May 29, 2023
Editor
Victoria is a writer and editor for SideHustles.com. She has extensive experience editing research for publication in academic journals and writing educational content.
Photographer
Adam is a professional portrait photographer based in Charleston, SC. With 20 years of experience, he worked for Hard Rock International and the Charleston City Paper before deciding to start his own photography business. Adam has also developed and taught several photography classes.
Average Pay
$23.18/hrEarnings Factor
Type of PhotographyJob Competition
HighBefore you pursue a career in photography, one of your first steps should be to figure out whether it’s financially viable and what your earning prospects are. Can you make a living as a photographer, and is it actually a well-paying job?
We’ll give you a simple breakdown of income data from reliable government sources so you can easily work out how much money you can expect to earn as a photographer and how to secure the highest rates possible.
The average income you can expect to earn as a photographer depends on whether you’re self-employed (i.e., you’re a freelancer or you own your own photography business) or whether you work for a company.
According to Indeed, the average rate for a freelance photographer is $38.09/hour. This is more than double the salary they report across all photographers ($17.11/hour). 1
This pattern holds for freelance work in most fields—it often comes with higher hourly rates and greater earning potential.
However, your income also heavily depends on many factors, including:
This means that many photographers have rates that diverge substantially from the one given above. Fortunately, first-person accounts can give some insight into typical self-employed photographer income ranges.
Below are a few snapshots of salaries reported by freelance photographers on Reddit working in different spaces.
In general, wedding and boudoir photographers earn some of the highest rates. This type of photography is always in demand.
As you’d expect, location plays a large role in this.
Family and portrait photography isn’t quite as lucrative as wedding photography, but it’s respectable.
Real estate photography is in a similar boat:
Starting a photography business instead of operating solo (and working for corporate clients instead of individuals) carries higher earning potential:
Unfortunately for nature lovers, wildlife photographers tend to report relatively low incomes. This is usually a type of photography that people get into because it’s their passion, not because it’s particularly lucrative.
Some people spend time carving out very specific niches that don’t neatly fall into any of the usual genres of photography. If you do this, your income entirely depends on how much demand there is for your niche:
Unsurprisingly, the time you’ve been a photographer is a very important factor. One first-year photographer reports an income of around $60,000 per year:
As a freelancer, you need to put a lot of extra work into the business side of photography, including marketing yourself, building relationships with clients, and managing your own scheduling and billing processes. It can take a while to start earning your desired income.
You can also check out a series of posts called “Photographers, How Much Do You Make?” on the photography blog A Photo Editor. Here you can find parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the series, which show the salaries of real photographers across the world and in different industries.
According to survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), people employed as photographers made an average of $23.18 per hour in 2021, with a typical salary range of $11.80 to $37.38 per hour. 2
The table below shows the distribution of hourly rates among photographers surveyed by the BLS. It includes estimates for a typical photographer’s income per day, week, month, and year.
| Company | Shop Types | Industries |
|---|---|---|
| Perception Strategies | In person Telephone |
Healthcare |
| Confero | In person Online Telephone |
Dining, hospitality, retail, grocery, travel, entertainment, healthcare, legal services, banking and financial services, automotive, education, and government |
| White Clay | In person | Dining, real estate/property management, financial services, utilities, retail, and automotive |
| Ann Michaels and Associates | In person Online (websites and social media) Telephone |
Retail, automotive, grocery, banking and financial services, sports betting, and food service |
| Curinos | Unspecified | Financial services |
| A Consumer’s Point of View (ACPVIEW) | In person Telephone Rideshare |
Dining, retail, financial services, government, utilities, call center and phone support, customer services, private and public transportation, taxi services, and parking |
| Mercantile Systems | Unspecified | Dining, food and beverages, storage, and retail |
| Mintel | In person |
Marketing, beauty and personal care, education, financial services, food and beverages, government, insurance, media, packaging, retail, sports, gaming and entertainment, technology, travel and tourism, and telecommunications |
| Secret Shopper | In person Online Telephone Video |
Unspecified |
| Pinnacle | In person Telephone Video Online Web chat |
Unspecified |
| Amusement Advantage | In person Telephone Online |
Tourism and attractions (e.g., amusement parks, theme parks, water parks, family entertainment centers, bowling centers, skating centers, aquariums, zoos, science centers, and museums) |
| Customer Impact | In person | Retail |
| A Closer Look | In person Online Telephone |
Dining and food service, hospitality, senior living, hospitality, retail, multi-family residential housing, and self storage |
| Call Center QA | Telephone | Unspecified |
| Sinclair Customer Metrics | In person Online Telephone Video |
Banking, convenience and grocery, retail, and food service |
| Elite CXS | In person Online Telephone Video |
Property management, retail, real estate, senior living, dining and food service, automotive, education, hospitality, luxury travel, moving services, storage, and marina services |
| About Face | In person Telephone Online |
Health and beauty, retail, grocery, home improvement, oil and gas, technology, education, automotive, real estate and property management, healthcare, veterinary services, pharmacy, food and beverages, private and public transportation, luxury goods and services, and telecommunications |
| GAPbuster (GBW) | In person Online Omni-channel |
Automotive, fuel, financial services, food and beverage, gaming and gambling, logistics, retail, technology, transportation, and telecommunications |
| Second to None | Unspecified | Retail, grocery and convenience, ecommerce, dining and food service, financial services, healthcare, and pharmacy |
| Mystery Shopping Service | In person Telephone Video |
Senior living, healthcare, real estate and property management, retail, dining and food service, banking, gas, automotive, health and fitness, hospitality, and tourism |
| Servimer | Telephone In person (parking) Video |
Transportation, parking, dining, and retail |
Source: Hourly salaries were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other figures are estimates based on full-time working hours (40 hours per week, year-round) and are rounded to the nearest dollar.
