Rates, 2026
What should a photo retoucher charge in New York or LA?
About $500 a day for a photo retoucher who is working and booked in New York or Los Angeles. $350 in the first years, $650 when senior. Retouching a set runs about $850.
Other markets: a major city · remote · a smaller market
First years
$350
a day · $45 an hour
Working, booked
$500
a day · $65 an hour
Senior, sought after
$650
a day · $80 an hour
The rate card, working level
- Day rate$500 per day
- Hourlyfor anything that does not fit a day$65 per hour
- Retouching a set$850 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 New York or Los Angeles: the low end is the first years, the high end is senior. Working and booked sits in the middle.
- Basic retouch$5 to $15 per image
- High-end beauty retouch$30 to $100 per image
- Product cutout and clean-up$3 to $10 per image
- Composite$50 to $200 per image
How the number is made
Photo retouchers at this level day at about $500 ($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 $525. 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 New York or LA?
- About $500 a day for someone working and booked, $350 in the first years, $650 when senior and sought after. Half days usually run 60% of the day.
- How much is retouching a set?
- $850 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.
Pick your level and market, get a card you can send the next client who asks. Then RostrLab quotes, papers, invoices and chases every job with it: free for 14 days, $29 a month, never a cut.