My clients are all over the US; local to larger national (and sometimes global) brands. We partner directly with brands and creative agencies on projects big and small. From local cannabis producers, to iconic brands like Nike and Adidas (those last two are also local to our area, so that’s pretty helpful for Portland creative industries). In just the last 6 months we’ve done work for E&J Gallo, PetSmart, Tony’s Chocolonely, and Dr. Bronner’s.

No employees. Just me and my partner (it’s a family business). We share the production work; I handle all the photography, and he handles the set design and shoot-day producer role.

We have a small production studio and a workshop space that we rent. Add the utilities and insurance and it runs us about $5k/month.

Profit margin: 2020 – 19.5%, 2021 – 22.5%, 2022 – 26%, tracking at 26% so far this year

We technically are in the studio/office at least 3-4 days a week but the days a year I am actually shooting… 2022 I had about 30 shoot days (not including the production or prep/wrap days).

Once I changed my business model from that of a freelance photographer to one of a production company/studio my income and profit margin really started to see a positive and much needed change. Mind you I’ve been in the business for a long time now and have managed and produced my own photoshoots since I was in my early 20s. I decided it was time to start charging for all the production work I had be previously doing for free.

Those choices, along with bringing on my spouse as a support and collaborator, has made a drastic difference in both our income and how we navigate the future in this industry. I say all of this knowing that my ability to grow all came from some amount of dumb luck, a lot of rejection and hard work, and a certain place of privilege.

Our workshop/set designer also takes on other projects outside of the photo work our studio produces, so this accounts for another very helpful income stream (about 15-20% additional billing).

Here’s an example of a typical shoot we just wrapped:

2-day stills shoot for a locally-based (but nationally sold) non-alcohol beverage company that has been in business for over 10 years.

For our in-house product shoots we typically only hire a prop stylist and a photo assistant. My partner takes on the role of producer on the shoot days to help manage our client and the crew, keeping us all happy and on schedule. A shoot like this will have us in the studio for a prep + prelight day before the first day of shooting (and our stylist will usually have an extra day or two for shopping/crafting). We had about 15 shots to create over the 2 days: 6 custom scenes, and a “super close-up” setup.

The client received 21 images in total. Licensing terms are 2 YEARS: web, social, PR, print, and BTL use.

Estimate total: $15k. Take home after expenses: $11k

When we won this job we also knew there would be a “phase two” a month later, which we’re shot (same deal, 6 additional skus) in March.

We just wrapped a personal best last month for an iconic national wine brand. This was a one-day studio shoot here in Portland, Oregon. Both the clients and agency creative team traveled from across the country to shoot with us. The main focus of this project was to create six color-blocked “backyard” scenes, in-studio and to capture 3 lifestyle images and 3 product-focused images on these sets. The client received a total of 6 final retouched images for their POS campaign, with 6-months requested usage, BTL print and digital (we consider strictly-POS as BTL in this case).

The agency also requested a second “digital asset” product/tabletop set to capture 10-12 social media assets for the client, during our one-day photoshoot. We did a thing we love doing, which is hiring one of our talented photographer contemporaries to join us for the day on her separate tabletop set. The client walks away with a hard drive of all the captures from this set at the end of the day to do with as they please (including any retouching). The selects from this digital shoot come with unlimited, perpetual use, strictly digital, no print.

Here’s an estimate breakdown:

FEES
Photographer day rate: $6500
Licensing fees: $5k
Photographer Prelight: $2k

SERVICES
Studio Services: $1k/day for 3 days (prep, shoot, wrap) covers studio use, in-house lighting + grip, and production fees.
In-house Photo Producer: $750/day for 5 days (casting, production, on-set producer)
Production Coordinator: $650/day for 3 days (prep and shoot days)
In-house Custom Fabrication: $600/day for 3 days (custom wall flats, set build)

CREW
Second Photographer: $4k (fees + digital use)
Art Department Lead: $1k/day for 5 days
Wardrobe Stylist: $1k/day for 3.5 days
H/MUA: $1200/day for 1 day
First Photo Assistant: $600/day for 4 days
Second Photo Assistant: $500/day for 4 days
Art Dept Assistant: $500/day for 3 days
Wardrobe Assistant: $500/day for 1 day

CASTING
Talent Fees: $8k ($2k/each (including usage) x4)
Agency Fees: $1600

EXPENSES
Set Design Budget: $5k
Wardrobe Budget: $3k
Prop Budget: $2400
Craft Service: $1500
Misc: $1k (kit fees, expendables, mileage)
EQ Rentals: $600

Post Production: $2700 (6 images)

ESTIMATE TOTAL: $69k
TAKE HOME: $22.5k

Now I’m sure we could’ve charged more for usage or what have you, but the reality is we always try to get a rough budget out of our clients so we have a number to work towards (or back from). I also like to live in the reality that I am getting paid A LOT OF MONEY to make images for a living. Images that typically have a commercial shelf-life of much less than one year (if we’re being honest about how capitalism constantly forces new products to market). At the end of the day, if I feel what we’re charging is fair and reasonable to us and fair and reasonable to our clients then we should be satisfied.

Our worst recent shot was in the summer of 2020 (at the height of all the uncertainly surrounding the pandemic) a skincare brand reached out and offered me $2k a month to create up to 16 images for them (per month). It was hell, and as you can expect nothing was ever good enough from them. They we’re fired after three shoots.

We can shoot video (simple tabletop stuff), but choose to focus our motion work on stop motion animations and “motion-burst” photography (high-speed strobes with a human-motion component that can be edited into a short video).

My years of photo assisting and working as an art department assistant really gave me the confidence and knowledge to know what I was getting myself into when I decided to go the freelance route. Too many people end up in this industry these days without taking the time to learn how it functions and what people’s roles are, especially when you get to the bigger clients and higher levels of production. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My clients are Regional 50%, National 50%. I have a number of large repeat clients who I enjoy working with. Well known international brands who sort of have me on retainer as they use me constantly without putting out the job for bid from other photographers.

I have one freelance assistant who is with me for 70% of my shoots and I hire other freelancers when needed.

My expenses for last year were $70k, with $35k going to freelancers. The rest was a good split between new gear, marketing and travel.

I work around 4 days a week averaged over the year. I can have 2 weeks with no work and then 6 shoots in 7 days. But it averages out to 4 days a week.

My income has raised steadily since my start in the business. The last few years has seen a slight increase.

I have no other sources of income.

Best shoot from recent past was May of last year. I shot 3 days for a national sports organization. I hired 2 assistants and a MUA. The total invoice for the shoot was $28k, 200 images were licensed with light editing for 3 years of usage. After paying for gear, assistants, MUA, my take home was $21K.

I don’t shoot video.

My income is 40% product, 30% food & drink, 30% lifestyle. I get hired for my creativity and my attention to detail. I am pretty open to shooting anything as long as I feel confident I will do a good job. I don’t let the idea of a “niche” limit me, if they want me to bid I will bid!

I spent 1 year in house as a “content creator” 2023 marked my 7th year freelancing.

I have clients all over the spectrum, small biz all the way to fortune 500. I have been working with lots of startups, which has been fun because I play a large part in the creative identity of these new companies.

My studio is about 15k a year because it is shared, I outsource 90% of my retouching which adds up, and because I do not have a rep I take on all production costs associated with my jobs. Expenses are over or close to 100k a year.

I would say I am on set maybe 4-10 days a month. Some months I am on set for a day…Consistency month to month is hard to come by, but yearly it is pretty good.

I have a lot of direct-to-client work, start-ups with decent budgets, and small businesses that understand why we invest in photography. I love working direct with clients, I love having a vision and executing I also enjoy building relationships with clients. I like agency work too, but I find it discouraging to triple bid and play the game constantly. For a few years, I knew I was the “low number” because of my experience and it made it hard to enjoy the process.

From my first year on, income has steadily increased. From year to year, my rates go up, project sizes go up, and of course, so do expenses. 2022 was the first year I was down in my years of freelancing, I brought in about 20k less than 2021. I expect that to be a little bump in the road with 2023 going right back up to meet 2021 or exceed it, or at least I hope!

