A lookbook is priced by looks and people, not by images. Sixteen images of twelve looks on two models across two locations is a production; sixteen images of four looks on one model on a seamless is a half day. The number that decides the quote is how many times something changes: wardrobe, model, or setup. We are not publishing photographer or model rates, which vary by market with no checkable average, but the structure below is what the number is made of.
What drives the cost
Number of looks. Each look is a styling change and a reset. This is the primary driver and the one clients most often underestimate.
Models. Casting, day rate, and usage rights. Adding a second model more than doubles the human cost because it adds coordination as well as fees.
Location versus studio. A studio is predictable; a location adds scouting, permits, travel, and weather risk.
Team size. Photographer, assistant, stylist, hair and makeup. The stylist is the line clients cut and the one that most visibly shows in the result.
Post per image. Retouching, colour, and export sets, priced per image and scaling linearly with the count.
Usage. Where the images run and for how long, priced separately, and the number that most often makes two quotes incomparable. See what is a usage licence.
What can be generated now
The split that holds for fashion, and it is narrower than in product work because garments are the product.
Generate: the environment around a real garment on a real person, seasonal variants of an existing shoot, background and location changes, and the campaign context. Canon 8frame prices, a credit being $0.01 at pack rate: an image is 6 to 21 credits, so twenty environment variants is 120 to 420 credits, roughly $1 to $4.
Do not generate: the garment. Fabric, drape, seam, and hardware are what a buyer is evaluating, and generated textiles are plausibly wrong in exactly the way that loses a sale. This is also where the category's credibility rules are strictest.
Be careful with: generated models. It is technically possible and carries real questions about representation, disclosure, and the rights of anyone whose likeness informed the result. A lookbook is a commerce document, so treat it with the same caution as a testimonial rather than as an art project.
The realistic saving is therefore in setups and locations, not in the shoot itself: shoot the looks properly in one controlled environment and generate the worlds around them.
How to brief for a comparable quote
Give four numbers: number of looks, number of models, number of final images, and usage term. Ask for the price split into shoot day, team, post per image, and usage. Quotes that arrive as one number and quotes built on different assumptions about those four are not comparable, and the cheapest is usually the one that assumed the fewest looks.
FAQ
How many images is a lookbook? Twelve to twenty-four for a seasonal collection is the working range. More stops communicating a point of view and starts being a catalogue. See what is a lookbook.
Can I make a lookbook entirely with AI? Not credibly for a real collection, because the garments have to be the real garments. For a concept collection or a pitch, yes, clearly labelled.
What is the cheapest way to get a lookbook? One location, one model, four to six looks shot properly, then generate the environment variants. That produces the image count without the setup count.
Shoot the clothes, generate the world. The 8frame canvas is free and unlimited, and generation is paid from $19/month.