How (and When) to Set Up a Photography Studio?

Have you considered the cost of building your photo studio instead of outsourcing?

Are shipment and logistics issues making an in-house studio a better option?

Are high delivery and insurance costs driving up your product photography expenses?

Should your e-commerce business build a photo studio or keep outsourcing?

Read on to find out.

Squareshot reveals all the nuances of the cost of setting up a photo studio in New York and the USA. We'll cover every meaningful aspect of the price of setting up a studio for product photography, using average prices.

How Does an E-commerce Photography Studio Work?

Let's explore how an e-commerce photography studio works to start examining the cost of setting up and running a photo company.

First is the studio — a physical building you rent or own to arrange photography shoots.

Second, there is photography equipment. It ranges from expensive to very expensive, as cheap is not an option on a photo equipment menu.

The third and most crucial factor for the success of this mission is human capital. Namely, as a minimum, any photoshoot needs:

• a photographer
• a retoucher
• a photo studio manager

*You may require a producer and a prop stylist for creative photoshoots.

We call it crucial because we know how hard it is to find a team member who delivers the needed level of quality. It is not as simple as buying the most expensive equipment or getting the most state-of-the-art building. It has a success factor called talent, which is hard to detect, let alone hard to get on the market.

Those are just the pillars of every photo studio. Let's examine each one in detail now.

Real Estate vs. Office Expenses for Your Photo Studio

There are several ways to approach the first and most fundamental need of setting up a photo studio – getting a space for it:

1. You can buy an office, an apartment, or a piece of real estate to arrange a studio inside it.
2. You may already have some unused space within the company.
3. You can rent a room or a flat to set up a photography studio inside it.
4. You can rent an industrial space (B-class is the best price-to-quality match) or an already-prepared shooting studio space.

For the purpose of this exercise, let's have a look at renting a piece of real estate to start your production of product photography.

Size parameters of a photo studio

Ceiling height is a key factor when choosing a photo studio and should be a top priority during your real estate search. To accommodate lighting equipment, you’ll need at least 4–5 feet of space above a 6-foot-tall model, so aim for a ceiling height of 10–12 feet.

As for floor space, unless you’re shooting large groups, a room that’s at least 10x15 feet can work for basic setups. For more professional shoots with models, a studio size of around 30x45 feet is ideal.

This larger space allows proper distance between the subject and the background (at least 5–7 feet) and between the subject and the camera (10–15 feet), which is essential for clean, well-composed shots.

Housekeeping spaces of the photo studio

If your photography needs are constant, it is suggested that several people utilize the studio for an entire working day.

As a minimum, this recommends 2 main areas:

1. The product preparation area, which includes:

• office for a retoucher and a manager
• product storage space
• model makeup room
• bathroom

(It can be either separate rooms or one multi-purpose space)

2. In the product photo-shooting zone, the photographer shoots using a backdrop, lighting, tripods, and the rest of the equipment.

Cost of a photo studio rental in New York

Let's examine the market prices for a property suitable for a photo studio in the New York real estate market.

In our final calculation, we use the price of just $40 / sq. ft. for New York, even though SquareFoot.com produces an estimate of $74 per square foot per annum in New York for offices of just above 1000 sq. meters.

Print screen: Indeed

Cost of a photo studio rental in the USA

The USA's rental prices will be lower by a third on average than in New York. So, let's assume the rental price is $25 per sq. ft. per annum for the US.

To summarize, you will need at least a 1000 sq. ft. office or an apartment to set up a photo studio:

• $40+ per sq. ft. per annum in New York (min $40K per annum)
• $25+ per sq. ft. per annum in the USA on average (min $25K per annum).

Side note: This is a very rough estimate because many factors, such as location, studio size, and infrastructure, affect the price in different states.

Cost of Personnel for an In-house Photo Studio

The other vital part of the cost structure when discussing the pricing of setting up an in-house photo studio is the salary paid to the team.

We will leave recruitment costs out of this calculation to maintain the helicopter view of the cost structure and avoid overloading you with details.

