How much should you charge for your photography? It’s one of the most asked questions inside The Motherhood Anthology community, and it rarely has a simple answer. Photography pricing touches your confidence, your client experience, and your ability to keep this business going for the long haul. In this best-of episode, we pulled five conversations from the archives that, side by side, give you a complete picture of how to think about what you charge.
You’ll hear from Kristin Sweeting on why raising your prices is never enough on its own, Shanna Skidmore on what “enough” actually means for your life and business, Morgan Williams on what doubling her prices required her to build, Shannon Griffin on how to talk about money out loud with confidence, and Brielle Pepper on what a full pricing transformation looks like a year in.
What Should You Actually Charge For?
Kristin Sweeting, a TMA mentor and business coach for over a decade, opened the series with a breakdown of four pricing tiers, from budget high volume to ultra luxury, and the different values each type of client is paying for. Budget clients want transparency, ease, and consistency. Boutique mid volume clients want connection and experience. Entry level luxury clients want trust, quality, and personalization. Ultra luxury clients want brand recognition, privacy, and a level of service that matches the nicest hotel they’ve ever walked into. Her point wasn’t that one tier is better than another. It’s that your pricing only works when your client experience actually matches the tier you’re charging for.
Shanna Skidmore, who spent 20 years in finance before working with creative entrepreneurs, took the conversation somewhere deeper: what is enough for you? She calls it your freedom figure, and she’s watched the number photographers say would make them happy climb from $40,000 a year to over $100,000 in the space of a decade. Her caution wasn’t about ambition. It was about the fact that without a clear number, more money never actually feels like enough.
Real Photographers, Real Pricing Changes
Morgan Williams, a Raleigh based family photographer and mom of four, shared what it actually took to double her prices and make them hold up. Higher prices only work if the client experience behind them changes too, from personalized wardrobe guidance and a session planning call, to a questionnaire that helps her understand a family’s story before she ever picks up her camera. That process, she explained, is what leads to the kind of gallery that justifies the number on the invoice.
Then there’s Brielle Pepper, who made the leap from $75 sessions to averages over $2,000 and came back a year later to tell us what actually moved the needle. It wasn’t an overnight fix. She sat with a quiet season of self doubt while older clients left and new leads were slow to arrive, and it was investing in SEO through TMA mentor Melissa Arlena that turned things around. Most of her bookings now come from Google, and she says those leads are more ready to book than the ones that come from social media.
Why This Work Is Easier Inside a Community
Shannon Griffin closed out the series by talking about the part almost nobody wants to admit is hard: saying your prices out loud. She practiced in front of a mirror. She learned to take the emotion out of the conversation and simply state the number, then let the client decide. That kind of confidence comes from watching other photographers do the same hard thing and realizing you’re not the only one who feels the fear before you say the price.
That’s the thread running through all five of these conversations. Kristin, Shanna, Morgan, Shannon, and Brielle are each connected to The Motherhood Anthology in their own way, as a mentor, a coaching week guest, or a member who let us walk alongside her transformation. Pricing confidence tends to grow fastest when you have people around you who are working through the same questions, sharing what actually worked, and cheering you on while you figure out your own number.
Listen and Learn More
This episode pulls five different angles on photography charges into one conversation, and each guest offers a piece worth sitting with. Give it a listen and see which one lands for you right now.
Ready to build a business that reflects your own creative voice? The Motherhood Anthology membership gives you access to expert mentors, live coaching, monthly marketing suites, and a private community of photographers who are invested in your success. Learn more and join at themotherhoodanthology.com.
The Motherhood Anthology is a community and educational resource for photographers who want a profitable and sustainable business they love. With 15+ expert mentors and 7+ years of proven content, TMA helps portrait photographers build confident, thriving businesses through monthly education, mentorship, and a supportive community of 700+ members.
