Knowing the average cost of high school graduation photos can help you determine whether you want to go with professional photos or have your family and friends take care of this important moment.
Below we have provided some examples of high school graduation photo packages and add-ons. You can see the average cost of the shoot and how much people are spending on the post products.
How Much Do High School Graduation Photos Cost?
The average cost of high school graduation photos is around $200 for 2 hours of shooting time. The price range starts as low as $100 and can go up to $300. You should be able to select 5 to 10 photos from around 50 photos.
Related: Average Cost For High School Senior Pictures
You’ll also find that the much cheaper options are from amateur photographers who may only provide a quick photoshoot and allow you to download all of the photos taken, but the quality may not be at the level you’d hope.
If you want digital versions, photo retouching, specialty frames, and any other features, the price can add up quickly. Try to determine what you want and get a package close to that rather than buying individual photos.
Examples of High School Graduation Photo Packages
A professional high school graduation photographer may split their photoshoot days up so that all smaller packages come up on the same day and are stacked back to back, and the higher-end packages get much more time and may only allow for 1-2 photoshoots a day.
| Package | Cost | Shoot Time | Large Printed Photo | Printed Photo Sheets | Downloadable Photos |
| Package 1 | $300 | 3 Hours | 1 | 8 | All |
| Package 2 | $200 | 2 Hours | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| Package 3 | $150 | 2 Hours | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Package 4 | $90 | 30 Minutes | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Package 5 | $40 | 30 Minutes | 0 | 1 | 0 |
If your photographer offers a range of pricing for high school graduation photos like the above sample packages, you will likely get high-quality photos no matter what package you select and simply get fewer usable photos for the lower-priced packages.
Shoot times can also be modified, typically 30 minutes is the minimum required to get at least one good quality photo, and at least 3 hours would be needed to get 8+ excellent photos.
Photo sheets can often be broken down into the sizes you want, so a larger printed photo means 1 photo per sheet, while smaller photos could mean 4+ photos per sheet. It will depend on what you want to use the photos for and the sizes you actually need.
Examples of Package Add-Ons
Once your high school graduation photoshoot has been completed you’ll have the option to purchase a variety of add-ons, it could mean simply upgrading your package to get more photos, or you can purchase ad-hoc add-ons to make your own package.
| Add-On Item | Cost |
| 1 Photo Download | $25 |
| All Photo Download | $250 |
| Retouched Photo Download | $60 |
| Frames | $40 – $80 |
| Basic Retouching | $20 |
| Custom Retouching | $50 |
Digital Images
Downloading 1 photo may cost you $25, or to get all of your photos, the cost could be $250, so you’ll need to determine how many you actually want to download and then pick the best price option.
Photo Retouching
Basic retouching is typically done for the photos in your package, but if you need additional photos with basic retouching, it may cost you $20. If you need extra retouching, it can cost you an additional $50 or more if you want to download the retouched photo.
Frames & Canvas
Frames and canvases are a typical add-on so that you can give high school graduation photos out to family members or simply keep them yourself, the frame would come with 1 photo, and the size you want would dictate the price.
High School Graduation Photography Cost Comparison
High school graduation photos fall on the lower end of the photography cost spectrum. In comparison, a high school graduation photoshoot can cost between $150 – $250, you get 2 hours for a photoshoot, but you are limited in how many photos you get, typically five photos are included in the average package.
| Photography | Shooting Cost | Session Duration | Photos Included |
| Portrait Photography | $150 to $200 | 1 – 4 Hours | 20 – 50 |
| High School Graduation | $150 to $250 | 2 Hours | 10 |
| Family Portraits | $300 to $350 | 1 -2 Hours | 200 |
| Newborn Portraits | $250 to $350 | 2 – 3 Hours | 50 |
| Senior Pictures | $300 to $400 | 1 – 4 Hours | 20 – 100 |
| Boudoir Photography | $450 to $600 | 2 – 4 Hours | 5 – 12 |
When it comes to additional items such as frames, canvas, prints, albums and other post products, this is how much people normally spend:
- Portrait Photography: Digital images only ($0)
- High School Graduation: Prints (under $50)
- Family Portraits: Frames/Canvas (additional $100-$200)
- Newborn Portraits: Prints/Albums/Frames/Canvas ($300-$500)
- Senior Pictures: Prints/Albums ($200-$300)
- Boudoir Photography: Premium Album/Extensive Retouching ($500-$1000)
Related: Best Places to Print Photos
How to Take High School Graduation Photos For Free
Taking photos is not a challenging process these days, almost everybody has a smartphone with a good quality camera, and most schools today even provide photography courses, which would mean there are kids in your school that have at least amateur photography skills.
See if your friends are willing to trade high school graduation photoshoots where you take photos of them, and they take photos of you. Look up how to take photos on TikTok, YouTube, or just search the web for “how to take high school graduation photos.”
If you have a friend or know somebody at school that loves photography, they may even be willing to do the job to get the experience and their portfolio filled.
Using professional photographers is something that is quickly falling out of favor, and younger generations have become more accustomed to taking photos with high-quality cameras.
Related: Average Cash Gift Amount for High School Graduation 2022