An In-house product photographer. The annual salary for an in-house photographer in the USA will start in the early $40K and go to the late $70K for top talent in New York.

In-house product photography team salary. We have created a quick table for you based on the averages provided by Indeed.com, so you can see how much a team of 3 for a basic photo studio costs per year in salary and insurance only.

Sidenote: When we mention insurance in this context, we're referring to two key types: Worker’s Compensation, which covers employees in case of work-related injuries, and the Business Owner’s Policy (BOP), which typically includes protection for the business itself, its assets (like equipment), and any leased premises or resources.

Once again, this is one of the key cost centers that needs the most attention. The talent can make it or break it for the photo studio owner. So, while the cost is huge, there is no saving on this one, as top talent costs are pricey but bring the best ROI (return on investment).

In-house Photo Studio Equipment Costs

The photography equipment needed to perform the basic product photography in the in-house photo studio:

• Camera & lenses
• Lighting
• Backgrounds

But you should understand that:

• Technology evolves by the minute, and renewing your photo company equipment costs 3-4 years.
• Like any other product — like cars, hotels, or clothes — there are budget series, reliable middle-class product lines, and premium products.

Complete list of equipment with prices for an in-house photo studio setup

Photographer's equipment:

Camera– $5,600.00

Macro Lens with Filter Kit - $1047.00

Lens with UV Filter Kit - $630.00

Calibrite Photo Kit - $279.00

Tripod – $350.00

Sync – $105.00 – you need 4 of them, a total of $420.00

Cable – $56.00

4K HDR Monitor - $1500.00

Portable SSD - $260.00

PС – $1,400.00

Monitor - $1,500.00

Keyboard - $100

Mouse - $80.00

Modeling Light – $3000.00 - you need 4 items, a total of $12,000.00

Strobe - $1,500.00; you need 3 strobes total of $4,500.00

Softbox (3.9 x 1)– $245.00 - you need 2 items, a total of $490.00

Softbox (2 x 2) – $235.00

Softbox (3.3 x 3.3) - $293.00

Reflector - $270.00 - you need 2, a total of $540.00

Honeycomb Grid (set of 3) - $460.00

Soft Light Umbrella - $160.00

Strobe Power Pack - $17,500.00 you need 2, a total of $35,000.00

C-Stand – $250.00 – you need 3 items, a total of $750.00

Backdrop – $77.00

Backdrop hold system – $145.00

‍Hooks for backdrop – $30.00

Impact Filled Sandbag - $22.00 - you might need at least 6 of those, a total of $132.00

Photo table – $1045.00

Accessories, such as clamps, tape, dust remover, and other small stuff – $500.00 (you'll need to renew it once in a while)

Software: Capture One Pro 12 – $380.00

Mannequin/Male – $2,300.00

Mannequin/Female – $2,300.00

Desk – $199.00

‍Chair – $50.00

Total for professional photographer's equipment: 74,808 $.

Retoucher's equipment:

Tablet – $330.00

PC – $1500.00

Capture One - $380.00 (The current version to keep forever)

Desk – $199.00

‍Chair – $59.00

The total for the retoucher's equipment is $2,468.

‍So, the total for your production team, both photographer and retoucher, is $77,276.00.

Costs of storage for a photo studio

It is wise to arrange some storage space inside a studio to keep things nice and tidy in the trade, which is full of accessories, props, and equipment.

These are the things to consider:

1. Equipment cases and bins
2. Wardrobes and lockers
3. Seamless paper storage holders

The price range can vary from $500 to $1500 at that point.

Management expenses

As we mentioned at the beginning, this is only a snapshot of the costs any company faces when setting up an in-house photography studio.

There will be utility bills, internet plan costs, recruitment fees, maintenance fees, etc. As they are pretty diverse, we are not enumerating them for this exercise, but keep in mind that these miscellaneous costs may go up to another $3-4K a month.

Total Budget for an In-house Photo Studio

So, if we sum up all of the above expenses that an online store owner will face to set up an in-house studio, the annual price in New York will be approximately $372K, and in the USA, on average, $368K.

This translates into $21,7K monthly in New York and $18,2K monthly in the USA.

