Videographer Pricing Guide: Day Rate vs. Project Pricing (With the Math)
A working studio's pricing guide for videographers: how to calculate a real day rate from your cost of doing business, when to switch to project pricing, revision policies that protect your margins, and the retainer math that smooths your income.
Most videographers price by vibes. They look at what the shooter down the street charges, knock 10% off to win the job, and then wonder why a 'good month' still doesn't cover the camera loan. I run a studio in Dallas, and every rate on our site — the $99 starter reels, the $500–$1,500 shoot days, the $2,500/month retainers — came out of the math in this post, not out of guessing. Here's the full pricing system: day rates built from your actual costs, project pricing that captures value instead of hours, revision policies that stop scope bleed, and the numbers on when to raise rates.