The Three Numbers Every Creative Pro Needs to Know

There's a conversation I wish someone had sat down and had with me early on in my career (especially before I undercharged my first client, before I said yes to “exposure” projects like it was a paycheck, and ESPECIALLY before I spent hours on a project and walked away with less than minimum wage. 🫠🫠

So! I thought I’d have it with you now!

Before you price anything (a painting, a logo, a photo session, a brochure) you need to know three numbers. (Just three!)

And if you hold onto them, they’ll protect you for the rest of your creative life.

Number one: Your hourly RATE.

Not what you think you're worth someday. What you need to earn right now, per hour, to make this work worth your time.

Even $15–25/hr is a real starting point when you're building a portfolio.

Write the number down. Own it.

Number two: Your TIME.

How many hours does this kind of project actually take — start to finish? Not the fun part. All of it. The back-and-forth emails, the revisions, the exporting, the printing run. Start clocking your school projects now. That data will be worth more than any pricing guide I can hand you.

Number three: Your COSTS.

Canvas. Paint. Software subscriptions. Printing. Gas to a photoshoot. The things that quietly eat your margin before you've even invoiced.

Put them together and you get your floor:

Base price = (Hourly rate × Hours) + Costs

Never go below it. That number isn't what you want to charge. THIS the minimum below which you are paying someone else to use your talent.

A few things worth knowing, based on type of creative work:

Original paintings:
Research comparable artists at your level on Etsy, local galleries, and Instagram.
A common formula adds (canvas cost × 3) on top of your labor.
Don't forget framing, portfolio photography, listing fees! They add up.

Prints/Reproductions:
Price below the original, but not embarrassingly so.
Calculate your print cost plus platform fees, then mark up 2–3×.
Limited editions can command more.

Illustration commissions:
Tier your pricing by complexity (is it a sketch, flat color, full detail, commercial use). Usage rights matter enormously: personal use costs less than commercial.
Student starting ranges:
$50–150 for personal, $150–500+ for commercial.

Photography:
A 1-hour shoot can mean 3–5 hours of editing.
That time is part of your session fee.
Portrait starting range for emerging photographers: $75–200/session.

Logo design:
Flat rate works better than hourly her. Clients get nervous watching a clock. Package it! Logo + file formats + one revision round.
Student range: $150–400.
And always include a licensing clause.
YOU own the files. They own the right to use the logo.

Trifold brochures:
Ask upfront whether they're providing copy and photos or whether you're sourcing them. That changes the scope (and the price) significantly.
Student range: $100–250.

And three things I want you to always keep in mind:

“Exposure” is not payment. Selective, intentional free or reduced-cost work for a strong portfolio piece? That's a strategy. Doing it by default because you feel like you can't ask for more? That's a habit to break early.

You are not selling hours. You are selling hours shaped by years of practice. A logo that takes a professional four hours took years of training to be doable in four hours. That expertise is in the price.

Have a plan to raise your rates. Price where you are right now, and mark a checkpoint every 3–5 completed projects. Growth isn’t accidental. You have to build it in!

A few resources worth bookmarking:

• Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: the industry standard for pricing illustration and design
• The Futur (thefutur.com / YouTube): practical, no-nonsense pricing content for young designers
• ASMP (asmp.org): photography pricing guides
• Pricing Design by Dan Mall: short, readable, design-specific
• Etsy seller analytics: underrated for researching what comparable work actually sells for in the real world

You have real skills. Price like it.

With so much love for where you’re headed, more soon!
Aaron