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Author Topic: How much to charge for a photograph?  (Read 9665 times)

simantini

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How much to charge for a photograph?
« on: September 28, 2005, 02:38:10 pm »

Hello all,

How much does one charge for their landscape and wildlife photographs? An estimate per size ($X for 3"x 5", $Y for 8" x 10" etc.) will be very helpful. Also, how much should one charge if a third party wants to buy the rights to a photograph so that the photograph can not be used elsewhere?

Thanks.
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howard smith

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How much to charge for a photograph?
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2005, 03:17:02 pm »

Interesting questions and hard to answer.

I have been told it is very hard to raise your prices.  If you start off cheap, your work will likely always be cheap.

I would not charge more if the buyer was going to be resell it.

Where are planning to sell?  Some folks swear by having work hung for sale in public places.  A large bank might bring higher prices than a back street greasy spoon diner.

I would not routinely charge less than cost.  What your image is worth above cost is hard to say without any other data or seeing your images.

What is a photograph for exclusive use worth?  That too depends.  What is the use - local small paper add to national ad campaign?  Will the client bring a large audience for your work.  And, how deep are the clients pockets.

I gave a "client" an image for an ad campaign.  It was valuable to that client but had zero value for any other (product shot).  My thinking was it would bring a bigger audience (and did) and might bring more work from the client (it didn't).  But that was where I was in my life.

I was once told you charged what you needed.  Figure out how much income you need, divide by the number you expect to sell, and you have your price.
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simantini

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How much to charge for a photograph?
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2005, 03:22:36 pm »

Quote
Interesting questions and hard to answer.

I have been told it is very hard to raise your prices.  If you start off cheap, your work will likely always be cheap.

I would not charge more if the buyer was going to be resell it.

Where are planning to sell?  Some folks swear by having work hung for sale in public places.  A large bank might bring higher prices than a back street greasy spoon diner.

I would not routinely charge less than cost.  What your image is worth above cost is hard to say without any other data or seeing your images.

What is a photograph for exclusive use worth?  That too depends.  What is the use - local small paper add to national ad campaign?  Will the client bring a large audience for your work.  And, how deep are the clients pockets.

I gave a "client" an image for an ad campaign.  It was valuable to that client but had zero value for any other (product shot).  My thinking was it would bring a bigger audience (and did) and might bring more work from the client (it didn't).  But that was where I was in my life.

I was once told you charged what you needed.  Figure out how much income you need, divide by the number you expect to sell, and you have your price.
Howard,

Thanks for your insightful comment. The client may potentially be the Visitor's Bureau from a US state. They want the photo(s) on a disc or to be e-mailed to them so that they could use it in their brochures, on their web sites etc. Does that mean that they are buying the rights to that image, especially if I am giving them the digital copy?

Simantini
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howard smith

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How much to charge for a photograph?
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2005, 03:42:46 pm »

From your description of the intended use, it sounds like the client has not narrowed their use.  You gave some use examples and added "etc."

I guess a fair question might be: How hungry are you?  Maybe the ego thing of having a published image is OK, mayne the PR value, whatever.

Have you looked into a charitable donation?  You get little or no cash, but the client gets a gift.  This might be a good deal for all.

Be sure to get a photo credit on any materials.  That can be worth a lot, maybe more than actually selling the image.
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collum

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How much to charge for a photograph?
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2005, 10:54:33 pm »

Image Size    Mat Size   Ink Jet   Platinum
Standard         
8 x 10         20 x 24     $150            $400
11 x 14       20 x 24     $250            $550
16 x 20       22 x 26     $500            $700
20 x 24    horiz: 32x28, vert: 28x34
                               $650            $850
24x30         32x39       $850
30x40, 40x50  depends on how mounted

Panoramic         
6x12           16x20      $200            $400
12 x 24       22 x 32     $500            $650
18 x 44       28 x 52     $750             N/A

              jim
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n_utting

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How much to charge for a photograph?
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2005, 06:06:25 pm »

Simantini,

Regarding scope of use/copyright, the trick is to be clear what you are selling.  Agree with the purchaser what rights they are buying - are they buying the right to publish your photo in traditional paper-based media (books, magazines, posters, adverts - some or all of these?), or on the web?  

Is that right to publish exclusive, i.e. you cannot sell the same photo to another purchaser for the same type(s) of use, or non-exclusive?  Are the rights territorial, i.e. can the purchaser print your photo only in US- or European-published media, or worldwide?  Are the rights permanent, or time-limited?

Make sure that the purchaser knows EXACTLY what rights they are buying by setting out those rights in a written, pre-sales agreement.  Broadly, the more rights they buy, the higher the cost.  

I am based in the UK, and I was always advised not to sell all rights (i.e. world rights, all media) to any photo for less than GBP500=USD875.  

When submitting written work with accompanying illustrations to magazines, I have always accompanied the submission with a statement to the effect that "The enclosed material is offered for a single publication in [name of publication] at your usual rate of payment.  Copyright in all enclosed material, both written and photographic, remains with the author unless expressly agreed to the contrary in writing prior to publication.  Publication of the enclosed material indicates your full agreement with the above conditions."

Hope this helps,
Nigel.
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BryanHansel

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How much to charge for a photograph?
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2005, 01:24:30 am »

If the image is outstanding and unique, you stand on some pretty good ground for a good price.  What you need to find out is the following:

How many brochures are they going to print?  What size and where will the image be used in the brochure?
How big is the image going to be on the website?
Do they want exclusive rights or unlimited rights?
How long do they want the image to be exclusive?

Let's say it is an outstanding and unique image, and they are going to print 100,000 brochures, and you're image will be the cover, then you would charge around $1100 to $2300.  For the website, let's say 1/4 of the page for a year: $1000 to $1800.  Then if they want it for more than a year, how much money are you giving up by not selling it elsewhere?  If they want the unlimited right to use the image anywhere in any media, then charge higher.

Of course, if you want your photo in the publications for sure, then go cheaper.  Maybe around $1000 for one year exclusive unlimited rights.  Let them know that you could sell the image multiple times in a year and by giving them those rights, you'll be depriving yourself of additional income from the image while they are using it, etc....
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