Shipping Costs for Photographers: Protecting Your Profit

Running a photography business means juggling countless expenses: camera gear, software subscriptions, your gallery platform, and yes—shipping. It’s easy to overlook shipping costs when pricing your work, but those seemingly small fees can quietly eat into your profits, especially on lower-priced orders.

Let’s break down how to handle shipping charges so you keep more of what you earn.

Why Shipping Costs Matter More Than You Think

Imagine a client orders ten 5×7 prints at $5 each. That’s a $50 sale—not bad! But if your lab charges a standard $4.95 flat-rate shipping fee and you don’t pass that cost along, you’ve just lost nearly 10% of your revenue before accounting for your other business expenses.

When you factor in your time spent editing, your gallery software subscription, and the actual cost of the prints, that profit margin shrinks fast. And if you’re not making money, you can’t sustain your passion for photography.

The good news? You have options.

Three Simple Ways to Handle Shipping Costs

You don’t need a complex pricing strategy to handle shipping. Here are three straightforward approaches:

1. Charge a Flat Rate

How it works: Set one standard shipping fee for all orders—say, $5 or $7.

Pros: Simple to implement and easy for clients to understand. No calculations needed.

Cons: Some orders you’ll come out ahead; on others, you might eat a few dollars in shipping costs.

Best for: Photographers who want a “set it and forget it” approach and don’t want to stress over exact numbers.

With ShootProof, you can set a flat shipping rate once in your Price Sheet Preferences, and you’re done. Some orders will overpay slightly, others will underpay, but generally it evens out over time.

2. Charge a Percentage of the Sale

How it works: Add a percentage (like 10% or 15%) of the order total as a shipping charge.

Pros: Scales with order size—larger orders automatically have higher shipping fees, which often reflects reality since bigger orders cost more to ship.

Cons: You’ll still have some variation. Small orders might overpay, large orders might underpay.

Best for: Photographers who want shipping costs to scale with order value without getting into per-item pricing.

To use this method, calculate what percentage shipping typically represents across your recent orders, then add that percentage in your ShootProof Price Sheets.

3. Set Per-Item Shipping Charges

How it works: Assign a specific shipping cost to each product type (like $2 per print, $8 per canvas).

Pros: Most precise method—you can match what your lab actually charges for different items.

Cons: Can get complicated fast. Shipping one 4×6 print versus fifty 4×6 prints probably costs the same from your lab, so per-item pricing might unfairly inflate costs on large orders.

Best for: Photographers who sell primarily high-value items like canvases or albums where shipping varies significantly by product.

You can combine approaches, too—like a $5 flat rate plus an additional $8 for each gallery-wrapped canvas. ShootProof lets you mix and match these methods (just avoid charging both a flat rate and a percentage to keep things fair for clients).

The Real Cost of “Free Shipping”

Some photographers advertise free shipping to make ordering easier for clients. If you go this route, make sure you’re building shipping costs into your product prices. That $20 print? Price it at $24 if shipping typically costs $4. Otherwise, you’re working for free.

Don’t Forget Hidden Shipping Costs

If you order prints from a lab and they ship to you, then you ship to your clients, you’re paying shipping twice. Even if you use a local lab and pick up orders yourself, consider your time and gas money—that’s still a cost.

A Quick Shipping Strategy Checklist

Here’s what to do:

1. Check your lab’s shipping rates. Most charge flat rates, but confirm what yours charges and whether it varies by product type or weight.
2. Decide on your approach. Pick flat rate, percentage, per-item, or a combination based on what fits your business model.
3. Set it in ShootProof. Configure your shipping charges once in your Price Sheet Preferences so they apply automatically to all orders.
4. Review quarterly. Every few months, check if you’re consistently over or undercharging for shipping. Adjust as needed.
5. Be transparent. Clients expect to pay shipping when shopping online, but surprise fees can kill a sale. Make shipping costs clear before checkout.

Shipping might seem like a minor detail, but it adds up. Whether you charge a flat rate, a percentage, or per-item fees, the important thing is that you’re not absorbing costs that should be passed to your clients.

Your passion is photography—not logistics. Choose a shipping strategy that’s simple enough to stick with, fair enough for your clients, and smart enough to protect your profits.

Because at the end of the day, if you’re not making money, you can’t keep doing what you love.