Product photography for social media: what it costs

Key takeaways

Product photography for social media in the UK is usually priced by the half-day or day. As indicative figures, a half-day costs about £300–£600 and a day £500–£1,200. Simple packshots on a plain background are quick. Styled lifestyle shots take longer, so you get fewer per day.

• £300–£600 is the indicative UK rate for a half-day product shoot.
• A full day of product photography is roughly £500–£1,200.
• Packshots are fast; styled lifestyle shots take far longer each.
• A shot list sent in advance gets you more images per day.

What is product photography for social media?

Product photography for social media is photographing products in formats that work in feeds, stories and ads: clean packshots, flat lays, products in use and close detail shots. It differs from catalogue photography because images need to be vertical, varied and eye-catching on a phone.

• Social media agency pricing in the UK
• Social media photography costs: what a shoot day buys

How much does a product shoot cost?

UK product photographers typically charge an indicative £300–£600 for a half-day and £500–£1,200 for a day. Editing, props, models and studio hire can be extra. How many images you get depends on the style: plain packshots are quick, styled scenes are slow. These are indicative market figures, not a GBL price list.

• Half-day shoot: indicative £300–£600.
• Full-day shoot: indicative £500–£1,200.
• Props, models and studio hire: often extra.
• Retouching complex products: priced per image.

Packshots or lifestyle photos?

Packshots show the product clearly on a plain background and suit shop listings and price posts. Lifestyle photos show the product in use and suit feeds and ads that need to stop the scroll. Most social plans need both, in a mix that favours lifestyle images for organic posts.

How do you get more images from one day?

Send a shot list, group products by background and prepare them before the photographer arrives. Clean, labelled, ready products save the most time. Shooting a few short video clips during the same session adds content for Reels and Stories at little extra cost.

• A shot list ranked by priority.
• Products cleaned, labelled and grouped.
• Backgrounds and props agreed in advance.
• Short video clips captured in the same session.

• Batch a month of social content in half a day

Can you take product photos yourself?

Yes, for many small shops. A phone, window light, a plain background and a cheap tripod produce usable packshots. Paying a photographer is worth it for hero images, ads, styled scenes and launches, where quality changes how the product is perceived.

• Social media photography on a budget for small businesses

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see with UK e-commerce clients: product photos exist for the website but are too plain for social feeds. Global Bridge Labs (GBL) plans a quarterly shoot with a shot list built from the content calendar, so each session supplies images for the posts and ads already planned.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Product shoot checklist

Agree these before booking a photographer.

• Number of products and shots per product.
• Packshot, lifestyle or both.
• Who supplies props, models and location.
• Editing and retouching included.
• Licence for organic posts, ads and the website.

• Social media copywriting costs in the UK
• Podcast clips for social media: what editing costs

Next step

Tell us how many products you sell and where the images will be used. We will tell you whether a shoot day, a half-day or phone photos are the right fit.