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Product Photography Pricing | Updated for 2023

Find out how much you should budget for professional product photography pricing. Rates start at $39 per photo with soona.

 Claire Oswald
Claire Oswald
product marketing manager
Claire Oswald
product marketing manager
May 9, 2023
-
1
min

Product photography is a critical aspect of selling products online, and sellers often face a common challenge: determining the right pricing for product photography services. The problem is there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to product photography pricing. And, many sellers find themselves unsure of how much they should be paying for professional product photography services. This uncertainty can lead to frustration and potential overspending on photography services.

Fortunately, there are solutions available, including understanding the factors that impact product photography pricing, researching and comparing pricing from multiple photographers or agencies, and even working with creative studios such as soona. In this article, we'll explore the problem of product photography pricing and provide solutions to help sellers make informed decisions about their photography investments.

Why is Product Photography Important?

Product photography is essential for any brand that sells online. It plays a vital role in creating a great user experience and establishing trust with customers. A high-quality image is the first impression a potential customer has of your product. 93% of consumers consider visuals to be the key deciding factor in a purchasing decision. What does that mean? It can mean the difference between making a sale or losing a potential customer. 

User Experience

As customers continue to buy online, having a good user experience is more critical than ever. A poorly designed website or slow-loading pages can drive customers away. Great product photography can help customers visualize the product and make informed purchasing decisions. A great user experience leads to higher conversion rates, repeat customers, and positive word-of-mouth.

Higher Conversion Rate

High-quality product photography can increase conversion rates significantly. It creates a great first impression and helps customers make informed decisions about your product. With more competition in online store fronts, it's crucial to stand out from the crowd. Having great product photos can help you do just that.

Build Trust

In a world where anyone can sell products online, building trust with customers is critical. High-quality product photos help establish your brand as trustworthy and reliable. Customers are more likely to purchase from a brand they trust. 

{{studio-ad="/external-components"}}

Earning Recognition

Creating a unique content voice and brand personality is essential for building recognition and standing out in a crowded marketplace. A consistent and recognizable brand voice creates trust and fosters brand loyalty. Product photography can be a great way to convey your brand's personality and establish recognition through product images.

Where Product Photography is Today

Product photography is still a critical element of any business's marketing strategy. However, it's no longer enough to have product-on-white images. Eye-catching and engaging images that tell your product's story are essential. Refreshing your content frequently can be challenging and expensive for small and medium-sized businesses. That's where photography services like soona can help. With studios located in Denver, Los Angeles, Austin, and Minneapolis, soona offers affordable, high-quality product photography. soona recommends having 5-6 images per product on a product detail page in order to truly show size, color, shape and variability. 

What Types of Photography Services are There?

Deciding the right option for your product photography needs is an important aspect of your business. Making the decision about using a professional studio, a local photographer or a photography service will depend on your needs, your budget, and the style of the content you want.

{{studio-ad="/external-components"}}

Hire a Local Photographer or a Freelance Photographer

You can check out Photographers.org, Honeybook, Yelp, or search on Google to find quality photographers in your area. These websites offer a collection of professional photographers for you to pick from with basic information about their specialties and reviews from actual clients and experienced professionals.

pros:

  • Close Proximity. This can be helpful if you are in a pinch and need something turned around very quickly, but don’t have time to ship your product to a service.
  • Save on Shipping Costs. Speaking of close proximity. you can save a little space in your budget by avoiding shipping costs at all or only having to pay a very small fee.
  • Price Negotiation. Sometimes photographers are willing to strike a deal on pricing. This could be a price cut or a trade of goods. Since it’s their own business they are able to make those kinds of decisions.
  • Helping a Small Business. It always feels good to get your needs met by using a small business.

cons:

  • Limited Availability. You may finally pick the photographer you want to work with only to find out they are booked full for the next several months. Being a single-person business leads to big scheduling limitations.
  • Other Focuses. Most freelance photographers don’t specialize in one thing. They may do product photography, as well as weddings and portraits. So, you may not be hiring the expert commercial photographer that you’re looking for that specializes in your industry.
  • Expensive. Freelance photographers may have the ability to strike a deal but that doesn’t mean they will. They have to make a living after all! Plus, they need to manage equipment upkeep as well. That costs $$. Because of these reasons: pricing can be confusing and vary.
  • Slow Turnaround Time. You are at the mercy of your photographer’s schedule. That doesn’t just mean their shooting schedule. It includes their editing schedule too. And, editing takes time. Again: a one-person business has its limitations.
  • Limited add-on Options. It may be more difficult and more expensive than your budget allows to add a model or special props to your shoot. Or, they may require you to coordinate your own props and models.

