We were never taught how to price.

Not in school, not in business courses, and definitely not as a creative service.

So what do we do? We wing it.

We look around at what everyone else is charging and we copy them. We google "how to price a photo booth" at 2 AM and follow whatever formula some random blog post tells us to do. We ask our friends what they think is fair. We look at the quote-unquote market and see what they're doing.

We look at our costs, add a little bit on top, and hope for the best.

Our brains are just trying to find the easiest way to figure it out. And that makes sense. When you're starting out, you don't know what you don't know. You just want a number that feels safe and a number that won't scare people away. A number that seems reasonable.

Which, by the way, is my least favorite word because "reasonable" from one person to another is completely different.

But here's the problem: that instinct, that easy answer your brain is giving you, is usually wrong.

Because pricing a creative service isn't like pricing a product. It's not cost of materials plus labor plus markup. It's not just dividing your desired annual income by the number of events you want to do.

Those formulas work for products. They don't work for what we do.

And the worst part? Most of us don't even realize we're using a broken formula until we hit six figures and suddenly we're working every single weekend, fully booked, posting the wins on Instagram, and wondering why we're still broke.

So today I'm going to break down the five biggest pricing mistakes that six-figure photo booth founders make. These aren't soft mindset issues. These are concrete, tactical mistakes in how you're calculating your price. Mistakes your brain defaults to because you were never taught how to price the right way.

And if you recognize yourself in any of these, you're leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table every single year.

Mistake #1: Charging Based on Guest Count

This is the one everyone defaults to because it feels logical. More people equals more money, right?

Wrong.

Someone reaches out for a quote. Your first instinct is to ask how many people are going to be there. And then you adjust your price based on that number.

100 people? Okay, maybe $1,200.

500 people? Let's make it $1,800 because that's way more guests.

I get why your brain does this. It feels fair. More people, more activity, bigger lines, more photos. Makes sense.

Except it doesn't.

Why Guest Count Doesn't Determine Your Costs

Because guest count has absolutely nothing to do with your costs in reality.

Think about it. Whether there are 50 people or 500 at an event, you're still doing the same amount of work on your own.

You're prepping the booth for the same amount of time. You're driving to the venue for the same amount of time. You're setting up for the same amount of time. You're breaking down for the same amount of time. And your admin work might slightly fluctuate, but generally it's the same amount of time.

The number of people who walk through your booth doesn't change many of those costs. It doesn't add extra hours to your prep time. It doesn't double your drive. And it doesn't mean you're spending more on overhead or insurance or your CRM.

It might add a couple of dollars to your paper cost, but that's it.

The difference in cost between 100 prints and 200 prints is all of $16.

The Real Math: Booth Capacity

The reality is that, on average, a photo booth capture-to-print takes about 45 to 60 seconds per sitting. That's start to finish, and that's if everyone in the photo knows what they're going to be doing in the photo. That doesn't take into consideration them trying to figure out their pose.

This means that in an hour, you can do 60 to 90 sessions, regardless of how many people are in the room. Whether it's 50 or 7,000.

So why would it change your price?

A Real Example

Let me give you an example. A few years ago, we did a 50-person luxury wedding—private estate, super intimate, high-end couple. They had a three-hour 360 booth with full custom branding, and we charged them $4,500.

Two weeks later, we did a 500-person corporate holiday party for a tech company. Same booth, same setup, custom branding, same three hours.

We also charged them $4,500.

Wait, what? Fewer people, same price?

Yep. Because the value we're delivering to both events is the same in this case. And we had the same capacity on throughput on both events.

Guest count is a red herring. It's your brain trying to find an easy metric to base your pricing on. But it's the wrong metric.

But What About Busy Events?

Now, I know some of you are thinking, "But Cat, if there's 500 people, the booth is going to be way busier. The lineup is going to be longer. We're going to take way more photos."

Sure. Maybe. But that's an operational problem, not a pricing problem.

If you're worried about managing a bigger crowd, add a second booth attendant and charge for that. But don't drop your price just because someone tells you there's only 50 guests.

Because those 50 guests might love having their picture taken and live in the photo booth. Trust me, we've done 50-person parties that are busier than 3,000-person events.

What to Ask Instead

Here's what you should be asking yourself instead:

• What problem are you trying to solve?

