Fashion Photographers

Fashion photographers earned average salaries of $59,824 in 2024, according to PayScale.com. Earnings ranged from $37,000 to $93,000 or more.

Median annual earnings for salaried photographers were approximately $40,760 in May 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The lowest paid 10 percent made less than $28,510, while the highest paid 10 percent made more than $95,740 per year. Mean annual earnings for photographers who worked for newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers were $53,870.

Photographers who run their own businesses and work on a freelance basis are typically paid by the job. The pay for these jobs may be based on such factors as the photographer’s reputation, the prestige of the client (for example, a fashion magazine with an international readership will pay more than a local newspaper doing a Sunday fashion spread), and the difficulty of the work. For some of this work, photographers may make $250 per job. They may also get credit lines and receive travel expenses. As they gain experience, build a strong portfolio of published work, and acquire prestigious clients, photographers can make $2,000 per job or more. Freelance photographers who have national or international reputations may make hundreds of thousands of dollars or more per year. Freelance workers, unlike salaried photographers, however, do not receive benefits such as health insurance and paid vacation or sick days.