Photography Pricing Calculator: Find Your Minimum Session Price

This uses the cost-of-doing-business method. List what your business costs to run for a year, add the salary you want and your tax rate, then enter how many sessions you can realistically do and the costs each session brings. The calculator gives you the minimum price per session and the effective hourly rate once shooting, editing and admin time are counted. Then it builds three packages from that base. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to We.Inc or anyone else.

How it works

  1. List your yearly business costs line by line: equipment replacement, software, insurance, website, marketing, studio or travel, accounting and anything else. Add or remove lines.
  2. Enter the salary you want to take home and an overall tax rate to set aside.
  3. Enter the sessions you expect to book in a year, and the hours each takes: shooting, editing and admin (emails, gallery delivery, travel).
  4. Enter per-session costs such as prints, gallery hosting per client, travel or an assistant.
  5. Read the minimum session price: (yearly costs + salary grossed up for tax) divided by sessions, plus per-session costs. The effective hourly rate shows what that means per hour worked.
  6. Adjust the three package tiers (hours, images, extras and a multiplier on the base price), then copy the packages or send them into a website brief.

Why start from your costs

Many photographers set prices by copying someone nearby. That ignores how many sessions you can book and how long your editing takes. The cost-of-doing-business method starts from your own year: what it costs, what you want to earn and how much work you can do. The answer is a floor, not a target.

Turning packages into a pricing page

Three tiers make choosing easier: a starter option above your floor, a middle package most people will pick, and a larger package for clients who want everything. Put them on your website with what each includes. The brief at the bottom of the tool carries your packages into the We.Inc builder, and the price list maker can print them.

Tips

  • Be honest about sessions per year. Fewer, well-paid sessions beat a number you will never book.
  • Editing and admin often take longer than the shoot. Time a few real sessions before trusting your estimate.
  • Add equipment as a yearly replacement cost: a camera you replace every four years costs a quarter of its price each year.
  • Your cheapest package should still be above the minimum session price; otherwise each booking loses money.
  • Show a "starting from" price on your website so enquiries come from people who can afford you.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cost of doing business (CODB) method?

You add up what it costs to run the business for a year, add the income you want, then divide by the number of jobs you can do. The result is the least you can charge per job without losing money or underpaying yourself.

How is tax handled?

The salary is grossed up so that after setting aside your tax rate you keep the salary you entered: salary divided by (1 minus tax rate). This is a simplification. Check your real tax position with an accountant.

How are the packages worked out?

Each tier's price is the minimum session price times the multiplier you set, plus the per-session cost of any extras you add. Hours, image count and inclusions are yours to write. The tool shows each tier's profit above the minimum.

Does this tell me what photographers charge near me?

No. It shows your floor price from your own numbers. Look at local photographers you compare with before you choose where above that floor to sit.

Is my data saved?

No. It stays in this browser tab. Copy your packages before closing it.

Can I put this on a website?

Yes. The brief at the bottom carries your result into the We.Inc builder. The free plan gives you up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI credits and no custom domain. AI building and custom domains start on Starter at $20 a month; Pro is $49 and Max is $99.

Related: Freelance Rate Calculator, Profit Margin Calculator, Price List Maker, Invoice Generator, Photographer website templates, We.Inc pricing.

Turn this result into your website or see the We.Inc website builder. The free plan gives you up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI credits and no custom domain. Paid plans are Starter at $20 a month, Pro at $49 and Max at $99. See pricing.

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