• What does success look like for the event?

• What do you want their guests to walk away with remembering?

Are they trying to create an unforgettable brand experience? Are they trying to generate content for social media? Are they trying to collect email addresses for their marketing list? Are they trying to make their daughter's Sweet 16 the most epic thing her friends have ever seen?

That's what determines your price—not how many bodies walk through the door.

The only time this would affect any decision is if the client's goal is to get as many people through the booth as possible. Because now, knowing the guest count means that you can tell your client how many booths they need in order to get to that goal.

Your Homework for Mistake #1

Next time someone asks you for a quote, you can still ask how many people are attending, but more importantly, ask them what they're trying to accomplish. And then price based on that, not headcount.

Mistake #2: Pricing by the Hour

This is a big one. This is a mistake that's quietly draining your bank account, and you don't even know it's happening.

Your brain defaults to hourly pricing because it feels simple. It's how you got paid at your last job, right? Hour's work equals money earned. So you apply that same logic to your business.

You charge $200 an hour for your booth. Three-hour event equals $600. Easy math. Seems profitable.

Except it's not.

Because you're only calculating the event time. You're not calculating all the invisible hours that go into making the event happen. And that's where you're bleeding money.

What a Three-Hour Event Actually Looks Like

Let me walk you through what a three-hour event actually looks like and costs in real time. Not just booth time. All of it.

First, the event itself: 3 hours.

But before you even get to the event, someone had to prep the booth. They had to set it up, get the equipment going, test the event, pack it back up, and then also pack all the backups. Let's call that another hour.

Then there's the admin time. Someone had to respond to the initial inquiry. Someone had to send the contract. Someone had to send an invoice. They had to follow up with the client. They had to ask for event details, design details, all that kind of stuff. Let's leave this number very conservative and call it 30 minutes total.

Then there's design time. You need to create the overlay or the template, any of the screens, whatever it is. I'm going to use again another conservative number of 30 minutes.

Then there's drive time, setup time, teardown time. Let's say an hour of drive time, plus showing up an hour before, and it takes you 30 minutes to tear down. That's another 2.5 hours.

That's 7.5 hours for a three-hour event.

Now you're making $80 an hour, which is a big difference from your $200.

But This Isn't Factoring in Your Business Costs

But this isn't factoring in any of your costs to actually run your business. Your website hosting, your CRM, your email marketing, your insurance, your equipment depreciation, your storage—all the stuff that keeps your business running in the background. Website, phone systems, you name it.

If you take all of those monthly costs and divide them by the number of events you do in a year, let's say that adds another $200 per event.

Now your three-hour event? That $600 is actually only $400.

Add in the Direct Costs

Now we factor in prints. Let's say you do 300 in three hours. That means we need to take off another $48 of cost.

Mileage and gas? Let's call that an even $50.

Your second attendant? Because you're printing, they're only there for the live time. So it's going to be three hours, but you have to pay them $25 an hour. So that's $75. And that's not even including payroll taxes or anything like that.

Now you're left with all of $227 for 7.5 hours of work.

You just paid yourself $30 an hour.

What If You Need to Hire Someone?

In this scenario, we're lucky that there's even anything left over. What if you need to hire someone to do this job? What if you had to pay them $25 an hour?

Now your hourly rate is $5. That's essentially minimum wage from 1992.

There's no profit here. And frankly, this isn't how it works for many booth owners once they see their real numbers—they're actually losing money every time they go out.

I've seen this so many times when I actually dig into people's numbers. This is happening on every single event that they book, and they're not calculating their true cost.

You're busy, you're booked solid, you're working every single weekend, and you're still broke because you thought you were pricing by the hour, but you're only pricing by the visible hours—the ones that happen on-site, not the invisible ones that happen before and after.

And heaven forbid there'd be more admin work.

Why Your Brain Does This

Your brain defaults to the easiest calculation: event time times hourly rate. But creative services don't work like that. There's so much more that goes into delivering your experience than just the time you're physically at a venue.

The Fix

So here's the fix. You need to calculate your actual cost per event. Not just the event time. All of it. Every single hour, every single expense.

Write it all down. Add it up. And make sure you're assigning values to each line as if you had to hire someone else to do it.

Then add your profit margin.