Benefits of having an in-house studio

Availability. You are the only client of your studio, so you can dispose of it anytime you need to. (However, when you don’t need it, you still pay for it.)

Logistic costs. You don’t need to pay for delivery and the associated costs. Premium brands face the major issue of insurance for shipping pricey pieces, such as watches and jewelry worth several tens of thousands.

Consistency. Your images are always taken by the same team in the same setting with the same equipment. Unless you commission all your product imagery to the same photo company, this is a solid advantage that you don’t get with different freelancers.

Quick turnaround. This is a combination of availability without waiting in line, team members needing fewer instructions as they know your products, and no time wasted on shipment.

Control of quality and brand standards. Even if your marketing team has some turnover, your in-house photographers may know the routine, the point of contact, and the store of wisdom regarding all brand product imagery.

Pitfalls of having an in-house studio

Costs. Regardless of how big or small your photo needs are, you are still responsible for the cost of rental, talent, purchasing photo equipment, and utility bills.

Seasonality & workload distribution. There are peak periods before Christmas and Thanksgiving, followed by slower periods after Christmas and during the spring tax season. Most stores in the clothing e-commerce industry release at least two collections per year: Spring/Summer (SS) and Fall/Winter (FW).

Unstable workload for the studio. Even if your management team is well-organized, chances are there will be times when you have to pay your in-house photography team for overtime, and there will be times when they will have nothing to shoot.

Turnover. Photographers are artists who require extra care to remain in one workplace for a long time. With the massive demand for freelance studio photography, many beginners quickly learn how to diversify their revenue streams with freelance projects.

The more prominent companies will outsource every part of the process - they have learned it the hard way: this is how you save money. The main thing is to find a reliable supplier of photography services. Then, an owner can concentrate on marketing, manufacturing, and scaling. Creating an in-house photography studio is like starting a new business from scratch. Make sure it makes sense for you.

When do you have to build an in-house photo studio as an e-commerce business owner?

In some cases, brands have no other option but to establish an in-house photo department.

Some of them are:

• you are a brand with premium products that cost a fortune to ship due to high insurance costs (expensive jewelry, e.g.)
• your store sells big antique pieces, unique and too fragile to ship (antique furniture)
• you are a vast e-commerce store with fluid inventory constantly topped up, and the volume of product images needed exceeds 8,5K per annum.

When is an e-commerce business owner better off outsourcing the product imagery?

Well, the answer is based on the mathematics of the above figures and the maximum number of images that one studio of three people can produce daily.

As illustrated in the table below, the actual number of images that a 3-man studio can produce in a year is around 8.5 K.

One of the simple ways to approach the math further is to assume that if your e-commerce business needs less than 8,5K images produced a year, your in-house studio will be costing you money. You have paid for rental, talent, and equipment, and they are not working towards your company’s goals.

The other way to do the math is to multiply the number of images your business needs per annum by $50 (approximate rough per-image price for apparel) and see if that figure is below $372K for New York and below $368K in the USA.

Say you need to do 4 shots of 70 pieces for SS and 4 shots of 100 pieces for FW collections. Overall, 280 for Spring Summer and 400 for Fall Winter, which equals 680 shots per annum. For the exercise's sake, let's assume the average price of $50 per image. That is $34K in image photography production with a photography studio like Squareshot.

At this stage, it is pretty evident that an e-commerce business with that kind of volume of product photography needs could not benefit from setting up an in-house photo studio. The company would be better off commissioning its product images to a company with an established reputation.

If we were to summarize it in a nutshell, unless your business needs 8 K+ photos per annum, you’d save more by outsourcing the product photography to a reliable supplier with a reliable name on the market.

Final Thoughts on Setting Up an In-house Photo Studio for E-commerce.

While photography is not exactly rocket science, there are nuances to every trade. Product imagery is of the utmost importance for e-commerce businesses of all shapes and sizes, so every decision related to it should be made after thorough consideration.

We have now armed you with all the theories for setting up an in-house photo studio. The decision is pretty simple, yet many nuances go into the calculation.