Product photographs are important to eCommerce businesses. The photo quality will have a massive impact on your online store’s performance.
Photoshoot is essential to take professional-looking photos. You may spend more than required if you don’t understand actual product photography costs.
We’ll explain the basic things you need to know about product photography and how much product photography cost?
Is Product Photography Cost The same Across Board?
No, product photographs don’t have the same cost. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re not being sincere with you.
Product photographs cost varies from one photographer to another and from one region to another. It depends on the project in question and your arrangement with the photographer.
The pricing might vary. It could be per day, per hour, or product. But the thing is, there’s no fixed amount when it comes to product photography costs. You can only get a rough estimate, which can help you make a good decision when interacting with a professional photographer.
Product Photograph Cost In Details
Hiring a professional photographer may seem expensive. By the way, no business enjoys spending money. We’re always focused on getting more money and profit.
The cost of product photography varies from one photographer to another. And several factors could play a key role.
One of the major cost determinants is the project. However, you can expect to pay around $170 per hour for a product photoshoot. The price may also increase or decrease based on the photographer’s skill level and the project’s complexity.
Here is a rough estimate of product photography cost per day, per hour, per product, and image. You can use the pricing ideas listed here to make an informed decision when evaluating how much your product photoshoot will cost.
How Much Product Photography Cost Per Day
If you want to rent a photo studio for a day, you should expect to pay around $400 – $1000. Several factors will determine if you’ll pay less or more. So, it’s best to evaluate the total cost and ensure there are no hidden fees.
Note that the studio you’re renting, and additional equipment you may use will influence the price of your product photoshoot per day.
So, what’s the best step to take? Engage the professional photographer and ask for the total cost of renting their studio per day. Explain the kind of shoot you’re looking at and the scope of the project.
You should also find out if you have to pay to use additional equipment from the studio. If the answer is yes, you should consider going to another studio.
A Handy Tip: Prepare your products before booking your product photoshoot. And calculate how many days you’ll need for the project before making any financial commitment.
Finally, make an effort to negotiate a discount with the photographer and assure them of steady patronage if they consider your request to offer a discount.
Most photography studios have a fixed price and may refuse your request for a discount. If that happens, try visiting other photo studios and compare prices.
The disadvantage of paying for the product photography per day option is that your product photoshoot may finish faster than expected. Only request per day payment after estimating how long the project would take.
Sometimes, the shoot might finish in 2 – 4 hours, while you have paid for a day’s work. Note that you won’t get a refund, so do a proper evaluation before making any financial commitment.
You may even find that the hourly rate is the best for you.
How Much Product Photography Cost Per Hour
Per hour is what some businesses may prefer. Per hour is not the cheapest, but you can save an incredible amount of money compared to the per-day rates if you estimate properly.
For a product photoshoot, you can expect to pay around $20 – $500. Again, the rate depends on several factors, such as the photographer’s skill level, the project’s scope, the studio, and added equipment you might require.
Some photo studios don’t require payment for using extra equipment during the photoshoot.
A Handy Tip: Estimate how much time the project photoshoot will take before making any financial commitment.
At weddings, the majority of photoshoot is done in one hour. One hour photo session is enough time to take all the photos at a wedding ceremony.
You may use this idea to decipher how much time you’ll need for your product photoshoot.
How Much Product Photography Cost Per Product
As the name suggests, product photoshoot per product is charged per product basis. Not all photographers offer this pricing plan, but you can always recommend it during negotiations.
Photography is a service and not a commodity with a fixed price. So, photographers might willingly accept the per-product pricing requests.
How much does per product photography cost? You should expect to pay around $20 – $100.
Is the per-product pricing plan the best for eCommerce stores? Well, I would say yes.
The benefit of this pricing plan is that the more the number of products increases, the lower the price. Photographers will be more than willing to negotiate with you and offer a discount on this plan.
This type of product photoshoot pricing is ideal for eCommerce businesses that like to display multiple images per product. Of course, this is the best way to advertise a product online.
Publishing multiple professionally edited and retouched product photos will attract customers. They’ll also have a better view of the product.
You can contact Designyep for professional photo editing and retouching services to improve the quality of your images. Nobody does it better than us.
A Handy Tip: So, if you require a large number of photos per product, negotiate the per-product pricing plan with your professional photographer.
Even if you plan to take only one photo per product or have many products to photoshoot, you can benefit from the per-product cost.
Just compare the prices for the different plans and go with the least expensive option.
How Much Product Photography Cost Per Image
Another pricing option is the per-image pricing. Here, the professional photographer will charge you per image.
How much do you get to pay on the per-image pricing option? The cost per image ranges from $1 to $50. But don’t panic; it’s not usually as expensive as you think. It’s usually below the $10 mark.
Paying per image basis is the best option for eCommerce stores that publish multiple photos. Another benefit of this pricing plan is that you can negotiate for a discount. If the project involves tons of images, you can ask the photographer to lower the price per image since you will require tons of photos.
Let’s assume you have been asked to pay $5 per image and plan to have around 200 product photos. Normally, this should cost about $1000 if you go by the $5 per image rate.
Instead of paying $1000, you can request to pay around $900 or less. Be bold and ask for a reduction. You’re getting hundreds of images, which is also a good deal for the photographer.
A Handy Tip: Note that prices per photo may vary based on the type of photo you’re requesting. For instance, while a single image with only one product may cost around $2, group photos that include multiple products in one picture may cost around $5 – $10.
Another thing that can influence the price you may be asked to pay per image is the product category. Pricing for automobile products is not the same as for jewelry or apparel. While you may be asked to pay around $50 – $100 per image for automobile products, you may pay about $10 – $20 per image for jewelry.
Factors To Consider When Evaluating Product Photography Cost
Product photography is essential for every eCommerce store. The wrong product photography will cause your product to look cheap and leave a bitter taste in the mouths of potential buyers.
If you want to record more sales, take professional-looking photos and contact professional photo editing solutions like Designyep to improve the photos’ quality.
Here are factors that influence the cost of product photography. You can consider them when evaluating how much your product photoshoot would cost.
- Product type – The type of product you want to photograph will play a key role in deciding the project cost. Note that machinery and electronics require well-trained and experienced photographers. They also need specialized tools. So, the photography cost of electronics would be different from apparel. However, you can contact your proposed photographer to know their position on pricing for the product you wish to photograph.
- The volume of photos – Normally, if you require a large number of photographs for your product line, you would expect to pay more. But let’s look at it from this angle: you’re offering a photographer a chance to earn more. So, instead of increasing, shouldn’t the price be lower? You can negotiate for a discount if you’re going to request a large number of photos.
- How complex the photoshoot is – A photoshoot that requires the photographer to take pictures of the products from multiple angles or set up complex lighting will cost more than a simple product photoshoot.
- Photoshoot location: Photoshoot location will influence your product photography cost. If you want to take the photos in the studio, then you’ll have to incur a higher cost. Why? The studio will be set up for your products’ photoshoot, requiring lighting and other areas.
- Photographer’s skill level – Don’t expect an experienced and highly-skilled photographer to request the same rate as a beginner that doesn’t even have much experience. The highly skilled and professional photographer will charge more money.
Conclusion
You have now seen the product photography cost and note the rough estimates for your product’s photoshoot.
So, given the factors mentioned in this post, how much do you think your product photoshoot would cost? The bottom line is to take quality pictures and edit them if necessary.
Have at the back of your mind that high-quality images can help to sell your products faster. So invest in product photography if you want your online business to succeed.
After taking the product photographs, you may require some professional editing or retouching. If it ever comes to that, note that Designyep is waiting to help make your photos more appealing.