That number? That's your baseline. That's your floor. That's the absolute minimum you need to charge in order to stay in business and not burn out.

And if that number scares you? Good. It should. Because it means you've been undercharging this whole time, and now you know.

 

Mistake #3: Not Having Anchor Pricing

This one is the difference between having a business and having a hustle.

Here's what usually happens: A lead comes in. They want a quote for something that's slightly different than what's on your standard packages. And you sit there thinking, "Okay, well, what should I charge for this?"

And then your brain starts scrambling.

You try to remember what you charged the last person who booked something similar. Was it $1,200? Was it $1,500? You can't remember.

So you just pick a number that feels right.

Maybe you're in a good mood, so it's a little lower. Maybe you're desperate for a booking, so you drop your price even more. Maybe you look at what other owners in your area are charging and just match them.

You're making it up based on vibes, based on a gut feeling, based on whatever your brain decides is the easiest way to get to that number.

The Problem with Inconsistent Pricing

And then three months later, the exact same type of inquiry comes in. Same booth, same duration, same everything.

And you quote them something completely different because you forgot what you charged the first person, or because your mood is different, or because you're more confident now, or because you're less confident now.

This is a disaster because it means:

• Your pricing is inconsistent

• If you ever build a team, your team can't quote for you because they don't know what to charge

• And if you already have a team, you've run into this

• You can't scale because there's no system

• You can't step away because pricing lives entirely in your head

• And you're probably undercharging on half your events because you're flying blind every single time

What Is Anchor Pricing?

This is where anchor pricing comes in.

Anchor pricing is your baseline price for every service you offer. It's the foundation that every quote is built on. It accounts for all of your costs—labor, overhead, direct expenses—plus your desired profit margin.

Once you know your anchor price, you can easily add on for customizations or extra hours or special requests. But the base is always the same. It's not changing based on how you feel that day or what you think the client can afford.

Why This Matters

Without anchor pricing, you're reinventing the wheel every single time. You're guessing. You're hoping. And you're probably leaving money on the table.

With anchor pricing, you have a system. You have consistency. You have confidence. And you can delegate quoting to someone else on your team without worrying they're going to undercharge or overcharge.

 

Mistake #4: Forgetting to Include Your Expertise in the Price

This is the mistake that keeps experienced booth owners charging the same as someone who just bought their first booth six months ago.

Think about it. You've been in business for years. You've done hundreds of events. You know how to handle difficult venues, demanding clients, technical glitches, last-minute changes. You have systems, you have backups, you have contingency plans.

But you're charging the same price as someone who started last month.

Why?

What Clients Are Really Buying

Because you're pricing based on the deliverable—the photo booth experience—instead of pricing based on the certainty you provide.

When a client books you, they're not just buying a photo booth. They're buying:

• Peace of mind that you'll show up on time

• Confidence that your equipment will work

• Experience handling the unexpected

• The assurance that you're not going to ruin their event

A client who's never done an event with a photo booth before? They're terrified something will go wrong. They're anxious about whether it'll actually be worth the investment.

You eliminate that anxiety. That's what they're paying for.

A Real Example

Let me give you a real example. We once did an event where the venue had a surprise electrical issue right before the booth was supposed to go live. The power kept cutting out every 10 minutes.

A newer operator might have panicked. They might have spent the whole event apologizing or troubleshooting. The client would have been stressed.

But because we've done this so many times, we had a backup battery system in the van. We had it set up in 15 minutes. The booth ran flawlessly. The client never even knew there was a problem.

That's expertise. And that's worth paying for.

How to Price for Expertise

The way you price for expertise isn't by adding a line item that says "expertise fee."

It's by positioning yourself as a premium option and charging accordingly.

This means:

• Your base prices should be higher than newer competitors

• You should clearly communicate your experience in your marketing

• You should share stories and case studies that demonstrate your problem-solving abilities

• You should confidently handle objections about price by pointing to your track record

When someone asks, "Why are you more expensive than this other company?" you should be able to say:

"We've been doing this for X years. We've done over X events. We've handled venues of every type, clients with every personality, and technical situations you didn't even know could happen. When you book us, you're not just getting equipment—you're getting certainty. You're getting peace of mind. You're getting the experience that ensures your event goes flawlessly."

That's how you charge for expertise.