Full-Service Photography Studios

Full-service photography studios may be the way to go for your needs. Larger full service studio providers i.e. creative agencies can offer you more variety across the board. soona is a great photography studio option to check out.

pros:

  • Easy Scheduling. Photography services have one major advantage: more photographers. And, more photographers = more scheduled openings.
  • Quick Turnaround Times. Having more resources also means dedicated editors who help turnaround your images much faster
  • Props + other Additions. Most services have a stock of in-house props you can choose from. they also likely have connections to provide models for your shoot. They also are likely to have a wider range of backdrops and settings. Photo studios will often have lifestyle areas to choose from which are great for showing your product in use.
  • Ability to Handle Anything. Full-service studios can handle any size or quantity of product. They are built to take on bulk!
  • Cost-Effective. Because these services are only focusing on product photography, they are able to offer lower rates than independent photographers. They have a well oiled machine with little variables, so surprise costs are rare.

cons

  • Shipping Costs. You may be dealing with higher shipping costs depending on how heavy or how much of your product you need to have photographed. Though some places (like soona) offer free shipping or an option to come into the studio if you are local.

How Much Should I Pay for Professional Product Photography?

Before we dive into the product photography pricing in 2023, let’s break down the different pricing models that are commonly used by freelance product photographers, full-service production companies, experienced product photographers themselves, and creative agencies.

Per Photo

Per photo is a common pricing model for both independent photographers and photography services - though it means different things to each. For independent, freelance photographers this probably means per photo taken. This cost usually includes basic editing, and photos are often priced by batch number of images, or collection. You might not get to pick what's included in the delivery. This pricing structure usually lends itself to a tiered approach with a reduction in price the more you buy. Here’s what it could look like:

And that doesn’t usually account for the additional costs, hourly rates, studio and specialized equipment rentals, etc. that could be included in a final packaged quote from a freelance photographer or studio. Which leads us too…

Per Hour / Per Day

In the freelancing world, you can expect to pay an hourly rate on top of the per product or per images produced. At the base price, a local freelance professional photographer can charge upwards of $1,000 - $2,000 for a half day or full day price. This pricing could vary depending on your specific and image quality requirements for each product you need to shoot. Remember, setting up a shot takes time and time is exactly what you’re paying for. Typically, you will also be charged for editing time as well!

Per Product

Per product is a pricing model that allows the freelance photographer  to charge you at a set rate per product that they shoot. The downside of this is there’s usually a limit to the number of images that can be produced for each product and different products can have different prices. Meaning, if one of your products is a little more difficult to photograph - the per product set up and post production rate for that product will cost more.

Additional Costs

Whether you go with an agency, service, professional product photographer or a local freelance photographer, you’ll likely end up paying an additional charge for something. You want to make sure what you’re paying extra for is providing both high quality product images and the cost-effectiveness that makes sense for you and your budget.

Editing

Most freelance photographers include basic editing in their base fees. Basic editing usually includes color correction, lighting adjustment, and retouching any areas with small imperfections (think: a dirt smudge on a white backdrop). You can expect an additional fee if you want more advanced editing, like skin smoothing if you have a model, or fixing an imperfection on the product. 

Reshoots

If you don’t love the content captured at your first shoot, a reshoot is a possibility! Most agencies, services, and freelancers have the ability to execute reshoots if there was an error on their end. But, depending on the situation, it’s likely you’ll be charged another fee to capture additional shots.