Photography is my full-time gig! When I left my agency job I just went for it. It was a learning curve for sure, only a few resources out there gave me some insight into how to run a photography business. I didn’t have any industry friends to lean on. I was charging like $800/day in my first year and just tossing RAWs out like candy. Some days I am still trying to figure out if my rates are fair because no one talks about it. That is why I am so thankful for this new resource!!

On average I am working a 1-2 day shoot, with about 20 deliverables for social and web. Smaller teams, props, food and talent. My day rate averages $2,500-$3,500, and retouching is around $200-500/image depending on complexity, I include organic web and social in that fee. Paid ads or print ads range anywhere from an additional 5-10k on the job. After hard costs, I bring in about 50-70% of the project.

My best-paying job was 14 days, 9-5, on set for one client – 100 simple assets for $100k I took home at least $50k. Images were used for an e-book. I loved the routine! I blasted music and had a good time.

I am pretty good at saying no to jobs that don’t suit me, which I know is a privilege. Honestly, the worst paying jobs are editorial, which I do mainly for the experience and challenge anywhere from $300-$1000 for a half day and I am lucky if I get an assistant rate on top of that.

I am starting to direct but I never hold the camera on motion jobs. A lot of my jobs lately have been asking for motion and I have a few video teams I call on to shoot in tandem with me. I have a good relationship with a motion production company that I call on for the bigger gigs. Maybe 10% of my income right now but I hope to get that up to 30% this year.

It can be lonely out there, so prioritize finding a community. Be it your classmates from school (if you went) or other photographers at the same level as you. Friendliness and warmth trump competition. Reach out and go for a coffee, stay in touch, and refer jobs to one another.

I worked ten years as in-house marketing photographer for a small, private university in a large city. The first three years I did photos, video, social media, some website updates and a touch of graphic design. The team grew and I eventually got to focus solely on photography.

I made $43k, with zero overhead. Gear was supplied, when I could make a strong enough case for it. Salary for my position was low compared to folks in my role at other universities, and about $15k lower than the guy they hired to do video and to be my supervisor. Budgets were always tight and raises were unheard of.

I supplemented my income with weddings and some varied freelance work. At my best I had a couple years of earning 20-25k outside of the ‘real’ job.

I always tried to advance my work, staying on trend and upping the production value. The graphic designers loved it, but nobody else really saw the increased quality; often times quantity is all that was needed. I even taught myself headshot retouching along the way. Again, not a selling point to those in charge of my employment.

When Covid hit, I was very rapidly jettisoned. The videographer/anyone with a phone would take my place. From the looks of it, the image library I created is still very much in use. After ten years, it was a hard way to go, but it was something I didn’t know I needed. We had a six month old at home, and I immediately became a stay at home dad, gaining an irreplaceable bond with my daughter while saving on daycare costs. Had I stayed, we would have spent almost all of my paycheck on daycare. Leaving gave me the chance to reflect on what I wanted to do in the future.

I walked away with an incredibly diverse portfolio and a wealth of experience. I now know where my specialties lie and what types of jobs I’d be happy to do without. When time allows, I still pick up freelance gigs, and in the next few years, foresee myself jumping headfirst back into the market, freelancing full-time, doing what I love.

Last years income is after my agent has taken 25% of creative fees. After agency fees, I consider that my gross, from which about 30% goes to expenses, leaving me with my net.

I would say the bulk of my work is Lifestyle with a still life component. When I was only shooting still life (food), I found that there was a cap to the scale of productions, at least for me. I also direct motion, going on 3 years, and at this point it’s about 60% stills only, 35% stills + (directing) motion, 5% motion only (directing).

I’ve been with my current rep for 2 years.

No employees, though I do have to run payroll on smaller shoots that are not handled by a production company.

Aside from what I consider regular business expenses (equipment, insurances, payroll, software, sub contractors, travel, etc), I don’t have any overhead. Overall, 30% of my gross is expenses (last year that was 90k of expenses).

I’m counting this as shoot days on set only. Obviously a lot of work happens on non set days in pre-production and post:
In 2021 – 64 shoot days
In 2022 – 58 shoot days but earned more overall
I know people sometimes balk at photog rates but there are a lot of days we work that we don’t get paid for, especially in the bidding/treatment process, which can take 1-2 weeks and only has a 30% award rate, as well as 2-3 weeks of pre-pro time.

Once I was able to start charging appropriate usage, with the help of an agent, my income increased substantially. This also coincided with larger scale production budgets based on my career’s momentum. For the first few years, I was living off just day rights.

All my shoots are so different, so I’ll talk about my most recent shoot, which had a decent budget but by no means extravagant. It was primarily a motion job, so I was directing, with a minor stills shot list that I captured as well. I haven’t kept track of hours worked, but it was about 4 days of work for the treatment. Once awarded, we had 2.5 weeks of pre-production which required me to be at my computer or in meetings a few hours a day. This one didn’t overlap with an existing shoot, as it’s much harder to do all this stuff on top of a 10-12hr shoot day. The shoot was 2 days and was a travel job. Total, I received 2500 @ 6 days for travel, pre-pro, scout, etc, and 8,500 @ 2 shoot days. Total take away of my fees after 25% agency cut was 24k. Overall shoot budget was 215k. Licensing was all assets captured, unlimited digital for 1 year.

Best paying shoot – 3 day shoot, 12 hour days, doing stills on a broadcast commercial with a full buyout of all imagery captured, I made 80k, agent took 30%. Expenses handled by producer.

Worst paying shoot was a 1 day 8 hr. shoot, maybe 2 hours of pre-pro, licensing was web, marketing, printed cards for in store, I made $750, agent took 25% 😂. I thought it’d be a fun passion project but I ended up having a miserable time.

I truly think that if you stick with it, put in the work, and build a solid business, you can find success. Don’t feel entitled to anything off the bat. While I find this career to be super fun, it is NOT easy. BTS shots on insta look like work is a blast, and parts of it are, but there’s a lot of hard and stressful work surrounded by those highlights. It’s a slow road, requires a lot of time (and money) invested, and it’s a challenging and ever evolving industry. Continue to put in the hard work day after day, year after year. There will without a doubt be extra hard times where no work is coming, you feel taken advantage of, etc. Also, sharing is caring!! Fuck gatekeeping – it only leads to undercutting (both intentional and unintentional) and it really affects the industry as a whole.

My income is mainly from commissions, although recently, I’ve been uploading my archive to an agency.

Editorial shoots 1-4hr / Commercial 10hr / Motion 12hr.

My best-paying recent shoot was 3 days for a major international brand and 2 travel days. Creative was client-direct, so there were no big agency budgets, and unfortunately, a buyout (Due to their ancient legal team). I’m able to use the images for my promotion, though. 4.5k day fee+usage and 1.5k travel. I charge on personal equipment and normally try and make some off the expenses if there are costs I can cut.

My worst-paying recent shoot was 2.5k for a national brand’s new “editorial” magazine. 2 shoot days, paid assistant out of my fee, and didn’t make any expenses. Took it solely for the value of the creative & access to talent. I made images I’m very proud of, and so it made the fee worth it, but it seems to be a trend with companies making these “editorial” magazines to create imagery they’re also able to use commercially (this one, thankfully, I was able to push back on with usage).

Recently transitioned into directing as well. Only shot 1 paid project and have financed 2-3 others to build my reel.

I spent 4 years as an assistant in LA, which I look back on very fondly. The ability to travel & work for some of the best photographers today was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. I quit as an assistant when I felt like I had stopped learning, and it felt more like a job. I needed to fully dive into my photography and invest time in marketing and shooting personal work. The first 2 years out of assisting were the most stressful of my life. I was barely making money and living off savings. Every dollar I made was invested in portfolio showings or personal projects. I still feel like I’m trying to make it, but this was the first year I didn’t lose money, and my work has been very well received in agency meetings, so I’m hopeful for the future.

This year I also learned that the industry causes me immense stress and depression when things are slow. Working on inspiring personal projects for the love of it or donating my time to non-profits immediately inspires me to keep going.

Adventure – 90%, Portraiture – 10%

My clients are all over the US. I am still acquiring and upgrading my gear so that eats up quite a bit of my profits.