 

Mistake #5: Spending All Your Time Worrying About What Other Photo Booth Companies Are Charging

This is the mistake that frustrates me the most because I see it all the time, and it's completely self-inflicted.

Here's the scenario: You're feeling good about your pricing. You're confident. You send out a quote. And then the client comes back and says:

"I got another quote from a company that's charging half of what you are. Can you match that price?"

Or worse, you see on social media that some company in your area is advertising $400 three-hour packages, and you start spiraling.

"I can't compete with that."

"How am I supposed to book anything when they're charging that little?"

"Maybe I need to lower my prices."

Stop.

This Isn't About Them

First of all, stop obsessing about what other companies are charging. Seriously. Stop.

Because here's what's actually happening: if you're worried about companies charging a third of what you charge, you have two problems.

You have a marketing problem and you have an identity problem.

Because here's what's actually happening. Those companies charging bottom-barrel prices? They're not devaluing the industry. They're devaluing themselves. That's it. That's all they're doing.

They're attracting price shoppers. They're working their butts off for no profit. And they're going to burn out in two years and either close their business or finally figure out how to price properly.

But that has nothing to do with you—unless you're positioning yourself in the same market as them. Unless you're trying to compete with them on price. Unless you're letting clients put you in the same category as them.

And if that's happening, that's your fault, not theirs.

The Real Problem: Positioning

Let me say that again. If a client is comparing you to a company that charges a third of what you charge, this is not a pricing problem. That's a positioning problem.

You're not communicating your value. You're not differentiating yourself. You're not showing them why you're different.

You're just another photo booth company to them.

And when you're just another photo booth company, price is the only thing clients have to compare you on. So they're going to go with the cheapest option every time.

You're Not "Just Another Photo Booth Company"

But here's the thing: you're NOT just another photo booth company.

Because if you were, you wouldn't be listening to this podcast. Or at least you shouldn't be.

You have:

• Years of experience

• High-end equipment

• A process that ensures everything runs smoothly

• You or your team show up on time and know how to handle any situation

• Custom branding capabilities

• You can text photos

• You have a track record of delivering results

But if you're not communicating that... if your website looks the same as everyone else... if your proposals are just a list of features and a price... if you're marketing yourself the same way as a company charging a third of what you would charge...

Then yeah, you're going to get compared to them. And you're going to lose.

Because why would a client pay more if they can't see the difference?

The Identity Problem

This is what I mean by an identity problem. You need to be crystal clear about who you are and who you serve.

Are you a premium option for luxury weddings? Are you the corporate specialist who understands brand activations?

Pick a lane, own it, and then market to that one specific audience.

Because the clients who are shopping on price alone? They're not your client. They never were.

They're looking for the cheapest option, and no matter how much you drop your price, there's always going to be someone willing to go lower. And heaven forbid, work for free.

As Mel Robbins would say: Let them.

Let them charge what they want. Let them work for pennies. Let them attract clients who are going to nickel and dime them on every single thing. Let them deal with the headaches that come with the clients who only care about price.

That's not your problem.

Focus on Your Own Business

Your problem is focusing on what YOU'RE doing. Your pricing. Your positioning. Your market. Your ideal client.

Stop looking at what everyone else is doing. Stop checking their website. Stop stalking their Instagram. Stop comparing your prices to theirs.

It's a waste of your time and energy. And honestly, it's keeping you stuck.

Because every minute you spend worrying about what they're charging is a minute you're not spending figuring out how to:

• Better communicate your value

• Attract higher-quality clients

• Position yourself as the premium option in your market

What to Do Instead

Here's what I want you to do instead: Get so focused on your own business that you don't even have time to think about what anyone else is doing.

Get so clear on your value that when a client asks, "Well, this other company is charging half the price," you can confidently say:

"That's because we're not the same. Here's what you get with us."

And then lay out the experience, the expertise, the results, the certainty, the peace of mind.

And I always say this: If you are looking at a photo booth company on price alone, we are not your choice and I wish you all the best.

Seriously. Bless and release.

And if they choose the cheaper option? Great. They were never your client to begin with. You just saved yourself the headache of working with someone who doesn't value what you do.

The Truth About Competition

Because the reality is there will always be someone cheaper. Always. In every market, in every industry. And that's never going to change.

