Rates, 2026
What should a photo retoucher charge in a major city?
About $425 a day for a photo retoucher who is working and booked in a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin. $300 in the first years, $550 when senior. Retouching a set runs about $725.
Other markets: New York or LA · remote · a smaller market
First years
$300
a day · $40 an hour
Working, booked
$425
a day · $55 an hour
Senior, sought after
$550
a day · $70 an hour
The rate card, working level
- Day rate$425 per day
- Hourlyfor anything that does not fit a day$55 per hour
- Retouching a set$725 per project
Sold a project fee, by the hour. The outcome is the unit; the day rate is for when a client wants your time instead.
What to charge for each thing
Ranges for a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin: the low end is the first years, the high end is senior. Working and booked sits in the middle.
- Basic retouch$4.5 to $15 per image
- High-end beauty retouch$25 to $85 per image
- Product cutout and clean-up$2.5 to $8.5 per image
- Composite$45 to $175 per image
How the number is made
Photo retouchers at this level in this market day at about $425 ($300 to $700 in New York and LA). Put in the year you actually want on the perfect price page and the number moves with it.
Retouching a set runs $200 to $1,500 and takes about 8 hours of your time; at your hourly that is $450. The number is the higher of the two, because the client is buying the outcome, not the hours.
Questions
- What is a fair day rate for a photo retoucher in a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin?
- About $425 a day for someone working and booked, $300 in the first years, $550 when senior and sought after. Half days usually run 60% of the day.
- How much is retouching a set?
- $725 at a working level in this market. The client is buying the outcome, so the price is the higher of what the market pays for it and what your hours in it are worth.
- Are these rates a rule?
- No. They are US 2026 ranges for the role, placed by level and moved for the market. What a client actually paid you beats all of it. The tool has a box for that, and it wins.
Your number, in five seconds.
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