I also work a full-time job, so I work 7 days a week most of the year.

Photography specifically – on location 60 days; marketing, social media, emails, and bookkeeping – the other days.

I try to align myself with clients who have the same values that I do. So they are sustainable, earth-conscious, and lovely humans and companies. I have been able to find my niche and my people, and that has made my income almost triple in a single year.

I have a difficult time not knowing where my next job is coming from, so the stable paycheck from my full-time job gives me peace of mind. It’s a lot to manage both, especially this past year, but I love what I do.

I feel like there are no typical days in my photography career. One thing that is constant is the long hours, 8-14 hours, and quick turnaround times. A lot of jobs are for social media or advertising purposes.

Just barely dipping my toe into video, not doing it for work yet.

My advice to other photographers just starting out is: you got this! Put your head down and do the work, network, and you’ll find your way.

80% commercial, 10% food & bev, 10% event/other. My clients are local to NC or SC and the Southeast. Most are local agencies, a few out-of-town agencies each year, local brands & commercial projects in tandem with film productions.

My only overhead is gear upkeep & upgrades, software & insurance .

I’ve re-invested significant portions of my first years of income back into my equipment, so it’s a little hard to say what my profit margin is.

2021: 134 days (incl. edit days) / 42 projects / 21 clients. 2022: 118 (incl. editing days) / 58 projects / 31 clients.

Generally speaking, I’ve been working less & earning more as I find my footing in photography.

My other income source is digitech/assisting support roles, occasional video support positions and I co-own a vid production company.

To local/regional clients, I frame my rate as $850-$1750 dependent upon project scale (typically stating the lower end is for small business, nonprofits). A vast majority of my shoots are without assistance, and so my quote is my take-home-pay. My average pay for on-set days in ’22 was about $875, but this is averaging in my photographing days with my digitech/assisting days.

My best recent shoot was for a regional brand: single-day shoot (<10hr), budget $5975, take-home pay $4575 (1750 rate, 300 equipment, 2525 licensing in perpetuity).

My worst recent shoots are $200 PA days and $300/day unit stills w/ no box rentals for an ULB feature, etc.

I do not shoot video.

I’m “newly” repped (but not officially on the roster yet) since early 2022 but have not worked on a job yet with my reps. All the jobs I’ve gotten have been on my own and my reps are now working to bring new bids to me etc. Because I’m not officially on their roster I’m able to choose which jobs I bring to them currently. If I don’t need their help for a job I often won’t bring it to them to keep that 25% of my earnings. I won’t have that freedom once I’m officially on their roster, but I won’t officially go on their roster unless the work they bring me and assist me in marketing myself to get, pays well enough to justify the 25% they take.

I shoot 50% food, 50% product/still life mostly with national/ international/fortune 500 and some more localized mid size businesses sprinkled in there.

My clients are generally great. They’re either coming to me brand direct or through an ad agency. Most are mid-large national/international companies so they’re well versed in being on set and the costs that come associated with that. Not to say they’re not starving to reduce their costs all the time, because they are. Most of my shoots are timed pretty well without being TOO stressful, but there has definitely been an upward trend of inquiries and clients asking for really crazy shot counts for 1 or 2 day shoots and we just have to go with it.

My overhead is generally low, and was low for most of 2022. My largest incurred expenses were new equipment purchases on bigger ticket items like a macbook, iphone, aputure, lights, and modifiers. Equipment costs vary every year for me. Sometimes I’m buying lots of new stuff for a specific purpose and sometimes I’m not buying any new equipment. I try to only buy equipment when I really need it, and not because it’s new and exciting because that can get out of hand quickly. Travel was the second most expensive expense as I traveled back and forth between NY and LA frequently throughout the year for shoots. I work as a local in both cities so travel at my own expense. Otherwise I had the cost of insurance which was around $1000 a year, and all the little expenses that add up like test shoots, marketing, portfolio reviews, etc. Biggest overhead costs in 2023 are studio and equipment/liability insurance right now. I’m part of a studio share with 3 other people and pay $1000 a month for at least 5 full days of studio use, if not more. Insurance costs me $1330 a year right now.

I started working commercially full time In 2021 so my earnings took a steep increase in 2022 when I worked commercially full time the whole year.

An average shoot for me is going to be a 1 or 2 day in studio shoot. All my shoots are 10 hour days. Most of my jobs are in the production budget range of 14k-120k. 14k would be a pretty pared down one day shoot in studio with a prop stylist, prop stylist assistant, photo assistant, and digi tech. We’d likely shoot anywhere from 10-20 images/stop motions in tabletop or small built out sets. If the styling or creative is particularly complex that shot count will reduce to something like 5-10 images/stop motions. Take home pay on jobs like these is usually something like $4-9k with a $2000-4000 day rate, $1500-3500 licensing costs for website, organic and paid social, email marketing, (and maybe 3rd party press) and $1000-3000 in post production costs which I do myself. I usually take home something like $500-1000 for my equipment as well. 120k would be a 2-3 day full production that’s more lifestyle esc and has more involved sets and propping and usually a crew that includes these positions: 1st and 2nd photo assist, digi tech, prop stylist, 1-2 prop assistants, food stylist, 1-2 food styling assistant, producer, production coordinator, PA. If the set includes any talent then add on costs and crew for that: manicurist, hair/makeup, wardrobe, etc. Take home pay on a job like this would be in the $10-25k range with a $3-5k day rate, $3000-20,000 in licensing costs for website, organic and paid social, email marketing, some print, some other paid advertising use and $1500-5000 in post production take home. I probably take home something like $1000-2000 for my equipment as well.

My best paying shoot in 2022 was for huge fortune 500 food brand and my take home pay was $23,000 which includes my day rate + licensing only. I did not do post production on this project. We had a 2 day shoot in a studio in LA with one day going 1 hour overtime (with 1.5x hourly rate pay for myself and the whole crew which is accounted for in my take home pay) and the second day capping at 10 hours. We had to cut 2 variations to the stop motions we were shooting, but were otherwise able to get everything else we planned for. They received an exclusive license in perpetuity for 12 stop motion assets for organic social media, paid social media advertising, client website use, PR use and award use. All Videos were owned outright. I don’t normally like to give licensing in perpetuity, but had no choice and wanted this job and the pay.

My net has fluctuated + or – 5k the last few years and I’m just starting to land some proper advertising work.

My income is 70% Ecom, 30% editorial. Ecom rate is $1100/day. Editorial can range from $450 flat for a NYT assignment to $1500+ in pocket after day rate and charging for gear rental for a client such a Hearst publication.

I don’t currently have a rep, but have had two in the past. Worked with a freelance agent to help negotiate the most recent ad job.

My client are all over the US, some international.

Overhead includes gear upgrades every few years which usually cost 7-15k. I recently built out a cinema camera to start exploring personal projects that are video based. Crew depending on the project. Which ranges from $400-750/ person per day. Also food, travel, research etc.

Actual shoot days for Ecom are around 65 a year, Editorial about 24, the recent ad job was 1 scout, 1 fitting/prepro and 4 shoot and about 5 days worth or prepro, treatment creation and zoom calls. But I’m continually putting many hours and days into my craft. Whether its working on personal projects, promo emails, research and education. For example, became a drone pilot a few years ago and currently taking an online doc film making class.

My Ecom client is a high end athletics brand, landing them several years ago I was able to fully move from assisting to shooting which helped give me more freedom for personal work and editorial assignments. It’s also my bread and butter, I’m freelance but the client is very flexible. I can often get a day covered if an assignment comes up.

My editorial assignments are usually a lot of fun, I of course love being creative but also the personal experiences I often get from them are super important to me. I’ve often shot multiple 12 hr days in a row, for very little money, but it can be really rewarding.

End of 2021 and then the beginning of this year I shot two projects for the same client and creative agency. A tech company with a very large creative agency. First time fees were around 35k after an agent fee, this time around it was close to 100k. I really enjoyed shooting both those projects both on a creative level and in terms of career building, getting better at making treatments, conversing a lot on zooms and working with a crew of 25+ to get the shoot done. Its very different than my solo adventures in editorial story telling but I love the different challenges this kind of work brings.

