High end commercial photography can still be very lucrative, especially if you’re shooting for large international clients. My day rate is $5k a day not including licensing fees but I’m nowhere near the top. There are bigger photographers who pull $250k a year easily. Of course it’s extremely competitive, all about connections and those jobs are getting fewer and fewer these days buts it’s very possible. I once worked as a 3rd assistant on a campaign shoot for a international beverage brand. The photographer cleared $120k for 3 days of work and delivered at most 20 images.
High end commercial photography can still be very lucrative, especially if you’re shooting for large international clients. My day rate is $5k a day not including licensing fees but I’m nowhere near the top. There are bigger photographers who pull $250k a year easily. Of course it’s extremely competitive, all about connections and those jobs are getting fewer and fewer these days buts it’s very possible. I once worked as a 3rd assistant on a campaign shoot for a international beverage brand. The photographer cleared $120k for 3 days of work and delivered at most 20 images.