Rates, 2026
What should a photo retoucher charge in a smaller market?
About $350 a day for a photo retoucher who is working and booked in a smaller US market. $250 in the first years, $450 when senior. Retouching a set runs about $600.
Other markets: New York or LA · a major city · remote
First years
$250
a day · $30 an hour
Working, booked
$350
a day · $45 an hour
Senior, sought after
$450
a day · $55 an hour
The rate card, working level
- Day rate$350 per day
- Hourlyfor anything that does not fit a day$45 per hour
- Retouching a set$600 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 smaller US market: the low end is the first years, the high end is senior. Working and booked sits in the middle.
- Basic retouch$3.5 to $10 per image
- High-end beauty retouch$20 to $70 per image
- Product cutout and clean-up$2 to $7 per image
- Composite$35 to $150 per image
How the number is made
Photo retouchers at this level in this market day at about $350 ($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 $350. 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 smaller US market?
- About $350 a day for someone working and booked, $250 in the first years, $450 when senior and sought after. Half days usually run 60% of the day.
- How much is retouching a set?
- $600 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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