WHAT DOES A SHOOT ACTUALLY COST And what are you really paying for?

Photography pricing can feel unnecessarily mysterious.

We could charge anything from R2000 to R20,000+, and suddenly you’re wondering whether we're secretly bringing Annie Leibovitz and a small helicopter.

So, what exactly are you paying for?

The short answer: far more than the hour spent taking photographs.

I DON'T LIKE READING: Show me the rough guide

These aren’t fixed Liebenart packages. They’re useful budgeting territory.

Every commercial project is quoted individually.

You’re paying for the idea, planning, studio, equipment, shooting, experience, editing, retouching and the mildly obsessive amount of time spent making everything look effortless.

Individuals & Models R2000–R6,000-ish. Smaller shoot. A few looks. Beautifully finished images. No unnecessary entourage.

Fashion & Lookbooks From around R8,000–R15,000+. More looks. More planning. More people. More clothing. More emails.

Campaigns R20,000–R50,000+.Creative direction, crew, locations, retouching and commercial usage. Basically, we’re no longer just taking a nice picture.

BEFORE THE CAMERA COMES OUT

A surprising amount of photography happens before anyone takes a photograph. Concepts, references, moodboards, casting, locations, shot lists, lighting decisions and production planning all shape what eventually happens on set.

The better the preparation, the less time we spend on shoot day standing around asking,

“So… what now?”

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THE SMALL SHOOT

Portraits, models, creatives & portfolio updates

Not every shoot needs a production team and a six light setup. A smaller shoot usually only involves you and me. At times it includes an assistant. Sometimes we simply need you, good light and a strong idea.

Smaller sessions work beautifully for:

• Model portfolio updates

• Personal portraits

• Creative portraits

• Actor and artist profiles

• Editorial-style headshots

• Social and digital content

• Test shoots

• A new look, haircut, body, era or minor identity crisis worth documenting

  
  

These shoots are deliberately kept lean. A typical session might include one to three looks, a focused amount of shooting time and a curated selection of professionally retouched final images.

What affects the price?

Studio or location

A studio gives us control over lighting, backgrounds and atmosphere. A location can give the images more narrative and texture. Each comes with different production requirements and costs.

Number of looks

One beautifully executed look can sometimes produce stronger photographs than seven outfits frantically changed in a bathroom. More isn’t automatically better.

Retouching

Every selected Liebenart image goes through post-production. This can include colour work, tonal adjustments, skin retouching and detailed finishing while keeping the photograph looking like a photograph.

Skin should still look like skin. Revolutionary concept, apparently.

Hair, makeup and styling

These can either be kept simple or added to the production depending on what we’re creating.

For portfolio and individual shoots, I prefer building the session around what you actually need rather than adding production costs simply because we can.

What should you budget?

For a smaller individual or model shoot, a useful starting point is generally around

R2000–R6,000, depending on studio requirements, shooting time, number of final images and the level of production involved. You don’t need to arrive with a fully formed concept either. Part of the process can be figuring that out together.

More elaborate editorial-style personal shoots may sit above this range.

The best approach is simple: tell me what you need to create and I’ll build the shoot around it.

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THE FASHION SHOOT

Lookbooks, editorials & campaigns

This is where things become slightly more complicated and considerably more fun.

A fashion shoot isn’t simply a portrait session with better trousers.

We’re creating a visual language around a collection, product or brand. That can involve concept development, references, casting, styling, locations, lighting, crew and considerably more post-production.

Depending on the project, a fashion production might include:

• Creative direction and concept development

• Photographer

• Studio or location

• Models

• Hair and makeup

• Fashion styling

• Assistants

• Lighting and equipment

• Set design or props

• Retouching

• Production

• Usage and licensing

  
  

Not every campaign needs all of these.

A small independent label might need a beautifully simple half-day shoot with one model and a clean concept.

A larger campaign might require multiple models, locations, stylists, assistants and enough clothing rails to briefly destroy everyone’s understanding of personal space.

Both can produce excellent work.

They simply require very different budgets.

LOOKBOOK VS CAMPAIGN

They aren’t quite the same thing

A lookbook is generally about showing the collection clearly and consistently.

The photography can still be beautiful and editorial, but the clothing remains the hero. These shoots are often more streamlined and may be priced as a half-day or full-day production.

A campaign, on the other hand, is selling something less tangible.

A mood.

A lifestyle.

An attitude.

The strange and wonderful idea that buying a particular shirt may somehow transform your entire personality.

Campaign photography therefore tends to involve more creative development, production and usage considerations.

For smaller fashion brands, productions might begin around R8,000–R15,000, while larger campaign productions can move into R20,000–R50,000+ territory depending on the concept, crew, talent, locations, deliverables and usage.

These aren’t fixed Liebenart packages. They’re useful budgeting territory.

Every commercial project is quoted individually.

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WHAT ABOUT RETOUCHING?

Retouching isn’t about making someone look like somebody else. It’s about deciding what the image needs to become.

Sometimes that’s clean, polished and beautifully natural. Particularly for models, agencies and commercial work, where skin should look like skin and the person in the photograph should remain recognisably human. A surprisingly controversial concept in the age of filters.

But my personal work tends to wander a little further from reality.

I’m drawn to imagery that feels cinematic, atmospheric, unearthly and artistic. Colour can shift, light can be shaped, shadows deepened and reality pushed just far enough to make you wonder whether the photograph belongs entirely to this world.

Neither approach is more or less “edited.” They’re simply serving different purposes.

The brief decides how far we go.

That might mean subtle skin work and colour correction, or more considered grading, light manipulation, background work and detailed creative retouching.

The aim is never to edit for the sake of editing.

It’s to finish the story the photograph started.

For smaller shoots, a set number of finished images is usually included. For larger commercial productions, retouching may be quoted according to the number, complexity and creative treatment of the final images.

AND THEN THERE’S USAGE

This mainly applies to commercial photography.

A portrait for your personal portfolio is very different from an image appearing on billboards, paid advertising, shop windows and international campaigns.

Commercial photography therefore considers where the images will be used, for how long and across which territories and platforms.

A small Cape Town fashion label using photographs organically on Instagram and its website shouldn’t necessarily pay the same licensing fee as a national company running a twelve-month advertising campaign.

Usage is discussed upfront and quoted according to the actual needs of the project.

No mysterious invoice appearing three weeks later from the shadows.

HOW TO GET MORE FROM YOUR BUDGET

The best way to save money on photography isn’t necessarily to hire the cheapest photographer.

It’s to arrive with a clear idea of what you need the photographs to do.

For individuals and models, that might mean deciding which gaps exist in your current portfolio before we shoot.

For brands, it means knowing where the campaign will appear, how many looks need to be photographed and which images are essential.

Good planning means less wasted time on set and more money appearing in the photographs themselves.

I’d rather put your budget in front of the camera than behind an unnecessary spreadsheet.

SO, WHAT WILL YOUR SHOOT COST?

There isn’t one Liebenart price because there isn’t one Liebenart shoot.

A model needing three strong new portfolio images doesn’t need the same production as a fashion label launching a seasonal collection.

And they shouldn’t have to pay as though they do.

For individuals, models and creatives, sessions can be kept focused, collaborative and relatively simple.

For fashion brands and commercial clients, I build quotes around the creative concept, production requirements and intended use of the photographs.

The common thread is the same: We make something worth looking at.

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PLANNING A SHOOT?

Send me your idea, references, approximate budget and what you’d like the images to achieve.

From there, we can work out what the production actually needs.

Portraits & Models · Editorial · Fashion · Lookbooks · Campaigns · Creative Direction

Cape Town - Johannesburg - London· Liebenart Photography