster; a family cares about photos they will keep for life. Price for the result.
- Charge for what drives your effort. For property work, price by square footage or listing price; for events, by number of guests or hours.
- Leave room for growth. It is easier to offer a discount than to raise a price a client is used to.
3. Build simple packages
Most clients find it easiest to choose between three options. For example, for real estate:
- Essential: 25 photos, for smaller listings.
- Standard: 35 photos plus a floor plan. Make this your best value; most clients will pick it.
- Premium: 50 photos, floor plan, drone and video.
Then offer extras as add-ons, such as drone photos, twilight shots, rush delivery or extra edited images. Add-ons raise your average order without making your main packages complicated.
Tip: describe each package by what the client gets ("35 photos, delivered next day") rather than technical details.
4. Protect your time with deposits
A deposit, paid when the client books, reduces no-shows and last-minute cancellations. Many photographers ask for 20% to 50%, or a fixed amount. State clearly in your cancellation policy whether deposits are refundable.
5. Set it up in RebookMedia
- Create a service for each kind of job, and choose the pricing type that fits: Price and Duration, Square Footage, People (Guests/Audience) or Sale Price.
- Add each package as a variant, with a clear name, price, duration and description.
- Create your extras as Add-on services.
- Turn on a deposit for services where you need one.
- Write your cancellation policy in Settings > Bookings, and connect Stripe so clients can pay deposits online.
See Create and manage your services, Set up online booking and Connect Stripe to get paid.
6. Use promotions carefully
Discounts can fill quiet weeks or reward loyal clients, but frequent discounts teach clients to wait for them. Use promo codes with an end date and a clear reason, such as a seasonal offer or a thank-you to returning clients. See Create promo codes.
7. Review your prices regularly
- Check your Sales on your Home page and your Payments page every month.
- If you are fully booked weeks ahead, it's time to raise your prices.
- If many people look but few book, check how your packages are described and compare them with others nearby.
- Raise prices for new clients first, and give regular clients notice.
Still stuck? Book a free 30-minute call with our support team and we will walk through it with you.