Jewelry Photographers charge for their professionalism in Lighting and general positioning of the pieces for a proper post-production display that makes the pieces attractive online.
Jewelry is one of the most challenging product types to shoot, as it demands careful examination and a thorough understanding of even the smallest subtleties of the shooting process, including camera settings, lighting, positioning, and post-processing.
With the trend in digital marketing, all clients are selling their jewelry products online. Jewelry may be bought from a physical store or an online store, and thus, the fortunes of such a business are keenly hinged on the ability to promote the brand online.
To be in a better position in the race of getting to the top rank of visibility and click-through rate, presenting your jewelry pieces with good pictures is mandatory.
Although you may take the photos yourself, hiring a jewelry photographer is the best way to do it.
In this blog post, I’ll discuss how much a jewelry photographer charges and the factors affecting the cost of jewelry photography.
Factors determining the cost of jewelry photography
Type of jewelry
Jewelry pieces with intricate details required extra attention to be captured. The use of the special lens, tripod, and equipment adds to the overall photography cost.
Therefore, different types of products may require different time and effort to get the job done, and the cost of photography varies.
Materials used
Fine jewelry products are made of precious materials and stones. To capture the real value and aesthetics of these products, photographers need to pay additional attention to the lighting and apply their expertise. Thus, capturing expensive and precious jewelry pieces is costlier compared to ordinary ones.
Quantity to be photographed
The number of jewelry products to be photographed is a common factor that directly affects the cost of photography. Each product photography involves a fixed cost.
Therefore, the higher the quantity, the lower the cost. The additional number of products covers the fixed cost, and the per unit cost reduces.
Photography style
Different type of jewelry photography involves different costs. For example, lifestyle photography may require hiring a model that incurs additional costs. Apart from this, equipment, studio setup, and shooting location may require extra attention and cost more.
Required equipment and props
Jewelry photography may require different types of props and equipment. For example, colorful fabric, flowers, decorative elements, a mannequin, and a colorful background are very common elements that a photographer may use in this type of photography. Buying or hiring props and special equipment adds to the overall cost.
Expertise and brand image of the photographer
The expertise of the photographer is a determinant of jewelry photography cost. Usually, jewelry photography requires experience because of the intricate details of the product.
Hence, hiring an expert photographer costs more. Additionally, if you hire a reputable studio with a good brand image, it will cost more than hiring a freelance photographer.
Post-processing requirements
If you have your own image post-production team, you can do jewelry image retouching by yourself. You may also hire photoshop expert to retouch your jewelry product images. However, the photographer will charge you additional money if you want him to deliver the edited photos.
Why is jewelry photography different from regular product photography?
Jewelry is a special photography genre that requires special attention. Only qualified and highly experienced photographers can perform this job perfectly. Below are some key distinctions:
- Jewelry products are small and intricate. Capturing and focusing on the details of the product is challenging.
- Precious metals and stones have reflective surfaces. Managing these reflections and featuring the true details of the product requires special techniques.
- Presenting originality is crucial in jewelry photography. The photographers need to strictly maintain the color accuracy of the product.
- Different jewelry pieces have different textures and designs. Capturing the craftsmanship of the product and conveying the quality of the product is another challenge.
- To focus the small jewelry pieces, it needs to maintain a suitable depth of field and perfectly adjust the aperture setting of the camera.
- Sometimes, it may require special equipment such as lenses and lighting accessories to capture jewelry products.
Read Also: 10 Common Jewelry Product Photography Mistakes You Should Avoid
Jewelry photography cost ( DIY method)
If you do not want to hire a professional jewelry photographer, doing it yourself ( DIY) is a good idea. However, it will cost you money for photography kits such as a Camera, tripod, lens, reflector, etc.
Additionally, you need to invest your time to gather some basic photography knowledge about jewelry product photography. Below is the list of items you need for your photography project.
| Equipment | Estimate Cost ($) |
| Camera and lens | 1000 |
| Tripod | 50 |
| Lighting equipment | 200 |
| Backdrop | 50 |
| Reflector | 30 |
| Props | 100 |
| Total | $1,430 |
Apart from these cash requirements for DIY photography, you need to invest a lot of time in buying these pieces of equipment, studying photography, doing experiments, and preparing the photography set.
After all these efforts, it will not result in a mediocre output, which can be just ok. For stunning and professional output, you must hire a studio or freelance photographer.
Jewelry Photography cost for a professional photographer
Jewelry photographers charge on an hourly basis or by the image when it comes to photographing jewelry products.
Some photographers may give you the flexibility to hire them on any of these pay options, while others will offer any one of these pricing models.
Below is the estimated cost of hiring a jewelry photographer for both of these pricing options.
Hiring a jewelry photographer (on an hourly basis)
The average salary of a jewelry photographer who is working full-time is around $20/ hour in the United States. However, the pay rate may increase depending on the experience of the photographer. It may go up to as much as $50/ hour for a very few extraordinary experts.
The hourly rate may also depend on the location. For example, Berkeley and New York City are among the locations where the cost of hiring a freelance photographer is the highest.
However, this hourly rate does not reflect the actual cost of hiring a jewelry photographer for a small project. If you want to hire someone for a few hours, it may cost around $300 – $500 / hour based on the expertise of the photographer. The cost may decrease with the increased work hours.
Cost per image basis pricing
The cost per image for jewelry photography is around 20 – 25% more than regular product photography due to some reasons which I have already discussed. The photographer may charge you as low as 15 dollars for an image if the quantity is high.
However, for a lower number of photos, such as 2-5 photos, the cost can be as high as 50 dollars per image due to the fixed costs involved in every photography project. Below is a table that explains the relationship between quantity and price per photo:
| Quantity | Fixed cost ($) | Variable cost ($) ($8/ image) | Total cost ($) | Cost/ photo ($) |
| Up to 5 | 300 | 40 | 340 | 68 |
| Up to 20 | 300 | 160 | 460 | 23 |
| Up to 50 | 300 | 400 | 700 | 14 |
| Up to 100 | 300 | 800 | 1100 | 11 |
| Up to 300 | 300 | 2400 | 2700 | 9 |
| Up to 500 | 300 | 4000 | 4300 | 8.6 |
| Up to 1000 | 300 | 8000 | 8300 | 8.3 |
The table above shows how the unit cost for jewelry photography reduces when the number of products is increased. Every photography project has a fixed cost for purchasing or hiring equipment, models, and props.
This fixed cost is the same for any number of photos to be taken. Therefore, photographers charge higher for the first few photos and give discounts for a higher number.
Conclusion
Jewelry photography costs depend on who you hire, how many pieces you shoot, and the level of detail your products need. Some photographers charge less, while others charge more for experience, lighting skills, and precise editing. The price difference usually reflects the quality you receive.
If you plan your shoot carefully, photograph multiple pieces at once, and avoid last-minute changes, you can keep costs under control. Many business owners try to handle photography themselves, but this often leads to inconsistent results and extra work later.
Professional jewelry photography and retouching help your products look clean, realistic, and trustworthy. When customers clearly see what they are buying, they feel more confident and are more likely to make a purchase. The decision is yours. Choose what suits you.