My income over the last few years has been pretty steady. I was really lucky during the pandemic that Ecom work didn’t really slow down but for a few months. I also took advantage of two PPP loans that were forgiven. This year I will see a significant change from the large ad project I shot. I have a great accountant that I trust and helped me incorporate this year, that should also help me save some money.

I am starting to work more on venturing into film making. This is suggested by every agent, career consultant, etc. But I am honestly coming at it from a creative outlet standpoint. I’ve enjoyed telling stories through stills for several years now and I want to challenge myself and expand my story telling capability through motion.

I took a pretty standard path of assisting, to eventually landing editorial work based on my personal projects and then with some luck and personal relationships I made during my assisting years landed a steady Ecom client. Now the editorial body of work is landing me ad jobs. I’m grateful for this path, its been a slow but steady climb but all the experiences have made me very confident in what I do both logistically and creatively.

I think the most important thing is be passionate, don’t just shoot a test or get into video because its what you are being told that’s what you should do. Do it because you really want to. I think your potential clients, followers, editors, art buyers etc, can feel the passion behind a body of work. I’m currently reading The Anatomy of Story by John Truby and he talks about “write(ing) something that may change your life.” That this kind of story will resonate most deeply with an audience and has the highest likelihood of success. Maybe that’s a bit heavy, but you get the idea. Be passionate.

I would say that 60% of my annual income comes from my commercial clients. Both larger ad campaigns and bigger brands to my small business clients. 25% is editorial, and 15% are my fine art sales.

I have never had another job, and sometimes am in amazement that I have made it work as a freelancer for this long. The hustle is real!

I am located on the east coast, but also have worked with clients around the US and globally over the years.

I am not represented and never have been. However, I do now use a temp rep on some of my larger jobs to help me bid them out!

No employees, just an incredible team of general contractors when I need them!

My monthly expenses are approximately $2200. I don’t own my own studio and rent when I need one for product etc. Most of my work is on location. I do not overspend on gear. I don’t have to have the newest of everything when it hits the market; I USE my gear. I also charge my clients for my equipment when it is used; I think that is a mistake so many of us make.

I would say I average about 12-15 days a month shooting, and the rest of the work week is spent editing and marketing. For the past two years, however, I made a commitment to myself to try and keep my weekends open, for the most part, for personal time. It has been the best decision I have ever made, and wish I had done it sooner!

I have great clients because I work a lot with small businesses. They are excited to be able to build their brand identity, and it ends up always being such a collaborative, creative endeavor. My bigger brand clients are how we all experience, great, but a lot of moving parts. The navigation of that can get challenging at times, and we often feel like the “button pusher,” but those jobs are what make it financially possible to pursue less lucrative opportunities.

My income after covid went up about 15% for some reason and has stayed that way for the last three years.

An average shoot for me is 8-10 hours. I charge my creative fee that either incorporates the license for smaller businesses or is broken out for larger brands plus all expenses.

My best-paying shoot was for a large national brand for two days, and I received 54k. I licensed 40 assets for one-year national use. After expenses, I walked away with about 40k.

We all know that editorial does not pay well, but it has always been such a great catalyst for me to meet independent business owners who then become my clients.

Commercially I would say my WORST paying gig was for health care through an agency. I worked five HALF days (yes, I know, no such thing) with a license for 20 final assets in perpetuity, plus 3 days of pre-pro, rental, assistants, gear for 8k.

I do not shoot video.

I think it is important to note that understanding the market and industry standard is so important. We have all taken gigs for pay that makes our stomach turn. However, we live in a season where clients and agencies take advantage of us because, well, they can. I think it is our responsibility as photographers to educate each other (per this platform Rob) so that we have more of a fighting chance…a rising tide…

The income reflects the changing nature of the client roster over the years.

I am a commercial photographer whose career has mirrored the local market place which is dominated but the home fashions furniture industry. I have had several clients for 10 yrs plus, including power motor yachts and multiple furniture manufacturers and mattress companies. Most are small businesses with gross revenues between $300 million to $2 million.

I briefly had an agent in the early 2000’s.

Never had an employee but had the great fortune of a dependable roster of freelancers. I just recently downsized to a detached garage/office (newly built) at my home from a 6000 sq ft studio. Annual costs for this studio ran about $30,000 a year. That was my largest overhead expense. Everything else is the usual; insurance, vehicles, phones, computers, equipment, etc.

My profit varies greatly from year to year. The key is keeping profit consistent on a job-to-job basis. More jobs you have, the better the total profit.

My number of days worked varies by year and the number of clients. Some years are super busy, and others, you are scrambling. In a typical year, about 35-50 shooting days and 100 -150 pre and post-production days.

My income changed dramatically in the last couple of years. The pandemic was difficult, and the nature of media is constantly changing clients’ needs.

Some shoots are structured heavily, and others much smaller and more personal. In general, my clients are personable, smart, and very much like to control things.

A typical shoot is a large (that is a relative term, I’m sure) production on location, where projects are usually a week (5 shooting days). Overall budget would run from $40k to $80k, and profit would be $15-25k. But also many smaller projects involving one or two days of shooting with an equal amount of prep and post.

Licensing isn’t really relevant for furniture as the product has a shorter life span. It’s more about the overall work you get from a client on a yearly basis.

My best shoot in the last few years was a 9-day project on location with a profit of around $35 to 40k.

I don’t really have a worst-paying shoot, as I keep all pricing consistent.

I do not shoot video.

Cash flow is the key to any long-term success. Stay out of debt. Build relationships. Find a client that needs repeat business, as this will set you on a successful path.

Income by style of photography 2019 (since this varies year to year): 65% commercial / 33% corporate / 2% editorial. My clients are all shapes and sizes (small biz to Fortune 500), but most are in healthcare and finance industries.

I had 2 employees for several years, down to 1 through Covid, and now I have none.

I have a lot of overhead. 2019 numbers: Insurance, gear, studio space, utilities, marketing/promo, wages/payroll, taxes – $275k; yes that is approx what my 2019 overhead looked like; it’s high.

Pre covid I would shoot at least 50 days a year; now it is more like 15.

Covid was awful for my business; my in-house producer and I got PPP which was amazing, but jobs are still way down compared to 2019.

I have some rental property income and have started trying to get more revenue out of relicensing/stock.

An average shoot is all over the place – commercial is usually 10+ hr days, corporate/Editorial might be half days, and pre and post-production takes up the rest of my time.

It varies year to year, but at least 1/3 of my projects include motion.

If you are making great work, spending on advertising really does produce results. Never underestimate how much time and money should be spent on marketing/promotion.

Lifestyle makes up 90% of my income. My clients are Fortune 500 (through advertising agencies) and local small businesses.

My overhead is less than $2k a month for a small space.

I shoot maybe 4-5 days a month on average.

Last year I paid myself about $140k; the year before about $110k.

On average, I charge about $4500 a day for a limited number of images, I will always try to limit Usage to 2 years, but sometimes I give them unlimited if they push for it. Of course, that changes depending on the client and the situation; sometimes I get $3k and sometimes $7k. There is no consistency from client to client.

This past year I shot for a Fortune 500 company for 3 days.

4,500.00 /day for 3 days: $13,500
Unlimited Usage: $6,000
Photography Prep/Scout: $1,500
Image cull: $3,000
Archive images: $1,800
Camera package: $6,000
Lighting/ Grip package: $6,000

All my own gear, all take home. $37,800.00 There was one scout day and probably four 1 hour long Zoom meetings. No motion.

I will usually take projects for small local businesses for $1,000-$1,500 a day to help them out. Sometimes it’s all day and then another day retouching files.

A lot of time, there is a video component, but I don’t make money on it because I hire a DP with a camera.

Always try to limit the number of final images delivered with a cost listed for additional images.

Since I live in my own studio, a lot of my “home” expenses (mortgage, car & car insurance, for example) are business expenses, and that was my saving grace last year.

I shoot a bit of everything all the time because no area alone has been sustainable. Pre-pandemic music (video + photo) & advertising were the bulk of my work. But I had to go back to a variety of projects now to stay afloat.