But there will never be another you.

There will never be another business with your exact experience, your exact process, and your exact way of doing things.

So stop trying to compete on price. Start competing on value and expertise, on results. And stop worrying about everyone else.

Let them do what they're going to do. You focus on building a business that charges what it's actually worth, attracts clients who see that worth, and gives you freedom and income you actually want.

That's the shift. That's how you stop being just another photo booth company and start being THE photo booth company.

Bringing It All Together

Okay, let's bring this back. Because nobody teaches us how to price, especially not how to price a creative service. So our brain defaults to whatever feels easy, whatever feels safe, whatever we can figure out on our own.

But those instincts are usually wrong.

Here are the five biggest pricing mistakes you're probably making:

1. Charging based on guest count instead of the transformation you're delivering and the actual capacity of your booth

2. Pricing by the hour without calculating your true costs

3. Not having anchor pricing, which means you're making up your pricing every single day

4. Forgetting to include your expertise in the price

5. Spending all your time worrying about what other photo booth companies are charging instead of focusing on your own positioning and your own value

If you recognize yourself in even one of these, you're leaving serious money on the table. Maybe tens of thousands of dollars a year. Maybe even more.

Here's What to Do About It

On January 26th, I'm hosting my monthly coaching call for Photo Booth Mastery Thrive members, and I'm opening it up this one time to anyone who wants to fix their pricing once and for all.

We're going to walk through the anchor method step by step, and we're going to calculate true costs. We're going to figure out real numbers together. And we're going to build pricing that actually works.

Because you didn't build a six-figure business just to stay broke. You built it to scale and you built it to give yourself freedom. You built it to create the life you actually want.

And pricing is where that starts.

So if you're ready to stop undercharging and stop leaving money on the table and start building a pricing strategy that actually supports the business you're trying to build, show up on the 26th.

It's literally $9 to join live.

I'll drop the link in the show notes, but you can also hit me up on Instagram and hopefully I'll see you there.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Photo Booth Pricing

How should I price my photo booth services if not by guest count?

Price based on the transformation you're delivering and the actual capacity of your booth. Ask clients what they're trying to accomplish with the booth—whether it's generating social content, collecting emails, or creating an unforgettable brand experience. That determines your price, not the number of attendees.

What is anchor pricing for photo booths?

Anchor pricing is your baseline price for every service you offer. It accounts for all of your costs (labor, overhead, direct expenses) plus your desired profit margin. Once you know your anchor price, you can easily add on for customizations or extra hours, but the base is always the same.

How much work goes into a three-hour photo booth event?

A three-hour event actually requires 7.5 hours of work: 3 hours at the event, 1 hour for booth prep/testing/packing, 30 minutes of admin time, 30 minutes of design time, and 2.5 hours for drive time, early arrival setup, and teardown. Plus all your overhead costs divided across your events.

How do I compete with cheaper photo booth companies?

You don't. If a client is comparing you to a company that charges a third of your price, that's a positioning problem, not a pricing problem. Focus on communicating your value, experience, and expertise so clients can't compare you on price alone. Price-shopping clients are not your ideal clients.

What profit margin should I aim for in my photo booth business?

Aim for 40-50% profit margin if you're running a larger operation with staff. If you're an owner-operator with lower overhead, target 70-80% profit margins. This is your profit after all costs are covered, not just a markup on visible costs.

Why am I still broke even though I'm fully booked?

You're likely only pricing for the visible hours (time at the event) and not accounting for all the invisible hours before and after, plus your overhead costs. When you calculate your true cost per event including prep, admin, design, drive time, and overhead, you may find you're making $30/hour or less.

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Key Takeaways

• Guest count doesn't determine your costs—stop using it as a pricing metric

• A three-hour event requires 7.5 hours of total work—price for all of it

• Create anchor pricing that accounts for true costs plus healthy profit margins

• Your expertise and experience eliminate client anxiety—charge for that certainty

• Competing on price attracts the wrong clients—focus on positioning and value instead

• If clients can't see your difference, that's a marketing problem, not a pricing problem

 

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Ready to fix your pricing once and for all?

Join the live pricing workshop on January 26th where we'll calculate your true costs and build your anchor pricing together. It's $9 to attend live.

Register here

 

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