Where these numbers come from
No UAE authority publishes photography prices. Everything below comes from price lists and pricing guides that Dubai photographers and booking platforms put on their own sites, checked on 13 October 2026. These are asking prices, not audited averages. Several of the guides are written by photographers who sell the service, so treat their "market bands" as a seller's view.
Hourly rates by experience
booqit's 2026 breakdown splits the market by experience:
| Level | Per hour | Typical day |
|---|---|---|
| Entry (0–2 years) | AED 300–500 | AED 1,000–2,500 |
| Mid-level (3–6 years) | AED 500–800 | AED 2,500–5,000 |
| Senior / specialist (7+ years) | AED 800–1,500+ | AED 5,000–10,000+ |
Most photographers set a two-hour minimum, so the smallest real booking costs AED 600–1,400. Extra hours on top of a package cost AED 250–350 at Shoot Empire.
Prices by type of shoot
| Type | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Studio headshot | from AED 250 per retouched photo | Masoud Raoufi |
| Headshots, per person | AED 300–800 | booqit |
| Team headshots, full day | AED 4,000–10,000 | booqit |
| Private event, 4 hours | AED 1,800–3,500 | SL Media |
| Event, full day with video (agency) | AED 8,600–12,600 | Masoud Raoufi |
| Fashion / editorial, full day | AED 5,000–15,000 | booqit |
| Food and product | AED 150–800 per setup | Johns Eye |
| Real estate, single unit | AED 450–2,500 | Johns Eye |
| Hotel or resort, per day | AED 3,500–12,000 | Johns Eye |
We cover three of these in detail: product photography, food photography and real estate photo and video.
Compare price per delivered photo, not per hour
An hourly rate tells you how long someone stands on your premises. What you pay for is edited images. When we divided published package prices by the number of edited photos they promise, the spread was eightfold:
| Package (as published) | Price | Edited photos | Per photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shootix, full day, 8 h | AED 3,000 | 100 | AED 30 |
| Shootix, half day, 4 h | AED 1,700 | 60 | AED 28 |
| Shootix, 1 hour | AED 699 | 20 | AED 35 |
| Masoud Raoufi, studio "Pro", 1 h | AED 1,700 | 10 | AED 170 |
| Masoud Raoufi, headshot "One" | AED 250 | 1 | AED 250 |
This is arithmetic on published prices, not a quality ranking. A fully retouched studio portrait and a lightly graded event frame are different products. The point is that two quotes for "one hour" can buy 1 image or 20. Ask for the number of edited photos in writing and divide.
What nobody tells you
Editing is the hidden half of the price. SL Media points out that four hours at an hourly rate (AED 1,600–2,800) looks cheaper than a half-day package (AED 1,800–3,500). The difference is the edit: hourly bookings usually include a small selection, half-day packages include the full cull and colour grade.
Extra photos cost more than the package average. booqit lists additional edits at AED 50–150 per image. At Masoud Raoufi, an extra headshot costs AED 120–200 depending on the package. Pick the package by the number of photos you need, not by the hours.
Rush delivery adds 25–50%. Standard turnaround is 3–5 working days. A 24–48 hour delivery costs 25–50% above the base fee.
Outside Dubai there may be a travel fee. Shootix adds AED 150 for Sharjah or Ajman and AED 300 for Abu Dhabi, Fujairah or Ras Al Khaimah per booking.
Usage rights are not always included. Packages often cover your website and social media. Using the same photos in paid ads, on billboards or by a third party may need an extended licence; fotography.ae, for example, quotes extended advertising licensing on request. If people appear in the photos and you run ads, model releases matter too: see model fees and usage rights in Dubai.
A commercial shoot in a public place needs a permit. In Dubai, the Dubai Film and TV Commission issues media permits; the fee starts at AED 520. Our filming permit guide explains when a photo shoot needs one.
Which booking format to choose
This guide prices photographers for business work. For couple, family, maternity and desert photoshoots, see photoshoot prices in Dubai.
| You need | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 headshots | Studio per-photo package | Cheapest per image when you need very few |
| Photos of one event under 3 hours | Hourly, 2-hour minimum | Ask how many edited photos are included |
| Website, menu or product set | Half or full day | Per-photo cost drops; the stylist and setups fit in one day |
| Content every month | Subscription | Fixed price, fixed number of photos and reels |
What Savage Media charges
Our own prices, published on our photographer page:
| Savage Media | Special offer | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| One-off photo shoot | from AED 950 | Photos delivered from 24 hours |
| Savage Story | AED 3,500 first month, then AED 4,500/month | 2 shooting days, 8 reels and 15 photos every month |
| Lifestyle Day | AED 5,500/day | Supercar, yacht or penthouse day: 4+ reels and 20+ photos |
If you need video in the same shoot, our video production cost calculator gives a range in a minute.
Questions to ask before you book
- How many edited photos do I get, and at what retouching level?
- What does an extra photo cost?
- When do I get the photos, and what does faster delivery cost?
- Can I use the photos in paid ads? For how long?
- Is travel outside Dubai, the studio or a permit included?