Models

Adding a model to your photo shoot is proven to increase conversions. They can show how a product works, the use-cases for it, and give your customers a better perspective on how it could fit into their lifestyle. There are a few types of models to consider: a hand model, full-body model, and there are even pet models! When hiring outside talent for your photo shoots, you can expect to pay a few different fees including: a licensing fee on top of a model’s fee (typically this is hourly). If you require a model, we recommend using a photography service that has a one-time flat model fee, like how we charge at soona!

Styling + Props

Depending on the type of shoot you’re looking for (white ecommerce vs. editorial work), you may need to hire a stylist and purchase props for your shoot! Hiring a stylist can make a big difference in the quality of your photos. Bringing on a stylist, they help create scenes with props, make sure all the products are smudge free, and if you need swatching, they’re your go-to! Similarly to hiring a model, try to find a service provider that has a one-time flat stylist fee to avoid having to pay an hourly fee and deal with coordination yourself.

Adding props for your shoot is also a key element to kicking your content up a notch. It's amazing how simple purchases like fresh fruit, flowers, mirrors, and other props can change the look of your images. Most larger studios will have a collection of props for you to choose from, but if you are looking for something special, you’ll likely need to purchase those yourself. At soona, we have a whole slew of props, backdrops, and even faux surfaces, to choose from that are located in all of our studios! We still ask that if you are looking for something outside of those lists, you work with our pro-services team to help you retrieve the items you are looking for!

Now that we’ve covered the type of pricing, and different add-on options to your photo shoot, this brings us up to speed on…

How Much Does Product Photography Cost in 2023?

As we well saw above, there are many different factors that can fluctuate product photography pricing.

Types of Photography at soona

  • Amazon Product Photography - Amazon product photography pricing starts at $39 per photo in a custom shoot, or at $269 for our Amazon starter pack
  • Lifestyle Photography - lifestyle product photography pricing starts at $39 per photo with our custom shoot option. you only buy what you love!
  • White Background - product on white pack starts at $269 for 6 photos with a pure white backdrop and 1 360 degree ecommerce spin video.
  • 360 Spin Photography - we have a few different options when it comes to 360 spin photography and ecommerce spin videos.
  • product spin video - starts at $93
  • Amazon 360 interactive photo pack - $269
  • Amazon spin video deluxe pack - $593
  • Apparel Product Photography - pricing starts at $39 per photo with our custom shoot option. We also have two industry packs to kickstart your clothing photography.
  • Fashion starter pack - $593
  • Fashion growth pack - $836
  • Beauty Product Photography - our beauty growth pack starts at $836. This pre-built shoot includes 8 photos at $39 each, 2 animated GIFs, and 1 full body model.
  • Pet Product Photography - our pet product starter pack starts at $593. This pre-built shoot includes 8 images, 2 GIFs, and a pet model to show off your products. Your products will be photographed on a white background and a color background that works well with your branding.

At soona, we charge a flat rate of $39 per photo when you build your own custom photo shoot. Our motto is you pay for what you love! And, we value being transparent with our pricing. Meaning, there are no hidden fees when it comes to product photography cost.

Basically, we want you to stop paying a $hit load for photo and video services while still receiving high-quality images that are optimized for platforms, websites, marketplaces, digital marketing, social media, and more. We have flexibility when it comes to the type of photo shoot you are looking for. If you have specific project goals in mind, we encourage you to build a custom shoot. You are able to join us in one of our 4 studio locations or if you are not available locally, you can join virtually! That’s right. You can watch your content pour in from anywhere in the world. Want to learn more about how it works? Check out 3 Tips for a Successful Virtual Shoot to get you prepared!

If you’re new to ecommerce or looking for platform optimized content, our team has created packs. Our packs make it quick and easy to get the product photos and videos you need. They include predefined shot lists that are expertly curated by our team to make sure that you are meeting both the creative and technical best practices of various marketplaces, platforms, social media platforms, and more. With packs, pricing will never come as a surprise.

{{blog-mini-ad-blue="/background-videos"}}

create content you love with soona

Determining the right pricing for product photography can be a challenge, but it is a crucial investment for any business selling products online. Great product photos can improve your user experience, increase conversion rates, and establish trust with customers. With affordable options like soona available, there's no reason not to invest in great product photography for your brand. 

