Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Minimum day rate
$1,213
Half-day rate
$788
Annual revenue required
$115,222
Effective hourly incl. editing
$93.30
Average weekly billing
$2,400
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How to use this
- 1Enter target take-home salary ($).
- 2Enter annual overhead (software, insurance, studio) ($).
- 3Enter annual gear replacement fund ($).
- 4Enter effective tax rate (%).
- 5Enter billable shoot days per year.
- 6Enter edit hours per shoot day.
- 7Read your minimum day rate on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
A sustainable day rate is not what competitors charge — it is your annual cost of doing business plus the salary you want, divided by the number of billable days you can realistically shoot in a year.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Target take-home salary: 70000 $
- Annual overhead (software, insurance, studio): 12000 $
- Annual gear replacement fund: 6000 $
- Effective tax rate: 28 %
- Billable shoot days per year: 95
- Edit hours per shoot day: 5
Results
- Minimum day rate: $1,213
- Half-day rate: $788
- Annual revenue required: $115,222
- Effective hourly incl. editing: $93.30
- Average weekly billing: $2,400
What each field means
Inputs
- Target take-home salary ($)
- The target take-home salary used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 70000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Annual overhead (software, insurance, studio) ($)
- The annual overhead (software, insurance, studio) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 12000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Annual gear replacement fund ($)
- The annual gear replacement fund used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 6000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Effective tax rate (%)
- The effective tax rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 28 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–60 %.
- Billable shoot days per year
- The billable shoot days per year used in the calculation. Starts at 95 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–300.
- Edit hours per shoot day
- The edit hours per shoot day used in the calculation. Starts at 5 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Minimum day rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Half-day rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Annual revenue required
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Effective hourly incl. editing
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Average weekly billing
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why not just match local pricing?
Local pricing tells you what the market bears, not whether the work is profitable for your cost structure. Use this number as your floor and market comparison as your ceiling.
How many billable days are realistic?
Full-time working photographers average 90–130 shoot days a year. The rest goes to editing, sales, admin, and travel — which is exactly why the day rate has to carry them.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Photographer Day Rate Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photography-day-rate
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photography-day-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Photographer Day Rate Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Photographer Day Rate Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photography-day-rate) (2026).