My clients are all over the world & US. Notable clients in 2021: Tecate Beer/Heineken, Don Julio Tequila. But also lots of local small companies, businesses, and musical instrument manufacturers (I shoot endorsement ads for musicians)

I am guessing, since my invoices tend to be mainly one-day shoots, that last year I shot about 45~50 days but in the past about 75 days a year.

I used to have constant growth, about 5% per year but 2022 I had a drop of about 40% in income.

To make ends meet, I’ve gone back to some photo assisting and digi tech.

Average shoot is 10~14hr days. Photo/Video. Licensing depends on the job; some clients have full ownership (especially if they are small, I usually don’t fight them). Bigger clients like Tecate/Don Julio or some bigger Music labels will pay usage etc. The usage I have experienced recently has mostly been online advertising usage. No print as of recent.

Take-home pay is at the lowest $500/shoot (small clients, 3~5hr shoot sometimes 14hr day), medium (mainly music clients) $1500~$3000, advertising $10k ($5K rate + $5K usage) for Tecate & Don Julio (Digital social media usage – 1 year).

Right now, shoots are 60% video.

Be patient & keep at it. If you don’t love your craft, you will not survive.

1£ = $1.24 

2020 includes grants, Gov’t aid, and paying work.

I get 80% of my earnings from travel photography, with portrait based ads at 15% and product at 5%

I travel often to the US for work.

I don’t have a rep. A good friend who is a superstar fashion photographer said, “Why do you want a rep? What are they going to do for you that you’re not already doing for yourself?”

Most of my clients are mid-ranged national companies and gov’t agencies.

My only overhead is my studio, that I rarely use but creates its own income through rentals. It pays for itself.

My profit margin ranges from 40-60% depending on the year(new Mac, new camera system etc.).

2019 I worked 49 days. In 2020 I worked 12 days, 2021 I worked 42 days and in 2022, I worked 38 days

At this point in my career, my clients finally understand usage and the value of good photography. Over the past 16 years, I have honed my business to a “charge more, work less” motto. My market is quickly filling with foreign clients who are understanding of usage and licensing, so negotiating goes quickly, and we spend most of our time being creative with the projects. I do service my clients pretty well, though; if they call/email/text at any hour, and if it’s feasible, I’ll get them what they need. I have never been abused by this offer, and most clients like the fact that it’s there even if they don’t take advantage of it. My clients range from small business owners(who I love to help out and make the most of their products/services) to big gov’t agencies who know I will come through on budget and on time. With my “charge more, work less” motto and my licensing agreements, life is great. I enjoy working with people now. Previously, ten years ago or so, I dreaded working with new clients and trying to educate them about licensing. Now 90% of my clients are fine with usage, and the other 10%( usually local biz), I just leave them with an in-perpetuity license (no 3rd party usage) agreement, and they’re fine with that.

My normal shoot would start around 8-9 am and go to 5 pm. There would be an hour of editing and uploading to a client gallery on Photoshelter. Once they choose their images, there might be another 2-3 hours of grading and simple retouching. Any heavy retouching is sent to one of my outside retouchers.

Licensing is usually 2 years for one media or one year for 2 media, that’s included in my fee. As I’ve said though, most of my clients are now well educated in it, so they know that the images are usually only good for a few months before they should refresh them; so most go for the one year/2 media plan.

Larger clients will come back to me to negotiate for other regions, and that is where I make some real bread-and-butter revenue.

I worked on a project with an EU client for 18 shooting days. I was paid €2000/day for 10 selects from each day, with simple retouching. The usage fees were €20000 for the selects with no 3rd party sales/use. I took home every cent of it since they covered all the travel and expenses, so net €56000 for 18 days.

I work locally with an entrepreneur who is always starting a new business. I like the guy, “He’s a good egg,” so I give him a lot for a little. I offer him portrait-based ads for his start-up at €350 per ad with in-perpetuity licensing for the immediate region.

I had a client who first introduced themselves as a renowned charity looking to cover off case studies. I wanted to give back, so I agreed to her terms and rates.€150 per location/case. I was fine with it; it took me an hour to shoot and an hour in post. It wasn’t until I was in with them for a year before I found out they were another vendor for the charity and were using the charity name to get discounts on other work. I told them I need to be compensated from this point forward, and, well, I’ve never heard from them again; maybe karma will catch up with them.

My video work is about 20% of my business.

The best advice I received is never ever show anything but your very best work, the stuff you would hang on your wall. So many times, I see others posting work of their’s, that doesn’t reflect themselves at all or is just plain bad. I tell students and up-and-comers the same.

I don’t do any marketing outside of my website. I do make meetings to show potentials my printed portfolio. Nobody can sell you like yourself and your images. Each image has a story, and the potentials love to hear them. I also make a point of asking them before I leave if you liked my work and do you know a couple of other friends/companies who might benefit from my work.

I’m socking away money in retirement savings, investing in the stocks every month. My overhead is soooper low, so I almost always know my margins on any project. At the end of the month, whatever is left, I put aside a portion for taxes and some for investments.

Share your knowledge with others around you, invite your colleagues and competition out for lunch/coffee/drinks. A better-informed market is good for all. Ease new clients into licensing images; tell them the benefits of renewing images every 6-12 months etc.

And “charge more, work less.”

My business is set up as a Trust, so my trust also pays a wage to me as its trustee, which is an additional $50,000AUD per year.

40% Large advertising clients (Top largest companies in Aus) – most briefs have people, kids, and families as focus.
40% Large fashion retail, commercial clients- mainly captured in studio (more detailed than e commence but used to support online content.
10% Social/influencer work.
10% teaching/mentoring online to other photographers in the industry.

During Covid, due to very strict lockdown rules in Australia, I could only make an income from shoots I could facilitate on my own in my own home, reuse of past shoots licensing, and mentoring online.

Mostly work with the largest companies in Australia. Our economy is not on the same scale as Fortune 500 due to the much smaller population/economy.

Very minimal overheads. I don’t have my own studio or any of my own gear. My main expenses are hiring equipment for shoots, assistants/digital operators, and retouching. I prefer to outsource the retouching to give me more work/life balance. My profit margins would significantly increase if I owned all my own gear however, I am required to travel interstate very often for shoots, and Australia is a very large country to travel in. I find it physically challenging to transport heavy equipment around, to and from an airport on my own.

My profit margin is approx 50%. Last year my photography income, supplemented with teaching and influencer work, was approx 300K, and after expenses was $180K.

My agent adds an agency fee to all my jobs, plus they make money on the production of my shoots.

I work approx 80-100 days a year.

My clients are very loyal. I have a handful of clients who have been with me for over 10 years. They used to shoot 3-4 times a year, and now they are shooting up to 10-12 times per year. Due to the industry being very small in Australia (but equally competitive), I have found it extremely important to maintain relationships regularly. I’ve never very been a photographer who would ‘wine and dine’ with creatives or attend any agency parties. I work very hard on keeping in touch by scheduling one on one catch up’s with art directors and producers. I also make a point to continuously shoot new personal work and promote this beyond just my agent’s promo/advertising.

My income has changed quite a lot in the last few years. I am considered a fairly ‘young’ photographer in the industry. I feel like the last couple of years have seen me grow as a person, businesswoman and artist. I feel the economy here in Australia has been given a boost post covid which has also helped me. Covid was an extremely difficult time due to the strictest lockdowns in the world. Where I live, we were not allowed to travel further than 5km away from our house for well over 12 months in total between 2020 and 2021. Almost all shoots stopped (apart from some in Queensland – out of our industry moved north in this time). I had to become very savvy to survive during that time.

The cost of living has become astronomical in Australia. I am very lucky I have minimal overheads and own my home, so I haven’t felt to pinch as much as others.

During covid, I started offering one on one mentoring to other photographers. My main type of buyer/student is usually someone (usually Australian) who has an existing photography business but wants to move away from weddings/portraits and into the commercial industry. I also mentor photographers who are already in the commercial industry but feel a bit stuck- most of these students are from overseas (US, Sweden, UK, NZ).

I also make money from some small influencer jobs – I create images using my family and home to create online content for brands. I only align myself with brands that fit the overall aesthetic of my commercial work.

