How much does a professional photoshoot cost?

Family Portraitschildren's portraitsNew Mexico Small Business

Dec 13

We all want beautiful photos of our families, and there are so many photographers on the market now that it’s easier than ever! There are photographers available for every need and budget. There are student photographers just building a portfolio who will do photos for free, and on the other end, there are high profile photographers who do photoshoots with a Gucci price tag for rich and famous.

Because there is such a range on how much photographers charge, it can be hard to gauge how much you should expect to pay for high quality images from an established professional.

Hopefully this article helps.

Before we get started, there are a few things to keep in mind:

I am writing this as a professional photographer and business owner with 5 years of experience
I am NOT writing this from the perspective of a student or beginner who is just trying to build a portfolio
I am writing this under the presumption that you, the consumer are interested in doing business with an experienced professional with a legal, tax paying business rather than a cash-under-the-table illegal business.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we can get to the meat and potatoes:

A legitimate, legally licensed, insured, and tax-paying photography business should not be charging less than $500 for a one hour portrait session.
$500 should be the STARTING price. This will cover the photographer’s time planning and shooting the session. It may also include a few digital images or none at all. This varies greatly from photographer to photographer.
For additional digital images, prints, and wall art, expect to pay an additional $500-$2000+ depending on your needs and budget.

Keep in mind that the photographer is creating one of a kind, custom artwork for you, and the skills, tools, and materials needed to do that are expensive.
Also, remember that small businesses must pay a large portion of each dollar they make in local, state, and federal taxes, and pay for their own unsubsidized health and liability insurance, and save for retirement. They have to charge enough to cover all of this, pay operating expenses, and still bring home a fair wage.
TL;DR Version
Expect to pay between $500 on the low end, and $2000+ on the high end for an experienced professional.