I grew up watching my parents undercharge for their photography work. They were talented, booked solid, and somehow still stressed about money every single month. The problem wasn’t their craft. It was that they never built a real pricing strategy. They just guessed, got burned, and guessed again. That pattern is more common in this industry than most photographers want to admit, and it is the first thing I try to fix when I work with photographers at my studio here in Miami.
When I came across Jessica Kobeissi’s tutorial on pricing photography, I recognized immediately that she was laying out the framework I wish my parents had followed. Watch the full tutorial on YouTube before or after reading this, but either way, I want to give you a version you can actually work through with a notebook in hand. Below I have expanded on her core steps with the specifics she touches on, plus what I have learned running a portrait studio for the past several years.
Step 1: Accept That Pricing Is Confusing at First — and That’s Normal
Jessica describing her early confusion about where to start with pricing
Jessica is refreshingly honest here. She says that when she started out, pricing felt like a nightmare. No frame of reference, no mentor, no idea whether she was charging too much or too little. If that is where you are right now, good. That means you are at the beginning of a real process, not frozen in avoidance.
The mistake most new photographers make is treating this discomfort as a reason to either drastically undercharge (to avoid rejection) or copy someone else’s prices wholesale without understanding the logic behind them. Neither approach builds a sustainable business. Your first job is simply to sit with the uncertainty long enough to research your way out of it.
Step 2: Research What Photographers in Your Market Are Actually Charging
Jessica explaining how to research competitor pricing in your area
This is your foundation. Before you land on a single number, you need to know what the market around you looks like. Jessica recommends going to other photographers’ websites in your city or region and taking note of their rates, packages, and what those packages include. You are not copying them. You are getting calibrated.
In practical terms: spend an hour searching “[your city] + portrait photographer” or “[your city] + wedding photographer” and build a simple spreadsheet. Note the low, middle, and high price points you find. Look at the experience level reflected in their portfolios and how their pricing correlates with their quality and positioning. This one exercise will immediately tell you whether your current rates are wildly off or surprisingly close. It also shows you gaps in the market you might be able to fill.
Step 3: Define Who Your Target Client Actually Is
Jessica pointing out that different photography niches have very different price points
This step is where most photographers skip ahead too fast. Jessica makes the point that newborn photography and wedding photography exist in completely different pricing universes, and that your rates need to reflect the specific client you are trying to attract. The question is not just “what can I charge” but “who am I charging, and what do they expect to pay?”
Think about your ideal client’s priorities. Are they budget-conscious and shopping around? Are they looking for a premium, guided experience? Are they comparing you to two other photographers or making a one-call decision? Your price signals all of that before they ever contact you. A rate that feels reasonable to a budget client can actually repel a premium client who associates low prices with low quality. Know who you are speaking to, and price accordingly.
Step 4: Tie Your Rates to the Value and Experience You Actually Deliver
Jessica connecting pricing directly to the value and experience a photographer brings
Jessica makes a point here that I think is the most important in the entire video. You cannot charge a premium price if the value is not there to back it up. Charging $500 for two images only makes sense if the client experience, the quality of work, and your reputation justify it. Otherwise, you will get pushback, bad reviews, or no bookings at all.
Before you raise your prices, audit what you are actually delivering. How professional is your communication? How polished is your booking process? How consistent is your editing? At my studio, I have a 47-item client experience checklist that I run through for every session. That checklist exists because I know my rates reflect a certain standard, and I have to deliver that standard every single time. Build your price around a process you are proud of, not just a number you need to hit.
Step 5: Consider Your Local Cost of Living and Market Willingness to Pay
Jessica noting that pricing varies significantly by city and region
Geography matters more than most photographers realize. Jessica specifically calls out that a photographer in California is likely to charge more than a photographer in Michigan, and that is not arbitrary. It reflects what people in those markets earn, what they spend, and what local competitors charge. Pricing is not a universal standard. It is a local conversation.
If you are in a higher cost-of-living city like Miami, New York, or Los Angeles, your overhead is higher, your clients’ expectations are higher, and your rates should reflect that. If you are in a smaller market, you may need to work harder to position yourself at the top of that local range before expanding your reach. Either way, your pricing has to make sense inside the economic reality of where you actually live and work.
Step 6: Build a Professional Online Presence That Supports Your Prices
Jessica emphasizing that a professional website is essential to showcase and sell your work
Here is the step photographers most often skip and most often regret. Jessica’s point is simple: if you are going to charge professional rates, you need to look like a professional business. That means a clean, functional website with your portfolio, availability, pricing information, and a contact form at minimum.
Your website is doing sales work for you every day you are not actively marketing. A client who finds you through a Google search, a referral, or social media will form their impression of your business in the first few seconds on your site. If it looks like it was built in 2009 or does not exist at all, your pricing will face resistance no matter how good your work is. A website also gives you a place to host your price sheet, run a newsletter, and even sell prints or presets, all of which compound your income over time.
What I’d Add From My Own Experience
The piece Jessica does not go deep on, but that changed everything for me, is the importance of reviewing your pricing on a schedule. I look at my rates every January and every June. I ask: has my cost of doing business changed? Have I raised my skill level? Is my calendar full, meaning demand is outpacing my supply? If the answer to any of those is yes, a price increase is probably overdue.
My husband, who handles our household accounting, was the one who first pointed out that my highest-paying clients were not the ones I was marketing hardest to. That conversation led me to restructure my entire package lineup and raise my starting rate by 40 percent. I lost a few price-sensitive clients. I replaced them with better-fit clients within two months. You will not always know when you are leaving money on the table until someone shows you the math.
The single most important takeaway from this tutorial is that your prices should not be a guess. They should be the result of market research, honest self-assessment, and a clear understanding of who you are trying to serve. Start there, and adjust as your business grows.
Watch the full tutorial on YouTube to hear Jessica walk through her thinking in her own words. It is worth the full watch.
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