How Much Do Professional Headshots Cost? Studio, Photographer, and Moonroom Compared

A recruiter asks for a headshot by Friday, and the first studio you open wants hundreds of dollars for one finished picture. So you ask the obvious question — how much do professional headshots cost, really, and what are you paying for? The answer depends on which of three routes you take: a dedicated studio, a freelance photographer, or a pack built from your own selfie in Moonroom. Each prices a different thing, and the cheapest headline rarely tells the whole story.

What a studio session actually charges for

A studio price is not really a price for photographs. You pay for the room, the lighting rig, the photographer's direction while you sit there, and the hand retouching afterwards — which is why the session fee and the finished pictures are often separate lines.

Draper Studios in Denver publishes its math openly, and it is a useful yardstick. Its professional headshot session is $325 for about 45 minutes, one setup, and one fully retouched image, delivered within 48 hours of your selection. Want a second finished image? Additional retouched images are $50 each. Step up to personal branding — more looks, more settings — and sessions start at $425. Notice the shape of the bill: the base price buys one finished portrait, and every extra portrait is a new line.

Studios also price in your time: travel, the sitting, the wait for proofs, then the wait for retouching. If a job application closes this week, ask about turnaround — and whether faster delivery adds a rush charge.

What a freelance photographer charges

An independent photographer without a permanent studio usually opens lower — no studio rent in the price. The trade-off: the extras matter even more, so read what the session fee includes before comparing it with a studio quote.

Steve Glass Photography in Atlanta lists its standard session at $195 — roughly 20 minutes, dozens of takes, a proofing gallery, and one retouched image included. Additional retouched images there are $75 each, and adding an outdoor session costs $100 more. In Philadelphia, Images by IBA publishes tiers of $395 with one retouched image, $595 with three, and $795 with five, with extras at $100 each. Different cities, same structure: a session price, a few finished images included, and a per-image charge after that.

When you get a photographer's quote, get clear answers on five lines before you book:

• How many retouched images are included, and what does each extra one cost?
• Is retouching light cleanup, or full correction of skin, glare, and stray hair?
• How many looks or outfit changes fit inside the session time?
• When do finished files arrive, and is there a rush charge?
• What usage rights come with the files — profile photos only, or print and marketing too?

How much do professional headshots cost when you start from a selfie?

Moonroom prices the finished pack instead of the session. The Headshot Pack is $49, one time — no subscription, nothing weekly — for 60 portraits in the one style you pick before you pay: Corporate, Creative, Outdoor, or Studio. That is 82 cents a portrait, watermark-free HD downloads with full commercial rights. No sitting, no travel, no per-image retouching line — there is no session to staff.

You start free, within a clear cap: 3 watermarked previews per device, no account needed. Look at those previews first and judge whether the portraits look like you. If they do not, you have spent nothing. If they do, you pay the $49 once and unlock the full pack.

The same one-time structure covers Moonroom's other packs, if your need is wider than a headshot: Product Studio is $39 for 50 shots of a product you sell, and Theme Packs are $29 for 20 portraits in a themed style. None of them is a subscription, and none renews.

A worked example: three portraits, three routes

Here is what a Tuesday looks like for someone who needs three usable portraits — one for LinkedIn, one for a company bio page, one for a conference speaker listing.

At the Denver studio, the session is $325 with one retouched image, plus $50 each for the second and third: $425 total, plus travel. With the Atlanta photographer, $195 with one image, plus $75 each for two more: $345 total, plus your time in the chair and the wait for retouching. With Moonroom, the pack is $49 once — and instead of stopping at three, you have 60 portraits in your chosen style to pick from, made from a selfie already on your phone. Our guides on how to take a selfie for a headshot and how those portraits hold up next to other options cover the capture and quality side.

The gap is not one route cutting corners on the same job. A studio sells a photographer's eye in the room, direction while you pose, and retouching by hand. Moonroom sells a finished pack from a photo you supply. If being directed in person is what you need, the studio price is the cost of that. If you need good portraits this week on a fixed budget, the pack price is hard to argue with.

The honest catch, and who each route fits

A straight word on likeness: portraits made from your selfie vary with the photo you upload, and no pack can promise the result will look exactly like you. That is what the 3 watermarked previews per device, no account needed, are for — judge the likeness before you pay. And if a paid pack's likeness misses, email Moonroom within 30 days and the whole pack is regenerated free. Your uploaded photo is never trained on and never sold, and uploads are deleted after 30 days.

Choose a studio for direction in the room or a team photographed to one consistent look. Choose a freelance photographer for a person behind the camera at a lower opening price, once you have counted the per-image extras. Choose Moonroom if you need portraits quickly, your budget is fixed, and one strong selfie is a fair starting point. If you have no usable selfie at all, start with the capture guide above before spending on any route.

Compare the pack price yourself

Open Moonroom, upload one selfie, and look at your 3 watermarked previews per device, no account needed. If the portraits look like you, the full Headshot Pack is $49 once for 60 portraits in your chosen style — and if the likeness ever misses after you pay, the whole pack is regenerated free when you email within 30 days.

More guides: LinkedIn headshot from one selfie · AI headshot generators compared · What makes a good LinkedIn headshot · AI headshots vs a photographer · AI product photos for sellers · How to take a selfie for a headshot · AI headshots that don’t look like you