Photography Pricing Calculator

Overhead / job

$227

Net profit / job

$8,973

Hourly rate

$427/hr

Wedding revenue

$150,000

All streams revenue

$150,000

All streams profit

$134,600

Your numbers

A Average booking price Your current or target package price

B Cost of production per job Travel, second shooters, rentals, etc.

C Annual cost of business Software, insurance, website, gear, etc.

D Jobs per year Total bookings you complete annually

G Total hours per package Inquiry, prep, shoot, editing, delivery

Target hourly rate Your desired hourly rate (pre-tax)

Hourly rate vs. target

$427/hr 214% of target

$0 Target $200 $500+

Take-home estimator

Estimates what you keep after taxes. Adjust the rate to match your situation — self-employment tax is typically 25–35% for most photographers.

Tax rate estimate

30%

Drag to adjust — includes self-employment + income tax

Which revenue to apply tax to

Pre-tax profit

$134,600

Estimated tax

$40,380

Estimated take-home

$94,220

This is an estimate only — consult your accountant for actual tax planning. Does not account for deductions, retirement contributions, or state taxes.

Production costs per job → field B

Line item	Amount ($)






Total production cost	$800

Annual business costs → field C

Line item	Amount ($)







Total annual costs	$3,400

Time per package → field G

Task	Hours








Total hours	21.0 hrs

Totals sync automatically to the Calculator tab as you type — no copy-pasting needed.

Build each package by adding items from your à la carte list. The retail value stacks up automatically so you can show clients exactly how much they're saving.

Package comparison

Understanding cost of goods (COG)

COG is the true cost of delivering a product or service. For photography, it has three components:

Materials

Physical products — albums, prints, canvas, packaging, USB drives, thank-you cards.

Labour

Your time to produce, design, edit, and deliver the product at your desired hourly rate.

Overhead

Your share of annual business costs — software, insurance, website, gear — allocated per product.

The formula

Retail price = (Materials + Labour + Overhead) × Multiplier

1×

Loss leader

Just above COG. Used strategically to attract clients and upsell into larger packages. You take a small loss on the product itself.

e.g. mini sessions

3–4×

Standard

The baseline for professional photography pricing. Covers your costs and pays you fairly for your time and expertise.

most products

5–6×

Luxury / premium

Reflects the perceived value of your brand, experience, and artistry — not just your costs. Clients pay for transformation, not just a product.

signature albums

7×+

Ultra premium

Reserved for iconic, one-of-a-kind products or exclusive experiences where scarcity and prestige drive the value.

bespoke offerings

Quick COG calculator

Materials ($)

Labour ($)

Overhead ($)

Multiplier

Suggested retail

—

This is a guide — your market, brand positioning, and client experience all influence where on the multiplier scale you should land.

Click any cell to edit. Profit and margin calculate automatically.

Tip: rename sections and items to match your own market. Delete any row with the × button.

Model additional revenue streams alongside your wedding work. Each stream has its own mini-calculator — fill in your session fee, costs, hours, and bookings per year to see the full picture.

Total business revenue

Wedding revenue

Other streams

Total annual revenue

Total annual profit