The average shoot is 10 hours. Some are longer some are shorter, depending on the shoot. Mostly my shoots are 1-day shoots and occasionally 2-3 days.

Licensing terms literally change for every shoot. Sometimes I am able to charge 100% of my BUR for loadings, but mostly it ends up being negotiated. Many of my shoots are for Australian territory only, but sometimes they are licensed for the US as well.

Shoot Rate is anywhere between $2.5-5k per day plus loadings.

Best paying shoot this last year is for a top 7 Australian company 1 day for use on 7 stills images- $25K shot on the back of TVC. Licensing period for 1 year.

The worst paying was online catalog work for a very large fast fashion Australian brand but international selling. Paid me $2500 (and they complained about that being expensive). Refused to pay loadings or any pre/post work. They used the images for 1 week only.

I am just starting to shoot video. I would like to expand on this. Have shot with DOP and directed in the past.

My advice would be to keep your overheads as low as possible in the economy and world we live in today. Covid taught me the importance of this as I didn’t feel the impacts finically due to having very minimal expenses. I do daydream about having all the amazing equipment and owning my own shooting space, but in the end, I’d rather have cash in my pocket and minimal debit to see me through the tough times.

I mostly shoot editorial, and my main clients are national newspapers and magazines, wire services (Australian and international), national corporate clients and medium-sized businesses, associations/business groups, architects, and builders.

My overhead is car repayment $500/month, petrol, insurance and registration $650/month, public liability and equipment insurance $200/month, phone bill $80/month, internet $60/month. I used to have a studio rent assisted at $300/month. Then there’s regular things like rent $500/week average in Australia plus gas, electricity, food, entertainment etc.

I work on photography pretty much every day, but actual commissioned work is about 70-120 days a year (varies).

Freelance editorial rates in Australia have not changed in 20+ years. In the early 2000’s the day rate was $450 + expenses (phone, mileage @.75c/km). Today day rates range from $350-$400 + expenses (which are often questioned and met with push-back from picture editors). Corporate rates have increased about 30% in the last 5-8 years.

I also do occasional teaching, a print sale here and there, larger project commissions on occasion, assisting, and laboring.

There is not one normal day in editorial. Sometimes a job is one portrait that takes 20 mins plus post-production. Other days it is multiple jobs for the same day rate. In the last few years, the two major news outlets for freelancers (News Limited and Fairfax, now 9) have pushed for half-day rates $200/half day. Many of us have rejected this, but there are people who accept it.

With regards to licensing, it is a case-by-case basis, commercial clients seem to accept it but it’s an add-on of 20%-50% or something like that for use in perpetuity.

A shoot for a building client usually involves a site inspection (recce visit), one or two shoot sessions (3-4 hours each), and about 2-3 hours of post. For these jobs, it is usually about $2500 + expenses including licensing.

My best recent job was a corporate shoot over four days at $2500/day + post-production $600/day + travel expenses + licensing in perpetuity (not copyright) for $1500. The days ranged from 8 to 12 hours. A shoot like that every few months goes a long way to propping up the bank account and also maintaining a sense of self-belief and self-worth. I cleared $12,000 for that job.

I do about 4-5 weddings a year and I charge between $4000-$6000 (includes all-day shoot and post-production). Even though these are good earners, I’m not keen to do more than this per year.

My worst recent job was a day for a newspaper at $400 that lasted eight hours with very little travel (stakeout) and no photographs taken.

Less than 5% of my work is video.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) is the national union and workers’ representative body for journalists and photographers in Australia. Their recommended freelance rates are 3x the actual rates paid by most editorial outlets. If any photographer were to charge what is recommended, they would be laughed at.

With a relatively small media landscape, the editorial market in Australia is not a place aspiring photographers should be looking as a viable career option. Multi-skilling and diversity of income is essential.

As well as being the worst payers, editors and picture editors on most newspapers do little to show support for their freelance photographers. Discussions, queries, and rebutting of invoices is common.

There is a definite power imbalance for freelance photographers and employers in Australia, and I can’t be enthusiastic for photographers who want to work in day-to-day editorial journalism world in a freelance capacity. While editorial is often more rewarding (working on stories with real people in situ and having more agency over the photography), I believe photographers must learn to use their documentary skills (including personal skills) in corporate and commercial environments to make a decent income.

A message to everyone: Never accept half-day rates in editorial!

I mostly shoot advertising images and creative content images for social media and websites.

My clients are mid-sized companies based in the UK, US, Europe, and Australia that are in the cosmetics, skincare, and health product space; although I also shoot other types of products, but they are more ad hoc.

No employees since the pandemic.

I work from a home studio, so my overheads are fairly light. I was about the move to a studio space before the pandemic, but very glad I didn’t, as it probably saved me a lot of headaches.
In the UK, we have a VAT (value-added tax, which is currently 20%) threshold of £85k GBP/$102k USD. Before moving into commercial photography, I used to do wedding photography and was VAT registered. When I started doing product photography, I de-registered from VAT, and I intentionally wanted to stay below the threshold because I found it quite stressful, so I now turn over around £80k GBP/$96k USD per year. My gross profit is around £70k GBP/$84k USD, and my net profit is £60k GBP/$73k USD. As a sole trader, I consider this a fairly good wage for the area that I live in.

Hard to calculate days worked per year but around 230, I’d guess. I tend to take a couple of weeks off around Christmas and New Years and a couple of weeks in the summer, plus random days here and there. I book two shoots per week, and on the other days, I do all the other jobs such as admin, pre and post-production, marketing, etc. I try not to work at weekends.

My turnover dipped by £10k in the first pandemic year but picked up again after.

I also do art direction and styling, and depending on the client and the brief, I can charge more for these services. Probably 60% of my clients also want art direction.

An average shoot is roughly for around 15 images depending on the brief, with at least one pre-production day, one shoot day, and probably half a post-production day. The average fee would be around £2000 GBP/$2400 USD. I include 2 year’s license for digital mediums in the initial fee. Print and OOH etc., are separate licenses. Gross profit from the base rate is usually roughly around £1700.

My best recent shoot was with a US-based client in the health supplement space. Two separate shoot days, one with a model. 1-2 days of pre-production, 1-day post-production. Full art direction and styling. Total initial fee with a 2-year digital license was £7000 GBP / $8400 USD, with a gross profit of £6300 GBP / $ 7600 USD. Further licensing for OOH £3000 GBP / $3600 USD.

My lowest paying recent shoot was an EU-based tiny start-up company with a new shampoo. I like to sometimes book very small shoots for brands that I think have potential in the hopes that if they become successful, they will continue to work with me on bigger projects. 4 images with a 2-year digital license, £500 GBP / $600 USD. Couple of hours of pre-production, 2 hours of shooting, and no costs as all props were from my own collection.

I don’t shoot video, but I do create stop-motion animations, and I’d like to do more of this. Currently, only around 15% of my income.

It’s not always about forever growing and making more and more. I have a happier, more balanced life since I decided to stay below the VAT threshold and be satisfied with the pretty steady income I make.

I set aside the profit every year after expenses as cash flow:

2020 profit: -$2k
2021 profit: $17k
2022 profit: $40k

Note: numbers are USD.

I’m a bit of a jack of all trades, but I try to focus on food and product photography. Though I find specializing is close to impossible because clients care more about getting a low price than amazing results. As a photographer, you’re more likely to get hired because you know someone looking for a photographer over being the best in your niche.

15% food, 30% product, 10% portrait, and 45% commercial.

I only hire freelancers when I need them, and my overhead is:
Studio: $25k
Leasing: $8k
Employee fee: $9k (basically what you pay to be employed – it’s weird, I know..)

Profit margin varies but is about 12-18% each year after expenses and salary.

I basically work every day, but that includes everything from administration, accounting, and other boring stuff. In pure shooting days, probably around 60-80, with the majority of them shooting along side a film crew. I also do my own retouching, which adds in about 70-100 additional working days.

