Photography Pricing Calculator

Step One

Your business foundations

A price isn't a feeling — it's five things added together. Fill these in honestly and everything below is calculated from them.

How the maths works: every session price on this sheet is built the same way —

Your time — the hours a session actually takes you, × the hourly rate you want to be paid
+ Overhead — your monthly running costs, shared across the minimum number of sessions you commit to each month
+ Tax set-aside — money put aside before you ever call it "yours," so tax time doesn't wipe you out
+ Profit — what's actually left over as reward for running the business, on top of your wage

What you want to pay yourself, per hour

Not your current rate — the one you'd defend to a friend. This is your wage, before profit.

Monthly business overhead

Studio, software, insurance, marketing, gear fund — everything it costs to keep the lights on, whether or not you shoot.

Minimum sessions per month (your target)

Not what you're doing right now — the minimum you'd commit to every month. If the business only ever hit this number, would it still work?

Personal tax rate

What you'll owe on this income. Set aside automatically so it's never coming out of your pocket later. Check your rate with your accountant.

Target profit margin

What's left over after your time, overhead and tax are covered — the actual reward for running the business.

I pay a VA (virtual assistant)

Step Two

Session types & shoot times

Add each session type you shoot. Set prep/admin time and how many images you deliver, then add the shoot-length options you offer — a price is generated for each.

Your Price Sheet

Ready to hand to a client

Session pricing by shoot length, built from your real time, costs and margin.

Add a session type above to see your price sheet.