Product photography is a critical aspect of selling products online, and sellers often face a common challenge: determining the right pricing for product photography services. The problem is there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to product photography pricing. And, many sellers find themselves unsure of how much they should be paying for professional product photography services. This uncertainty can lead to frustration and potential overspending on photography services.

Fortunately, there are solutions available, including understanding the factors that impact product photography pricing, researching and comparing pricing from multiple photographers or agencies, and even working with creative studios such as soona. In this article, we'll explore the problem of product photography pricing and provide solutions to help sellers make informed decisions about their photography investments.

Why is Product Photography Important?

Product photography is essential for any brand that sells online. It plays a vital role in creating a great user experience and establishing trust with customers. A high-quality image is the first impression a potential customer has of your product. 93% of consumers consider visuals to be the key deciding factor in a purchasing decision. What does that mean? It can mean the difference between making a sale or losing a potential customer. 

User Experience

As customers continue to buy online, having a good user experience is more critical than ever. A poorly designed website or slow-loading pages can drive customers away. Great product photography can help customers visualize the product and make informed purchasing decisions. A great user experience leads to higher conversion rates, repeat customers, and positive word-of-mouth.

Higher Conversion Rate

High-quality product photography can increase conversion rates significantly. It creates a great first impression and helps customers make informed decisions about your product. With more competition in online store fronts, it's crucial to stand out from the crowd. Having great product photos can help you do just that.

Build Trust

In a world where anyone can sell products online, building trust with customers is critical. High-quality product photos help establish your brand as trustworthy and reliable. Customers are more likely to purchase from a brand they trust. 

{{studio-ad="/external-components"}}

Earning Recognition

Creating a unique content voice and brand personality is essential for building recognition and standing out in a crowded marketplace. A consistent and recognizable brand voice creates trust and fosters brand loyalty. Product photography can be a great way to convey your brand's personality and establish recognition through product images.

Where Product Photography is Today

Product photography is still a critical element of any business's marketing strategy. However, it's no longer enough to have product-on-white images. Eye-catching and engaging images that tell your product's story are essential. Refreshing your content frequently can be challenging and expensive for small and medium-sized businesses. That's where photography services like soona can help. With studios located in Denver, Los Angeles, Austin, and Minneapolis, soona offers affordable, high-quality product photography. soona recommends having 5-6 images per product on a product detail page in order to truly show size, color, shape and variability. 

What Types of Photography Services are There?

Deciding the right option for your product photography needs is an important aspect of your business. Making the decision about using a professional studio, a local photographer or a photography service will depend on your needs, your budget, and the style of the content you want.

{{studio-ad="/external-components"}}

Hire a Local Photographer or a Freelance Photographer

You can check out Photographers.org, Honeybook, Yelp, or search on Google to find quality photographers in your area. These websites offer a collection of professional photographers for you to pick from with basic information about their specialties and reviews from actual clients and experienced professionals.

pros:

  • Close Proximity. This can be helpful if you are in a pinch and need something turned around very quickly, but don’t have time to ship your product to a service.
  • Save on Shipping Costs. Speaking of close proximity. you can save a little space in your budget by avoiding shipping costs at all or only having to pay a very small fee.
  • Price Negotiation. Sometimes photographers are willing to strike a deal on pricing. This could be a price cut or a trade of goods. Since it’s their own business they are able to make those kinds of decisions.
  • Helping a Small Business. It always feels good to get your needs met by using a small business.

cons:

  • Limited Availability. You may finally pick the photographer you want to work with only to find out they are booked full for the next several months. Being a single-person business leads to big scheduling limitations.
  • Other Focuses. Most freelance photographers don’t specialize in one thing. They may do product photography, as well as weddings and portraits. So, you may not be hiring the expert commercial photographer that you’re looking for that specializes in your industry.
  • Expensive. Freelance photographers may have the ability to strike a deal but that doesn’t mean they will. They have to make a living after all! Plus, they need to manage equipment upkeep as well. That costs $$. Because of these reasons: pricing can be confusing and vary.
  • Slow Turnaround Time. You are at the mercy of your photographer’s schedule. That doesn’t just mean their shooting schedule. It includes their editing schedule too. And, editing takes time. Again: a one-person business has its limitations.
  • Limited add-on Options. It may be more difficult and more expensive than your budget allows to add a model or special props to your shoot. Or, they may require you to coordinate your own props and models.

