How Much Should an Equine Photographer Charge?
If you came here hoping I was going to give you a magic number, I have some bad news.
There isn't one.
How much you should charge for equine photography depends on what it costs to run your business, how much time you actually spend serving each client, what you're selling, how many clients you realistically want to photograph, and what you need your business to earn.
In other words, picking a price because another equine photographer charges it isn't a pricing strategy.
For all you know, they pulled that number out of thin air, too. Just because someone else is charging it doesn't mean they're actually making money at it.
Don't Start With What Everyone Else Charges
I understand why photographers do this. You're trying to figure out your pricing, so naturally you start looking at other equine photographers.
This photographer charges $500.
That photographer charges $1,200.
Someone three states away is charging $250 and apparently giving away every image she's ever taken plus the horse. Okay, probably not the horse. But you get the idea.
Here's the problem: you have no idea what's happening behind those numbers.
You don't know their expenses. You don't know how many clients they photograph each year. You don't know whether photography pays their household bills or gives them some extra spending money. You don't know whether that $500 includes digital files, product credit, an ordering appointment, artwork, or nothing beyond the session itself.
Their number tells you what they charge.
It doesn't tell you what you should charge.
Figure Out What One Client Actually Costs You
One of the easiest mistakes to make is looking at a two-hour session and thinking you're getting paid for two hours.
Oh, how I wish.
Think about everything that happens before and after you pick up the camera.
There are inquiries and emails. Consultation and planning. Driving to the barn. Photographing the session. Driving home. Backing up files. Culling. Editing. Preparing galleries or ordering appointments. Designing products. Ordering them. Checking them when they arrive. Packaging. Delivery.
That two-hour session isn't looking quite so much like two hours anymore, is it?
And that's before we get to the expenses that exist whether you have a client that day or not: insurance, software, equipment, website hosting, education, marketing, bookkeeping, taxes and all the other exciting things nobody put on the brochure when we decided to become professional photographers.
Your pricing has to account for all of it.
And pricing is only one piece of building a profitable equine photography business.
What Are You Actually Selling?
This matters more than photographers sometimes realize.
An equine photographer charging $500 and including 40 digital files is running a very different business from an equine photographer charging a $500 reservation fee and then selling artwork separately.
You can't look at those two $500 numbers and assume they're the same thing.
You have to look at the entire amount an average client spends and what it costs you to serve that client.
Are you selling digital collections? Albums? Wall art? Prints? A combination? Is something included with the session? Are products purchased afterward?
Before you decide what to charge, you need to know what you're actually asking your client to buy.
Work Backward From What Your Business Needs
This is the part that isn't particularly sexy, but it matters.
What does your business need to earn this year?
And what do you need your business to provide?
Are you the sole income for your family? Does your photography income contribute significantly to your household? Do you have another job that pays the bills while photography pays for vacations or new camera gear? Are you hoping photography will eventually replace another income?
None of those answers is wrong.
But they're very different financial goals.
Then there are the expenses of actually running the business. How much does it cost to keep everything going? What needs to be set aside for taxes? What about replacing equipment, continuing your education or investing back into the business?
And how many clients can you realistically photograph without wanting to hide in the tack room by October?
Now you can start working backward.
If your business needs a certain amount of revenue and you realistically want to photograph 30 clients this year, those 30 clients have to generate enough revenue to get you there.
If the math doesn't work, taking more pictures isn't necessarily the answer.
Your pricing may be.
So, How Much Should You Charge?
Enough for the numbers to work.
I know. That's not nearly as satisfying as me giving you a number and sending you on your way. But it's the answer that can actually help you build a business.
Your pricing needs to cover what it costs to serve your clients, pay you for your work, cover your business expenses and leave room for profit.
Your market matters. Your experience matters. Your client experience matters. What you're selling matters.
But none of those things makes the math optional.
The Bottom Line
Don't start your pricing by asking, "What are other equine photographers charging?"
Start by asking:
"What does my business need each client to be worth?"
Then build your pricing around that answer.
Because being booked doesn't automatically mean you're profitable. And the goal isn't simply to have a calendar full of horses.
The goal is to build an equine photography business that actually works.
Need help figuring out what "works" looks like for your business?
If you're trying to sort out your pricing, profitability, offers or the bigger picture of your photography business, this is exactly the kind of thing we can work through together in one-on-one mentoring.
