Why Are Headshots So Expensive?
A glimpse into the equipment that a headshot photographer may own.
Headshots are not cheap! They can range from $150 to $2,000. Now you might be thinking, why would I pay a headshot photographer a couple of hundred bucks for just an hour photo shoot?
Headshots are expensive because you’re paying for the photographer’s expertise, posing guidance, studio space, lighting equipment, camera, lenses, photo editing, and business expenses (advertising, rent, insurance, accounting, lawyer fees, and travel fees).
Breaking Down The Costs Behind a Headshot
Photography Experience
Most, if not all, headshot photographers spend tens of thousands of dollars and years of their lives training to learn all about headshot photography. They learn all about posing subjects, communication with clients, lighting, photo composition, and retouching photos. For example, at 415Headshots Inc., all of our headshot photographers have at least a minimum of 5 years in headshot photography experience before they work with us.
When you’re paying for a headshot session, you’re paying for the knowledge, experience, and background of a photographer. Your photographer will immediately be able to know what lighting will work best for you and photograph the angles that look best on you.
This is why at our photo studio, our photographers never have the same lighting set-up for every person. We cater to the individuality of our clients and personalize the lighting set-up for everyone. This factors into the headshot price at 415Headshots Inc.
Posing Guidance and Communication
Most photographers are trained to become your friend by the end of a session. Photographers spend a lot of time learning how to build a connection with each of their subjects and learning about their style, personalities, and even their insecurities.
All of this time that headshot photographers spend developing social skills shows when you pay for your headshot session. When you pay a premium price for a headshot session, your photographer will effortlessly guide you through poses, facial expressions, and even how to stand to make sure you get the best headshot.
Cameras, Photo Equipment, and Studio Space
In order to open a photo studio, a photographer spends tens of thousands of dollars on cameras, lighting, photo equipment, and the ongoing rent for the photo studio.
For example, at 415Headshots Inc. we utilize 4 Sony A7III cameras. Each of those camera bodies costs around $1,800. In addition, we use certain lens like the Sony 85 mm or the Sony 70 - 200 mm lenses, which can cost from $1,800 to $2000. Again, we need lenses for all the camera bodies in the studio. This means that at our photo studio, there is approximately $14,000 dedicated to just cameras and lenses.
A professional headshot studio will also have various lights/flashes and light modifiers. Each light can cost an upward of $900 and each light modifier can cost around a couple of hundred dollars. In a usual headshot studio, there will be approximately 6 to 7 different lights and light modifiers in use. This can mean there’s a total of $10,000 in just lights and light modifiers in the studio.
Lastly, a photo studio has to pay rent, just like everyone else. Of course, a headshot studio’s rent will vary based upon the location they’re located in. For example, a photography studio may pay $2,000 in rent per month in San Francisco, California vs. paying $1,000 in rent per month in Salt Lake City, Utah.
All of this money goes into account when calculating the cost of a headshot.
Photo Editing
Most photo studios have their dedicated photo retoucher. It takes a photo retoucher anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to retouch one photo. This means adjusting lighting and colors, removing flyaway hairs, whitening teeth, removing wrinkles from the clothes, and any other custom retouching requests (e.g. removing crows feet from the eyes, softening the skin, etc.) A headshot studio will pay a retoucher an hourly fee or a salary, just like any other full-time employee. The cost for retouching then goes into the price of your headshot.
Nowadays, most people assume that editing photos is easy with artificial intelligence (AI) and thus isn’t a huge price factor when it comes to headshots. That’s not the case. AI isn’t perfect for retouching photos, which is why personalized retouching is still the way to go if you want a high-quality headshot.
Headshot Studios Are A Business
Just like any other for-profit business, headshot studios have business expenses. This means business registration fees, business taxes, employee salaries/taxes, accountant fees, lawyer fees, insurance premiums for certificate of insurances, and company vehicle expenses.
In addition to other business fees, photography insurance is crucial for headshot photographers, especially if you’re traveling to other businesses/companies to take headshots. Companies will require a COI (certificate of insurance) for headshot photography studios before they come on-site to take pictures. The COI will grant your photography studio protection against any injuries or damages that may occur during your visit. Obtaining a COI will cost a yearly premium around $700 per year.
Along with receiving a COI to capture on-site photos, a photographer also may have to pay for commercial vehicle insurance. Commercial vehicle insurance is known to be more expensive than private car insurance. This is another expense that headshot photographers have to incur.
These business and insurance expenses also factor into the cost of a headshot session.
After owning 415Headshots Inc. for over 2 years now, I’ve priced our headshot packages to reflect the factors listed above, which is why some of our headshot packages can be seen as “expensive.” However, it’s evident that the money spent equates to a high-quality headshot. The high-quality headshots you receive are a reflection of the investment that you put into yourself and your image.