Full-Service Photography Studios

Full-service photography studios may be the way to go for your needs. Larger full service studio providers i.e. creative agencies can offer you more variety across the board. soona is a great photography studio option to check out.

pros:

  • Easy Scheduling. Photography services have one major advantage: more photographers. And, more photographers = more scheduled openings.
  • Quick Turnaround Times. Having more resources also means dedicated editors who help turnaround your images much faster
  • Props + other Additions. Most services have a stock of in-house props you can choose from. they also likely have connections to provide models for your shoot. They also are likely to have a wider range of backdrops and settings. Photo studios will often have lifestyle areas to choose from which are great for showing your product in use.
  • Ability to Handle Anything. Full-service studios can handle any size or quantity of product. They are built to take on bulk!
  • Cost-Effective. Because these services are only focusing on product photography, they are able to offer lower rates than independent photographers. They have a well oiled machine with little variables, so surprise costs are rare.

cons

  • Shipping Costs. You may be dealing with higher shipping costs depending on how heavy or how much of your product you need to have photographed. Though some places (like soona) offer free shipping or an option to come into the studio if you are local.

How Much Should I Pay for Professional Product Photography?

Before we dive into the product photography pricing in 2023, let’s break down the different pricing models that are commonly used by freelance product photographers, full-service production companies, experienced product photographers themselves, and creative agencies.

Per Photo

Per photo is a common pricing model for both independent photographers and photography services - though it means different things to each. For independent, freelance photographers this probably means per photo taken. This cost usually includes basic editing, and photos are often priced by batch number of images, or collection. You might not get to pick what's included in the delivery. This pricing structure usually lends itself to a tiered approach with a reduction in price the more you buy. Here’s what it could look like:

And that doesn’t usually account for the additional costs, hourly rates, studio and specialized equipment rentals, etc. that could be included in a final packaged quote from a freelance photographer or studio. Which leads us too…

Per Hour / Per Day

In the freelancing world, you can expect to pay an hourly rate on top of the per product or per images produced. At the base price, a local freelance professional photographer can charge upwards of $1,000 - $2,000 for a half day or full day price. This pricing could vary depending on your specific and image quality requirements for each product you need to shoot. Remember, setting up a shot takes time and time is exactly what you’re paying for. Typically, you will also be charged for editing time as well!

Per Product

Per product is a pricing model that allows the freelance photographer  to charge you at a set rate per product that they shoot. The downside of this is there’s usually a limit to the number of images that can be produced for each product and different products can have different prices. Meaning, if one of your products is a little more difficult to photograph - the per product set up and post production rate for that product will cost more.

Additional Costs

Whether you go with an agency, service, professional product photographer or a local freelance photographer, you’ll likely end up paying an additional charge for something. You want to make sure what you’re paying extra for is providing both high quality product images and the cost-effectiveness that makes sense for you and your budget.

Editing

Most freelance photographers include basic editing in their base fees. Basic editing usually includes color correction, lighting adjustment, and retouching any areas with small imperfections (think: a dirt smudge on a white backdrop). You can expect an additional fee if you want more advanced editing, like skin smoothing if you have a model, or fixing an imperfection on the product. 

Reshoots

If you don’t love the content captured at your first shoot, a reshoot is a possibility! Most agencies, services, and freelancers have the ability to execute reshoots if there was an error on their end. But, depending on the situation, it’s likely you’ll be charged another fee to capture additional shots.