My clients are nice and easy, but also very boring. They lack creativity or even the ability to be creative, so when you present anything creative, new, bold, or whatever – they find it scary. That goes for both ad agencies and direct clients. The Norwegian style in advertising has been the same for 20-some years. I almost got in a copyright lawsuit a few years back when a new and fresh ad agency wanted to do something “cool.” They had basically drawn a photo they liked and presented it as their sketch for me to do. That is how creative some art directors here can be. But there is also the 1% of clients who wants you to go nuts. I call them the holy clients. They’re rare, far between, but they exist. Just have to search and market correctly to find them.

My income over the last few years has been pretty steady but not high. Roughly an average yearly salary here. But in the last two years, it’s been going up, though in 2023, there have currently been no jobs and none in sight. So a solid $20k minus already. Video has killed photography I rent out my gear and studio as much as I can to bring down the costs.

Usually, one day of shooting is roughly $4000 for 10 images.
Day rate: $1700
Retouching @ $150 pr. image (varies from $80 to $300)
Studio @ $400 per day
Equipment @ $300-500 total (camera, lighting, digi etc.)
Licensing: First year included, 50% of day renewal fee.

My day rate varies from $1500-$2500, which also includes a one-year full buyout. Licensing has basically been wiped out, and if you can charge it you’re lucky if you even get the job.

I had a shoot for a German company. It was two days of shooting at $1500 per day with $3000 in retouching and a 5-year worldwide licensing at $18k. That was my first and only time getting a license fee at a really good rate.

Even though the fees are low here, it’s pretty stable. I name my price, and I either get the job or I don’t; done deal. I think that’s pretty common in all of Scandinavia. Based on the price examples on your site, it would seem to vary more in the states.

Video is about 10-15% of my income.

As much as everyone preaches for specializing, make sure you’re in a country or a market where specializing is actually possible. Adapt accordingly. Shoot more personal projects to become better. Work harder on your portfolio than on paying jobs. That’ll make you happy when you work in a place where the clients don’t care about the end result.

My income is 40% Architecture and Interior Design and 60% Real Estate. My clients are all local. I have 1 full-time and 3 part-time employees. My overhead includes systems, team equipment, and payroll. I work 260 days a year. My Profit is 70k.

My clients are loyal but very budget aware and like to haggle. My market is very competitive.

My income didn’t change much over the last few years because I’m in a growth market.

An average shoot lasts about 3 hours on-site, in which I am paid hourly + per image use. The average final invoice is about $1,200. After overhead, I take home about $300.

My best shoot was 1.5 days plus 4 hours of in-state travel. 8 hours total shooting, about 8 hours in post with social, web, and marketing usage for 5 years at $50/image. The total invoice was $5300. Take home was $3100 after expenses.

My worst shoot was 2 days with travel; the client told me they wanted one type of shoot, and the reality was they wanted another, so I did not have the correct equipment and had to return to the site the next day. It took up an entire Saturday and Sunday in which I spent three hours shooting and delivered 33 edited images and 33 watermark proofs; I was only paid $1000 and took home $250.

I don’t shoot video, but my team does. About 15% of our deliverables are video, but about 30% of the income is from video.

Research and compare your pricing and terms with your colleagues and competitors so you are not the photographer bringing down everyone’s value.

My income is 70% Commercial/Lifestyle and 30% Real Estate. My clients are mostly local small businesses and a couple of larger Chamber of Commerce types.

I hire a part-time assistant/grip on bigger Jobs maybe 10% of the time; besides that, I don’t have much overhead.

Between shooting and editing, I probably work around 250 work days a year.

Most of my clients are easygoing mom-and-pop types, but I do have two retainer clients at $2250 per month each. One is an influencer for which I do two 2-hour shoots a month, and for the other, I do five 1-hour shoots a month.

I was netting about 45K a year pre-pandemic, but the pandemic scared me, and I upped my hustle game and picked up real estate photography to make ends meet because the local housing market was skyrocketing. I have many years of experience shooting for higher-end builders and designers. I dumbed it down for quick and easy, in-and-out Real Estate clients that did not want to pay high dollar. By late summer of 2020, a good bit of my normal work came back, and I kept the real estate photography in my back pocket for extra quick cash. So, I have almost tripled my income from what I was making pre-pandemic.

As mentioned earlier, I have two retainer clients, which gross me 54K a year, Real estate Photography grosses me around 45k (I have not even really pushed this), and other normal day-to-day commercial/lifestyle work grossed around 75K.

For bigger commercial client shoots (local restaurants, golf, interior designers, headshots, and a couple of bigger production ad agency shots a year), I will have a few hours invested in developing a treatment after zoom meetings and emails to figure out the client’s needs. Then we usually have a scout day which I charge around $800-$1200 and then I average around $2200-$2500 per shoot day (8-10 hours per day) for my time, $300/day for assistant and then usually charge $300 per day for camera/gear allowance/rental. I will often times add in $500-$800 on the quote for editing and delivery. Each shoot day yields 25-30 final licensed images. They can select more at $100 per image. This would go up for national clients.

My best-paying shoot was for a golf tourism company. I grossed $6800 for a 2-hour scout day and 1.5 days of shooting. I probably netted $6200 after paying my assistant. Pre-tax.

The worst paying was a 3 hour restaurant shoot I did trade for and got a $300 gift card. But it is a long-time client, and every once in a while, they will hit me up for trade.

I don’t shoot any video.

My real estate side hustle I picked up in 2020 during the pandemic to make ends meet because the housing market was booming. I have never advertised it and just kind of word of mouth. This is ‘filler’ when I am not busy. Quick 30-45 minute in and out jobs, but they do add up. I did around 230 listings last year at an average of 200 bucks a pop for a gross of 46k. When I can, I try to stack all the listings for the week into one day. 5 or so max. A local colleague of mine did 1200 listings last year, but that is ALL they do. There is money there.

This is not for everyone and not the best business model, but it is pretty good money if you are not afraid to work. Looking to up some pricing this year and hopefully find a 3rd retainer client and phase the real estate back out. I just wanted to throw all this out there to let people know you can side hustle within your photography if you need extra income.

I just signed with a rep, but we have not worked together yet.

My clients are smaller architecture/design firms, mostly east coast, some west coast, and throughout the US. Occasionally I will work with an agency or brand, but my focus has been on doing high-end, modern architecture, so my goal is to primarily work with just architects.

I have no overhead besides maintaining equipment.

Last year I shot 33 days, but I’m in my home office most days either doing post-production or other admin or portfolio work; the goal has been to earn more per commission and shoot less so I can be more selective and spend more time on each project.

My income has increased a lot over the last few years; referrals have helped, as well as my plan to charge more and work less. I reworked my rate sheet and contract at the beginning of 2022, and it helped me attain my goal of being more selective about the projects I take on. Higher rates helped weed out lower-end projects and helped me to focus on larger cost share commissions where there are 3-4 project partners paying for licensing.

The only marketing I do is keeping up with Instagram posts. Most of my work comes from referrals, Instagram, and Google searches.

An average shoot in 2022 was 2 shoot days with the fees totaling approx. $15k-$18k with 2-3 additional licenses added in. My assistant and any travel was additional, although travel has been minimal since 2020. Take home was pretty close to that, as the only overhead/expenses I usually have are taxes.

The best-paying job in 2022 was $18k (expenses not included) for 2 shoot days; licensing had 4 total partners on the contract, two 10 hrs days; take home was $18k less taxes.

The worst job was one I took in San Francisco. I compromised my day rate to get the job because it sounded like a “cool” project. However, this is something I’ve learned to NEVER do over the decades I’ve been in business. It always leads to the client not respecting your rates, and everything, including your time, becomes negotiable. Expenses excluded, my fees were billed at $9950 for what turned out to be almost 4 days of shooting, with one additional license included. It was chaotic and stressful with a client who is fairly new to the design world. This was really their first “big” shoot, and they overspent their budget on stylists, moving companies, props, etc., etc.

No video work.

The best advice I have received: show what you want to shoot. This came from the first photographer I ever assisted. He told me never to show work for the sake of showing work if it wasn’t something I loved. I have held onto this for my entire career, and it has been the guiding light. If I’m not happy with what I’m shooting, really, what is the point? This business requires too much time, thought, emotion, and effort – just to be a means of making money. It satisfies my need to create.