It’s worth noting that these figures reflect the average photographer’s earnings across all industries and experience levels, and they assume full-time working conditions. You can expect to earn less if you’re just starting out as a photographer or you’re working less than 40 hours per week.
Wondering how much professional photographers get paid in your state? The table below lists the top 10 highest-paying states and districts when it comes to photographers’ yearly and hourly wages.
| Ranking | State | Average Hourly Wage | Average Annual Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $40.67 | $84,590 |
| 2 | Connecticut | $32.01 | $66,580 |
| 3 | New York | $29.26 | $60,860 |
| 4 | Georgia | $28.57 | $59,420 |
| 5 | Washington | $28.45 | $59,180 |
| 6 | New Hampshire | $26.34 | $54,780 |
| 7 | California | $25.92 | $53,920 |
| 8 | Minnesota | $25.67 | $53,390 |
| 9 | Oregon | $25.63 | $53,300 |
| 10 | Virginia | $25.57 | $53,190 |
Note that these figures don’t include self-employed photographers, such as freelancers.
You should also bear in mind that just because these states have the highest average salaries, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re the best places to work as a photographer. There are other important factors, including the number of photography jobs available in these areas and how fierce the competition is for these vacancies.
To ensure you land on the higher end of the income range for photographers, you need to understand the variables that influence how much you can earn.
The field you work in has a big influence on how much you’ll be paid as a professional photographer. This is due to the demand for certain types of work and the level of skill required.
For example, Adam Chandler, a portrait photographer based in Charleston, SC, told us that he earns much more doing portrait photography than he ever earned doing editorial photography. In particular, he says that wedding photography “can be a very lucrative genre,” whereas it’s harder to earn money in the realms of fine arts or landscape photography.
If you’re employed by a company, your salary will also depend on what industry you’re in. The table below lists the industries that pay professional photographers the highest salaries on average.
| Industry | Mean Hourly Wage | Mean Annual Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Grantmaking and Giving Services | $47.84 | $99,510 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | $43.57 | $90,620 |
| Other Information Services | $41.03 | $85,330 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $37.88 | $78,790 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $34.03 | $70,790 |
You’ll earn higher wages as a photographer if you’ve been in the business for years than if you’re just starting out. This is partly because you’ll attract more customers and be more employable, but it’s also because you’ll be able to charge higher prices for your work.
Experience and skill level are closely related. The more time you spend as a photographer, the more advanced your skills will be and the higher you can set your hourly photography rates.
Of course, you’ll have a much higher earning potential if you work more hours. If you’re only working part-time, you’ll probably earn significantly less than the figures listed above.
Working full time can be difficult if you’re a freelance photographer and you charge by the hour, whereas you’ll get a steady and reliable income if you work full time for a photography agency or business.
We’ve already seen that the average photographer’s salary varies by state, but how much you can make with your photography also depends on whether you live in a city.
As you might expect, areas with higher populations have more job opportunities for photographers. This is because many of the most high-demand photography jobs, like portrait, event, and wedding photography, are people-centric. However, the best place to earn money as a photographer also depends on the type of photography you’re doing.
You’ll have better photo opportunities as a landscape, travel, or street photographer if you live in a tourist destination. Nature and wildlife photographers, on the other hand, will probably do their best work in more remote locations.
If you’re a paparazzo or celebrity photographer, you’ll have the highest earning potential in star-studded cities like Los Angeles or New York.
The unfortunate reality is that average salaries across all disciplines vary according to certain demographic factors, and photography is no exception.
According to a study published by the US Census Bureau, male photographers have a 27% higher median wage than female photographers. 3 This wage gap is around 10% higher than the overall gender wage gap of 17.1% that the BLS reported across all fields for the fourth quarter of 2022. 4
What’s more, gender isn’t the only factor at play. BLS data also indicate that Black and Hispanic full-time workers earn less on average than their White and Asian counterparts. 4 It’s certainly possible to overcome these demographic factors, but it’s still good to be aware of them—especially so that you can make sure you aren’t being lowballed by clients or potential employers.
On average, photography is a relatively low-paying occupation. The estimated average annual salary among photographers ($48,214) is around 15% lower than the average annual salary across all fields in the US ($56,420 per year). 4
With that said, you can still make a living with photography. To maximize your chances of success, you’ll need to do some careful planning and research into the best ways to earn money with photography.
