{
  "slug": "photographer-package-pricing-calculator",
  "title": "Wedding Photographer Package Pricing Calculator",
  "heading": "Photography Package Pricing Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photographer-package-pricing-calculator",
  "summary": "Price a wedding package so hours, editing, and travel actually pay your target wage.",
  "description": "Most new wedding photographers price off what competitors charge and end up under minimum wage once editing time is counted. This tool starts from your target hourly rate, adds shoot hours plus editing hours (editing typically runs 1.5–3x shoot time for a full wedding gallery), layers in gear amortization and a business overhead percentage, then shows the package price needed to hit your number. It also breaks out cost per delivered image so you can sanity-check against your own past deliverables.",
  "formula": "Package price = (shoot hrs + edit hrs) × target hourly rate × (1 + overhead %) + gear amortization + travel.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=photographer-package-pricing-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "shootHours",
      "label": "Shoot hours (coverage)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 8,
      "unit": "hrs",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 20
    },
    {
      "id": "editRatio",
      "label": "Editing hours per shoot hour",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": 5
    },
    {
      "id": "targetHourly",
      "label": "Target hourly rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 65,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 10,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "overhead",
      "label": "Business overhead",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 25,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "gearAmort",
      "label": "Gear amortization per wedding",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "travel",
      "label": "Travel cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 40,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "images",
      "label": "Delivered images",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 600,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 50,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Package price to quote",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "totalHrs",
      "label": "Total hours (shoot + edit)",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "editHrs",
      "label": "Editing hours",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "effHourly",
      "label": "Effective hourly at this price",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "perImage",
      "label": "Cost per delivered image",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Shoot hours (coverage): 8 hrs",
      "Editing hours per shoot hour: 2",
      "Target hourly rate: 65 $",
      "Business overhead: 25 %",
      "Gear amortization per wedding: 60 $",
      "Travel cost: 40 $",
      "Delivered images: 600"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Package price to quote: $2,050",
      "Total hours (shoot + edit): 24",
      "Editing hours: 16",
      "Effective hourly at this price: $85.42",
      "Cost per delivered image: $3.42"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter shoot hours (coverage) (hrs).",
      "Enter editing hours per shoot hour.",
      "Enter target hourly rate ($).",
      "Enter business overhead (%).",
      "Enter gear amortization per wedding ($).",
      "Enter travel cost ($).",
      "Enter delivered images.",
      "Read your package price to quote on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "shootHours": 4.8,
        "editRatio": 1.2,
        "targetHourly": 40,
        "overhead": 15,
        "gearAmort": 35,
        "travel": 25,
        "images": 360
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "shootHours": 8,
        "editRatio": 2,
        "targetHourly": 65,
        "overhead": 25,
        "gearAmort": 60,
        "travel": 40,
        "images": 600
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "shootHours": 12.8,
        "editRatio": 3.2,
        "targetHourly": 105,
        "overhead": 40,
        "gearAmort": 95,
        "travel": 65,
        "images": 960
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why is editing time bigger than shoot time?",
      "a": "Culling 3,000–5,000 raw frames down to 500–800 finals, color grading, and retouching takes real hours. A 2x-to-3x multiplier on shoot hours is typical for full-wedding delivery; album design or heavy retouching pushes it higher. Skipping this step is the single biggest reason photographers underprice."
    },
    {
      "q": "What should overhead include?",
      "a": "Software subscriptions (Lightroom, gallery hosting, CRM), insurance, website, marketing spend, backup storage, and a slice of continuing education. For most solo shooters this lands between 20% and 35% of labor cost. Studios with employees run higher."
    },
    {
      "q": "How do I use the cost-per-image number?",
      "a": "It's a sanity check, not a pricing method. If your per-image cost is wildly different from what similar photographers in your market charge per gallery, either your hours estimate or your target rate needs adjusting before you send a quote."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should travel be a separate line item or baked in?",
      "a": "For venues over 30-45 minutes from your base, itemize it separately on the invoice so clients see it's location-driven, not padding. Baking it into a flat package price works for a defined local radius but hides cost drivers if you expand your service area."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/second-shooter-cost-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wedding-album-cogs-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/videographer-package-pricing-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Wedding Photographer Package Pricing Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photographer-package-pricing-calculator)"
}