How Much to Charge for Product Photography in the UK?

When you have a project to work on, charging the client is not easy. Especially, when you are a beginner.

However, it seems harder when it comes to how much to charge for product photography in the UK. Now, I would be optimistic, if it is not “it depends” types of answer.

The pricing is can vary from a few pounds to a few hundred. It will depend on one of the variables — like what, how many products to shoots.

So far the most effective way to get a sense of what freelancers charge is to make calls and ask for a general price for whatever projects. Like weeding, birthdays, engagement shoots, or any other commercial projects you are interested in. 

Here, in this article, I’ll try to provide a guide and average rate per product photography in the UK.

Pricing Plan and Packages (Average)

You can ask for a typical rate for the day or if the payment is hourly based to get an idea of what the pricing looks like.

The key to this whole process is to first decide on an income that you see yourself getting to live on comfortably. 

• Hourly Rate: £100 – £400 (* Update: Sep, 2021)
• Per Image Rate: £9 -£50 
• Average Project Price: £700 -£1000

NB: This is highly dependent on various factors, like experience, gadgets, costs per project, post-production, and others.

Number Of Images	Standard Items	Advanced Items
0-10	£20	£30
11-30	£18	£25
31-99	£12	£20
100 -199	£10	£15
200+	£9	£14

For instance, the hourly rate will be higher if the photo shooting takes place outside of your studio.

What to Consider When Setup Pricing for Product Photography

Once you pitch your rate you have to also consider several things. First things first, when it comes to freelancing photography almost all clients prioritize experience over everything.

Delete Cheap and Affordable, Instead, Be Reasonable

It is quite significant to know your market as it can give a clear idea about what kind of rates you should set and what pricing strategies you should apply. After this, the next thing you should take into account is your cost of materials.

This plays an important role when deciding your price as your sales must equal your cost of materials to break even and then gain surplus profit.

This will lead to determining a pricing strategy afterward that will help you build a pricing menu.

Your strategy must be customer-friendly and worth your time and skill. You must come up with a reasonable price as it will display your brand image as you are an independent start-up business.

This will also motivate you to work with dedication and provide the best service.

It is also essential to show that photo editing has extra external costs so you must post your prices accordingly keeping in mind there will be other miscellaneous costs.

Taking Clients Demand into Consideration

Considering your client’s demands will ensure you a loyal customer base and help grow your business as the clients will feel more comfortable giving their input as they know they are being heard.

So it’s important to listen to your client’s feedback and demands then make changes accordingly. Always learn to stay up to date with current trends so you have an understanding of your client’s potential demands.

You can also use this information to decide on a price.

This will help you to boost your sales in the long term. And When customers feel more homely and take notice their demands are being taken care of. In freelancing, you must know the right way to attract and retain customers. That is one way to do it.

Material costs and tax

Conclude an income that you want to earn every month excluding tax returns and determine a standard rate that you are willing to work for. A big part is considering the investment and cost of materials needed for shoots, camera, lens, etc.

A good investment is made when you are aware of the market. Prices of cameras can range from £300 to £1700, lenses may range from £100 to £2000 all depending on what you prefer to work with.

Other miscellaneous costs also include different props for shoots which you may include an amount ranging from £100 to £1000 varying on the type of shoot you are interested in. Make sure that your cost of goods sold covers your material costs in order to break even.

I.e.: You should consider photo editing costs. For a basic idea, you can see our product photo editing pricing.

You Expertise and Experience

A photographer with limited work experience is likely to make less compared to a highly trained photographer. It is significant to know what your work deserves and charge accordingly.

For example, a photographer with a great portfolio and 30 years of experience may charge more than an amateur photographer who just got out of college.

Therefore it is important to know what your audience is attracted to let it be your skill or experience and select an ideal rate to build customer loyalty.

This will also help you with marketing and branding too. Although your technique and skill speak louder than your experience in most cases. You just need to grab your clients’ attention in order to build a trustworthy relationship.

What you are offering

Another vital concern is that you might not want to charge the same price for all of your services and offer a variety of services at different prices which offer more consumer sovereignty. You can categorize your services and set an ideal price accordingly.

For example, you can charge location-wise, adults and children may have different prices as shoots for children are lengthier.

Charges may also vary when it comes to commercial, individual and family shoots depending on the amount of time and effort you put in.

A rough estimate of what you may charge can be anything depending on the type of work you are prepared to offer.

You are also suggested to do your research and gather as much information as necessary without relying on one source completely as it is a vast industry. Multiple factors come into play when it comes to charging the right price.

Relationship With the Client

You may also want to charge prices depending on the type of client. A family discount may be provided for family shoots as this may help promote your brand immensely and create brand loyalty.

By evaluating and analyzing your competitors you can apply a competitive pricing policy which means charging a bit less than your competitors. This will initially boost up your sales in the short run and create a brand image.

Doing commercial work may prove to be apprehensive as misunderstandings may rise very easily.

Therefore you need to be more precise about the details of your work, how many hours you are willing to work, what’s the rate you are going to charge, include crucial details on a contract as verbally decided price can later raise misconceptions and lose its weight.

Lastly, freelance photographers may get bulk orders which means a large number of pictures may have to be taken. Some images may not turn out as desired and require editing.

This is when several photo editing companies like our company clipping path universe comes into play. We offer affordable prices and provide high-quality editing. Try out our free samples to evaluate our quality.

You can also take pictures for newspapers and for journalism purposes and increase your rate for marketing purposes.

Moving Forward with your Website and Packages

Although this relies heavily on getting the right shot as it can help you sell it for a much higher rate than usual. These are a few tips to show you a path around freelance photography and provide you with a guide with rates and methods of charging prices.

Customers are often attracted to photographers who niche down their product as it ensures certain quality control and helps create customer loyalty.

That is why freelance photographers are encouraged to have a separate website to deliver their services due to their niche character.

• To develop a thriving business you need to move forward with your website and discover ways to promote your brand through your website.
• The most important factor you should consider regarding building a website is that your website must be virtually eye-catching and user-friendly.
• You must have photos from your portfolio, your pricing menu, contact and location information, the booking process, social content and FAQs, and helpful sources.
• You can also create templates or highlights of different types of services that you offer. This will help viewers to evaluate your business and choose accordingly.
• Contact information such as email address, contact number, other social media links, and live chat should be available to widen your reach to potential customers.
• Also, you should have a section for customer reviews and feedback. This is one of the most effective ways of interacting with customers. And making them feel more involved with the process as their input will be taken into consideration.
• This will also allow you to know customer demands, likes, and dislikes.

Following these few tips will help you build a business relationship with the customer. Also, provide you with a guide to assist your startup.

However, you have to also concentrate on your sales volume in order to determine if you are conducting your business in the right.
If you are not making sales and breaking even then you might consider changing some of your ways.

You can also read about Places to Sell Photos Online.