Models

Adding a model to your photo shoot is proven to increase conversions. They can show how a product works, the use-cases for it, and give your customers a better perspective on how it could fit into their lifestyle. There are a few types of models to consider: a hand model, full-body model, and there are even pet models! When hiring outside talent for your photo shoots, you can expect to pay a few different fees including: a licensing fee on top of a model’s fee (typically this is hourly). If you require a model, we recommend using a photography service that has a one-time flat model fee, like how we charge at soona!

Styling + Props

Depending on the type of shoot you’re looking for (white ecommerce vs. editorial work), you may need to hire a stylist and purchase props for your shoot! Hiring a stylist can make a big difference in the quality of your photos. Bringing on a stylist, they help create scenes with props, make sure all the products are smudge free, and if you need swatching, they’re your go-to! Similarly to hiring a model, try to find a service provider that has a one-time flat stylist fee to avoid having to pay an hourly fee and deal with coordination yourself.

Adding props for your shoot is also a key element to kicking your content up a notch. It's amazing how simple purchases like fresh fruit, flowers, mirrors, and other props can change the look of your images. Most larger studios will have a collection of props for you to choose from, but if you are looking for something special, you’ll likely need to purchase those yourself. At soona, we have a whole slew of props, backdrops, and even faux surfaces, to choose from that are located in all of our studios! We still ask that if you are looking for something outside of those lists, you work with our pro-services team to help you retrieve the items you are looking for!

Now that we’ve covered the type of pricing, and different add-on options to your photo shoot, this brings us up to speed on…

How Much Does Product Photography Cost in 2023?

As we well saw above, there are many different factors that can fluctuate product photography pricing.

Types of Photography at soona

  • Amazon Product Photography - Amazon product photography pricing starts at $39 per photo in a custom shoot, or at $269 for our Amazon starter pack
  • Lifestyle Photography - lifestyle product photography pricing starts at $39 per photo with our custom shoot option. you only buy what you love!
  • White Background - product on white pack starts at $269 for 6 photos with a pure white backdrop and 1 360 degree ecommerce spin video.
  • 360 Spin Photography - we have a few different options when it comes to 360 spin photography and ecommerce spin videos.
  • product spin video - starts at $93
  • Amazon 360 interactive photo pack - $269
  • Amazon spin video deluxe pack - $593
  • Apparel Product Photography - pricing starts at $39 per photo with our custom shoot option. We also have two industry packs to kickstart your clothing photography.
  • Fashion starter pack - $593
  • Fashion growth pack - $836
  • Beauty Product Photography - our beauty growth pack starts at $836. This pre-built shoot includes 8 photos at $39 each, 2 animated GIFs, and 1 full body model.
  • Pet Product Photography - our pet product starter pack starts at $593. This pre-built shoot includes 8 images, 2 GIFs, and a pet model to show off your products. Your products will be photographed on a white background and a color background that works well with your branding.

At soona, we charge a flat rate of $39 per photo when you build your own custom photo shoot. Our motto is you pay for what you love! And, we value being transparent with our pricing. Meaning, there are no hidden fees when it comes to product photography cost.

Basically, we want you to stop paying a $hit load for photo and video services while still receiving high-quality images that are optimized for platforms, websites, marketplaces, digital marketing, social media, and more. We have flexibility when it comes to the type of photo shoot you are looking for. If you have specific project goals in mind, we encourage you to build a custom shoot. You are able to join us in one of our 4 studio locations or if you are not available locally, you can join virtually! That’s right. You can watch your content pour in from anywhere in the world. Want to learn more about how it works? Check out 3 Tips for a Successful Virtual Shoot to get you prepared!

If you’re new to ecommerce or looking for platform optimized content, our team has created packs. Our packs make it quick and easy to get the product photos and videos you need. They include predefined shot lists that are expertly curated by our team to make sure that you are meeting both the creative and technical best practices of various marketplaces, platforms, social media platforms, and more. With packs, pricing will never come as a surprise.

{{blog-mini-ad-blue="/background-videos"}}

create content you love with soona

Determining the right pricing for product photography can be a challenge, but it is a crucial investment for any business selling products online. Great product photos can improve your user experience, increase conversion rates, and establish trust with customers. With affordable options like soona available, there's no reason not to invest in great product photography for your brand. 

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