Photography Rates

“Baby, you’re so money and you don’t even know it.” – Trent Walker

Photography Shoot Rates

Determining the total cost of a photo shoot is not a clear-cut process because of all the factors involved. Photographers take many shots to capture the right moments, yet that’s only a small part of what they do. 

Photography is not like a lot of other solo freelance businesses. For some, all you need is an Internet connection and a laptop. For photography, you need to pay for a lot of stuff, even when you do your best to keep your expenses low.

Freelance photographers charge according to their expenses to maintain all of the equipment they have, as well as the amount of time they invest in editing professional photos.

The HOURLY RATE CHART shows the Highs and Lows based on a photograpgher’s level of expertise.

  • Amateur: $25 to $100 per hour. Amateur photographers have built up an online portfolio and have sold their images to other clients. Still, they haven’t had any professional photography education, but offer much lower prices.
  • Student: $50 to $100 per hour. They may have an apprenticeship where they work directly with a professional photographer, or they may also take photography and related media classes in college.
  • Semi-Pro: $75 to $150 per hour. These are mostly part-time photographers with a strong education in the field and more than one year of experience.
  • Professional: $100 to $300 per hour. These full-time photographers have an extensive portfolio, strong skills, years of education, and several years of experience.

Photo Retouching Rates

The work doesn’t end after the photoshoot! After photographers take their photos, they need to edit and retouch the images.

When you edit photos, you’re changing very subtle elements in your images ranging from basic light adjustments to minimal color correction. 

Photo retouching is the art of enhancing images using every tool of the trade. From smoothing skin, whitening teeth, and adjusting lighting to compositing a background, model, or object – anything is possible with retouching.

The PER IMAGE CHART shows the Highs and Lows based on the amount of retouching needed/requested.

Basic Retouching
If you need only one or two corrections, a basic retouching service is just what you need. The background is usually left alone for basic retouches, but retouchers may increase or decrease brightness if necessary.

  • Color correcting
  • Lighting adjustments
  • Teeth whitening
  • Removing minor blemishes
  • Removing stray hairs

Advanced Retouching
If you want to clean up the background or details in a photo, advanced retouching is a flexible option for most people.

  • Color correction
  • Blemish removal
  • Skin smoothing
  • Removing background objects

Extensive Retouching
If you want to make a photo look the best that it can, then high-end retouching is the best option!

    • Background compositing
    • Color correction
    • Skin-end skin correction
    • Blemish removal
    • Light adjustment
    • Comprehensive editing

    CUTTING TO THE CHASE

    So, after all that rigmarole, what exactly ARE my rates? After 20+ years of taking photos and retouching images I would definitely place myself in the Semi-Pro category (at the very least). And my rates reflect that experience.

    Hourly Shoot Rate = $75

    Retouching Rate = $10 Per Image

    WHAT ABOUT A PACKAGE DEAL?

    We could all use a good deal. With that in mind…

    2 Hour Shoot Deal = $150

    Included: 2 Hour Shoot + 100 Photos Taken + 7 Images Retouched = $70 Savings

    P.S. I live in Portland, OR

    Get In Touch

    Interested in Modeling? Looking to Book a Shoot? Or just wanna say, “Hey! I know you! You’re my friend from high school!” Please use the Contact Form below.

    P.S. I live in Portland, OR.

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