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Commercial · rate card on the page
You're buying a licence, not the photographs.
That one sentence explains most of what confuses people about commercial pricing, and almost nobody says it out loud. What it means, what it covers and what you can actually do with the files are all below — before the rate card rather than after it.
45Simple shots in a day
3Working days to delivery
2Years the files are kept
0Surprise line items
Swap these for your own set. Products want a true-white band rather than an off-white one — anything warmer shifts the colour your buyer thinks they're getting.
What a licence actually is
What you get — Files you can use, in the ways the licence says, for as long as it says. That is the thing being sold
Why it's separate from the day — The day pays for the making. The licence pays for the using — a picture on a billboard earns differently from one on a product page
What's standard here — Your own website, your own social accounts and your own marketplace listings, forever. That covers what most shops actually need
What costs more — Paid advertising, print runs, packaging, and anything a third party will use. Ask before you use it that way rather than after
What you can't do — Resell the files or licence them on to somebody else. That is the one line that matters and it is a short one
If you want all of it — A buyout is possible and it is priced on this page. It is not a secret and it is not a punishment
Why it's separate from the day — The day pays for the making. The licence pays for the using — a picture on a billboard earns differently from one on a product page
What's standard here — Your own website, your own social accounts and your own marketplace listings, forever. That covers what most shops actually need
What costs more — Paid advertising, print runs, packaging, and anything a third party will use. Ask before you use it that way rather than after
What you can't do — Resell the files or licence them on to somebody else. That is the one line that matters and it is a short one
If you want all of it — A buyout is possible and it is priced on this page. It is not a secret and it is not a punishment
If you want to own the copyright outright rather than licence it, say so at the briefing stage. It costs more, it is an entirely reasonable thing to want, and it is far cheaper to agree before a shoot than after one.
The rate card
Half day
$450 · up to 4 hours
- Around 20 simple shots
- One lighting setup
- Standard licence included
- Files in 3 working days
Full day
$800 · up to 8 hours
- Around 45 simple shots
- Two or three setups
- Standard licence included
- Files in 3 working days
Per shot
$35 · each, minimum 10
- For small or irregular batches
- The same standard licence
- The same turnaround
- Cheaper than a day under 20 shots
Styling — $180 a day. Worth it for anything worn, folded, poured or plated, and unnecessary for most boxes
Props and surfaces — At cost, with the receipts. The surfaces stay here and get reused on your next shoot at no charge
A model — From $250 for a half day, plus their own usage terms — separate from mine, and usually shorter
Retouching beyond standard — $25 a shot. Standard already covers dust, colour and a clean background
Rush — Half again for next day. Say so at briefing rather than on the day, when it may simply not be possible
A reshoot — Free if it was my error, half rate if the brief changed. Both written down before anything starts
Props and surfaces — At cost, with the receipts. The surfaces stay here and get reused on your next shoot at no charge
A model — From $250 for a half day, plus their own usage terms — separate from mine, and usually shorter
Retouching beyond standard — $25 a shot. Standard already covers dust, colour and a clean background
Rush — Half again for next day. Say so at briefing rather than on the day, when it may simply not be possible
A reshoot — Free if it was my error, half rate if the brief changed. Both written down before anything starts
How many products in a day, honestly
This is the figure that blows commercial budgets, so here is the real arithmetic rather than an optimistic one.
The first one takes an hour — Whatever it is. Building the light for a new shape is the work; the rest of that shape goes quickly
Then, simple and similar — Six to ten an hour. One angle, plain background, no styling
Multiple angles — Divide by the number of angles. Four angles of forty products is a hundred and sixty shots, not forty
Anything reflective — Halve it. Glass, chrome and glossy black are slow, and there is no trick that makes them fast
Styled scenes — Two or three an hour at best, and that is with the props already chosen
Mixed batches — Group them by shape before you send them. Doing that yourself can save an hour of the day you are paying for
Then, simple and similar — Six to ten an hour. One angle, plain background, no styling
Multiple angles — Divide by the number of angles. Four angles of forty products is a hundred and sixty shots, not forty
Anything reflective — Halve it. Glass, chrome and glossy black are slow, and there is no trick that makes them fast
Styled scenes — Two or three an hour at best, and that is with the props already chosen
Mixed batches — Group them by shape before you send them. Doing that yourself can save an hour of the day you are paying for
Before you send anything
Say where they're going
A square marketplace crop of a shot framed for a wide banner does not exist. Name the platforms at briefing and the framing covers all of them.
Background rules differ
Some marketplaces insist on pure white and reject anything else; others want lifestyle. Getting it wrong means reshooting.
How to send them
Anything you'd be happy to receive. Include a packing list, and mark clearly anything that has to come back unopened.
Opened is opened
Anything that must be opened or assembled to photograph comes back opened or assembled. Send a spare if that matters to you.
Insurance
Covered while they're here up to a stated value. Tell me if something is worth more than that before it arrives, not after.
Getting them back
Returned within a week of delivery at cost, or held here free for the next shoot if one is already booked.
What I'll say no to
Four hundred items on plain white — A bulk studio does that faster and cheaper than I can, and I'll name two. It isn't the work this is set up for
A licence you can't afford — Better known at briefing. I would rather scope the job down than deliver something you can't legally use
A deadline I don't believe — If the date isn't realistic you'll hear that before you book, not the night before delivery
Copying somebody else's campaign — Reference is fine and useful. Reproducing an identifiable set of images is somebody else's work and a bad idea for both of us
Anything misleading — A shot that shows something the box doesn't contain. It is rare, and it is a firm no
Working without a brief — "Just make them look good" produces two rounds of revisions and a bad mood. Twenty minutes on a brief prevents both
A licence you can't afford — Better known at briefing. I would rather scope the job down than deliver something you can't legally use
A deadline I don't believe — If the date isn't realistic you'll hear that before you book, not the night before delivery
Copying somebody else's campaign — Reference is fine and useful. Reproducing an identifiable set of images is somebody else's work and a bad idea for both of us
Anything misleading — A shot that shows something the box doesn't contain. It is rare, and it is a firm no
Working without a brief — "Just make them look good" produces two rounds of revisions and a bad mood. Twenty minutes on a brief prevents both
Send a brief
Twenty minutes on this saves two rounds of revisions. You'll get a quote with the licence stated on it, rather than a day rate with the licence discussed later.
Send a brief
"Not sure — advise me" on the angles question is a good answer. It is the one that most changes the price, and guessing high costs you money you didn't need to spend.
Live preview — every color, word and block is editable after you pick it.