HOW TO HIRE · PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO

How to hire a product photographer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Product photographers need no licence in the UK. Here is the licence or assignment you need, the image spec and what the quote should say.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a product photographer in five steps

  1. Write the image specBackground, angles, sizes, file type, and the platform each image is for.
  2. Count the shotsProducts × angles × variants is the job. Agree the number.
  3. Get the licence or the copyrightCommercial use needs a licence; owning the images needs a signed assignment.
  4. Agree stock handlingHow products are sent, stored, insured and returned.
  5. Fix turnaround and retouchingDelivery date and what editing is included.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Commercial product photography is unregulated across the UK, with no register and no licence to hold. A sample set in your style, references and written terms are the checks.

Ask for a set shot to a spec like yours and a client to ring.

Copyright and your licence

Section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 makes the author — the product photographer — the first owner of the copyright in your product photographs. It passes to you only by a written assignment signed by them (section 90); what you normally receive is a licence.

Read the licence clause: can you use them on every sales channel, in adverts and in print, for as long as you sell the product? Ask for a written assignment if you need the copyright. legislation.gov.uk →

Commercial images are not private

The section 85 privacy right in the 1988 Act only covers photographs commissioned for private and domestic purposes. Product photographs are commercial, so whether the photographer may also show them depends on the written terms.

Agree in writing whether the photographer may use your images in a portfolio, and when. legislation.gov.uk →

Your stock in their care

No law sets insurance for a product photographer, but your products are in their studio. Agree in writing who is responsible if items are lost or damaged, and how and when they come back.

Ask whether their insurance covers customers' goods, and put the return date in the contract.

VAT

Product photography is standard-rated, with 20% VAT on the shoot day, each finished image and the licence. Over the £90,000 registration threshold a trader has to charge VAT and show it separately, next to its VAT number.

Ask for the VAT number for your own books, and for the per-image price and the 20% VAT printed separately. gov.uk →

“Can I have the copyright in the product photographs, or what licence will I get?”

A good answer: A clear choice: a licence for named uses and a period, or a signed assignment for a price.

“Can you shoot to my marketplace or website spec?”

A good answer: Yes, with sizes, background and file type confirmed in writing.

“How many product images does the price include?”

A good answer: A number of finished images, and the price per extra.

“What retouching is included for each product photo?”

A good answer: Dust, reflections, colour matching, and how many rounds of changes.

“How do you look after and return my stock?”

A good answer: Logged on arrival, stored safely, returned by a stated date and method.

“What is the turnaround for the product shots?”

A good answer: A date, and whether a rush job costs more.

“Will you use my product photos in your portfolio?”

A good answer: Only when you agree, and after launch if it matters.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends the shoot and handles your stock — the photographer, a stylist, a retoucher — employed or subcontracted
  • Number of products, angles and variants, and the finished image count
  • The image spec: background, sizes, file type
  • Retouching included and rounds of changes
  • Licence terms or the price of a full copyright assignment
  • Stock handling and return, and any props or styling
  • The VAT number, and VAT on the product images given as its own line

Walk away if

  • No written licence for commercial use
  • A licence limited to one platform without saying so
  • No record of the stock received
  • Price per image with no total
  • Portfolio use of unreleased products without asking
  • No turnaround date
LOW
£140
TYPICAL
£385
HIGH
£800

What a product photographer costs: £140–£800 per shoot

Product photographers price by the shoot, the day or per finished image, with retouching, styling and the licence moving the price. Product Photographer price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Product photographers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Spec and shot listProducts, angles, variants, sizes and uses agreed.
  2. Stock inItems logged, checked for damage and stored.
  3. The shootLighting set per spec, each product shot to the list.
  4. RetouchClean-up and colour matching; your amends within the rounds agreed.
  5. Delivery and returnsFiles to the spec, stock returned, licence in writing.

Packshot
A plain product image on a white or neutral background.
Lifestyle shot
The product shown in use or styled in a scene.
Clipping path
A cut-out of the product from its background.
Assignment
A signed written transfer of the copyright to you.
Licence
Permission to use the images for agreed purposes and time.
Colour match
Editing so the image matches the real product.

AFTER

When the job is done

File the images with the licenceKeep the licence or assignment with the files.
Check against the specSizes, backgrounds, colour accuracy, count.
Count your stock backEvery item returned and undamaged.
Rate the bookingRate the product images once you have checked it. A score under four stars lets you ask the product photographer to put it right before the review goes live.

STEP 1Start with a written complaintMessage the product photographer about the images with photos or dates. The 2015 Consumer Rights Act lets you ask a trader to redo work that lacked reasonable care and skill, or to reduce the price when redoing it will not help.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyRate the product photographer under four stars and you are asked whether to send the problem to them first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3The consumer helplineFor product photographers there is no regulator to escalate to. The free helplines — Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland — advise on the images and can refer a trader to Trading Standards.
STEP 4Money still in disputeA claim against a product photographer for a refund or the cost of putting things right can go to small claims: up to £10,000 on the county court small claims track in England and Wales, up to £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, and up to £5,000 in the small claims court in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a product photographer: questions people ask

Shooting products for sale needs no licence in any UK nation.

The photographer, unless they assign it to you in a signed written document (section 90 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988).

A commercial licence covering every channel and the period you plan to sell; or a written assignment of copyright.

£140 to £800 a shoot, typically around £385. The number of products, angles and retouching move the price. Prices by product count, angles and retouching are in the product photographer price guide; enter your town above for studios near you.

Only if the photographer's insurance covers customers' goods. Ask, and agree responsibility in writing.

Raise it in writing. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets you require the work to be redone, or a price reduction.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in photography & video

How to hire: Headshot PhotographerHow to hire: Property PhotographerHow to hire: VideographerHow to hire: Event PhotographerHow to hire: Drone PhotographyHow to hire: Video EditorHow to hire: Portrait PhotographerHow to hire: Live Streaming ServiceAll 701 hiring guides →

Product photographers near you

Product photographers in LondonProduct photographers in ManchesterProduct photographers in BirminghamProduct photographers in GlasgowProduct photographers in BelfastAll product photographers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 11 — first ownership
  2. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 90 — assignment
  3. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 85 — privacy of commissioned photographs and films
  4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 55 — repeat performance
  6. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  7. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  8. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register