The worst advice I have received is: “The client will never notice”…this was in a recent conversation with another photographer. I won’t specify what it was in regards to because I don’t want to put that person on the spot, but my gut rejected this mindset immediately. The client might not notice, but I will, and most of the time, I’m trying to please myself and my standards first. I need to know it is the best that I can do, always, because I will know the difference – regardless if the client does.

I had a conversation a couple of days ago with a photographer who reached out thru Instagram. The conversation quickly diverged into a long discussion on feeling adequate or good enough. I’m finding that this is a universal feeling that all creatives have, no matter the genre or level of success. Second-guessing what we are doing is the norm. Feeling like a fake… normal. Feeling not good enough or that others are succeeding more than we are… normal. We have to almost put our hypothetical blinders on and stay focused on OUR goals, on OUR opportunities, on OUR strengths, on OUR successes, and learn to be happy with where we are at. There is always room for growth, but sometimes it helps to take a look back thru the archives and see where we’ve come from and the progress we’ve already made. Ok, done preaching. :)

Our income is 30% Commercial and 70% product photography.

Most of our clients are regional to the southeast area of the US, but we are moving towards larger national clients. We mostly work with advertising agencies.

Every year we don’t have a baby, our profits grow.

We have no employees and hire freelancers for every job.

We fully renovated our studio in 2020, and we pay $1500/month in mortgage. $1100/property taxes. Utilities less than $300/month. Subscriptions and taxes vary.

We work 200 days a year.

We are the only Savage backdrop paper supplier within 200 miles. We really wanted our own stock to pull from without shipping individual rolls. Then started selling to the community. We also rent our studio to other photographers. The majority of our profits are still from shooting.

An average shoot for us is an 8-10 hour day averaging $3500/day in studio. Unlimited licensing around $2000.

Our biggest recent shoots:
1. For a cannabis company, we worked one week in Denver 10 hour days and made $33k in profit. Unlimited licensing.
2. Every month, we shoot 2-3 days in studio for a snack cake client and make $2500/day rate +$2000 in licensing + $500/styling = $5000 all profit per day. 8-hour days. That’s the cushiest job because we work with the same creative director and just have fun. Unlimited licensing.

Our worst-paying recent shoot: Headshots. $150/headshot. Thank goodness we stopped doing headshots this year. I mean, it’s easy to do in 20 minutes, but it costs our soul.

We don’t shoot video anymore.

The most valuable advice we have heard is from Art Streiber’s seminar at the Palm Spring Photo Festival. “Work on your systems.” I will bend over backward for a client but never forward.” “The product should be as good or better than what was in the client’s head.”
The worst advice we got was that you have to be in Los Angeles or New York to make it in this industry.

For marketing, SEO is everything. We also put out promos, but I find most of our best jobs come from Google.

I’ll retire when I’m dead. Irving Penn worked until 94.

50% of my income is from Commercial, 25% Editorial, 15% events, and 10% product. My roots are in photojournalism.

My clients are mostly local and statewide, with a handful of national clients. For one of my national clients, I travel with them 6-10x year. And they are an amazing organization. I’d jump through hoops of fire for them. I do not have anything in the Fortune 500 range. I have found out over time that the bigger the client (or agency) and the bigger the budget (and crew) translates, to bigger headaches. I prefer smaller clients who know exactly who they are and exactly what they need.

I am an army of one. But I do hire contractors, mostly HMUA and photo and lighting assistant. I also hire out some post work.

I work from home, but I do rent a large RV-sized climate-controlled storage unit that I share costs with my husband, who is in video production. We keep a lot of overflow equipment there. Plus, it doubles as an excellent studio for when I do product photography.

Nearly all of my monthly expenses I run through my business: advertising, healthcare, insurance (equipment, business and workers comp, health, dental), car repairs, gas, cell phone, etc.. Any recurring monthly cost gets run through my business.

My average monthly expenses range about $1500 – $2000

I run nearly all of my expenses through my business. I pay myself a meager weekly salary that equals to a whopping $30K a year. After expenses and my weekly salary, any leftover money stays in a business savings account for any just-in-case needs. Right now, I have about $40K in business savings.

In 2022, my expenses were higher than usual. I upgraded to the Canon R5, an R-series lens, a new laptop, and additional Profoto lighting and grip. I also had surgery which was costly, even after insurance, and that kept me out of work for about six weeks. So grossing $128K with being out of work for six weeks isn’t too bad for where I live. It’s just my husband of 17 years and me. We have no children (only pets). I have no business debt, and aside from our mortgage, we have no personal debt. Both of our vehicles are paid off. We live frugally and are at the point in our lives where we don’t need not want *stuff*.

For most of my photo shoots, 100% of my profits stay with me. It’s usually just me at the shoot. On larger shoots larger, or when there’s budget, I hire an assistant and occasionally HMUA . My assistant (photo grip) is usually my husband, so I don’t pay him. I do contract out some post work, but I do the vast majority myself.

I typically work 3 days a week. If I can book 5-7 full and/or half-day shoots a month, I’ll be happy. While over the last 2-3 years, my client list has been smaller, I am shooting higher paying jobs for the ones I do have. Work less, make more. Isn’t that what we all strive for?

My clients run the gamut: local and national publications, city and state government, small ad agencies, healthcare, industry, interior design, and B2B. I consider myself a generalist. I don’t specialize in one thing. In a small market, you have to be versatile.

Over the last five years, I’ve seen a steady 10-15% increase in my gross income. Covid didn’t affect me at all. In 2020, I saw a 14% increase from 2019.

I also teach yoga, but that’s two days a week and only if I doesn’t conflict with photo work. I make very little teaching yoga, and that goes to my personal slush fund. I don’t teach for the money, I teach because I love the practice as well and the amazing yoga community where I teach.

I do have a minimum of what I’m willing to take a shower and put on real pants for. The average half-day shoot (four hours) with equipment and post runs about $1800-$2200. For a full day (eight hours), if it’s just me, about $2300-$2700. If I have assistants or HMUA, then around $3100 and up. As far as licensing goes, it’s really hard to get people/agencies to pay licensing. Too many young and inexperienced photographers who give away their work ruined that a long time ago in my region. However, everyone pays a little something, even if it’s minimal. But I do charge a larger, more reasonable fee — and I often get it – when I have a bigger client who understands and respects the value of why I’m charging it. That number varies based on the job and need. For most, I often lump it in with my post-production costs when I estimate a job based on the information they give me when they first reach out. I don’t have cookie-cutter days or jobs. Every job and client is different.

I was hired by a local, small oil company to photograph seven of their better-looking gas stations at sunset in two states. The original job was only to provide seven digital images. They were opening a new HQ and wanted to have large prints made for their office. The original job was for $3K. After I photographed and proofed the photos, which they absolutely loved, they asked me my advice on getting prints made. At my own expense, I sent them three options for prints: a basic, lusture finish 8×12 print, a print with a metallic finish, and an actual metal print with a high gloss coating. They loved the metal print demo print so much that they asked me to take care of the prints. They ended up buying 3-4 prints PER station.

So an initial digital file-only job of $3K snowballed into 24, large metal prints to the cost of just over $17K. My only real expense was the $2K I paid to a digital retoucher who edited out power lines, cleaned up oil stains from the parking lots, etc., I charged back to cost of the metal prints, plus a 20% markup for myself. Since that job in 2018, I’ve photographed three more locations, and they’ve bought six more metal prints.

I can honestly say I haven’t had a *worst paying job*. I just turn away work where the money, need, terms, don’t align. If someone seeks me out, and really wants to work with ME and they have a budget $1000, I’m happy to work with them, but they must bring their photo needs and desires to a reasonable level for that budget.

I am married to a man who shoots video. I also work with him as a producer, teleprompter operator, PA, and the occasional grip.

Know your worth. It’s OK to say no. Turn work away when the budget isn’t there. Because once you work for cheap, they’ve got you. It’s incredibly difficult to go up on your rates. Also, you don’t have to have always have the latest and greatest gear. Refine your skills with the tools you have. As my photojournalism professor taught us, “It’s not the gear, it’s the person using it”.