 TRACY WILLIAMS |
what to charge for magazine work? I've been shooting canine sports and private sessions for several years now. A newly launched local magazine has approached me about providing pictures for some of their articles. Since I've never done this before, and I know you can know get stock photography for next to nothing off the web - I'm wondering how to come up w/ a price? I don't want to undercut myself. Thanks for your time,
|
|
|
|
||
|
Mark Feldstein |
Start with about $975.00 per day plus usage, byline rights, all expenses, assistant fees, prep. of delivery memos and related contract docs. No, I'm NOT kidding. That's just a starting point in real editorial work. New publications want to balance their books on the backs of photographers whose work sells their publications and illustrates their stories. They want good and cheap photography. Yes, you can get good and cheap photography these days. From microstock agencies you can get cheap, usually not so good. If your work is good enough to be accepted by Getty or Corbis or Magnum, then you'll be fine. If not, then yes, you're undercutting the value of your services and every professional My guess is that if you're asking this question, no offense Tracy, but I'd guess that you're about to undercut yourself along with any professionals. You probably have some serious reading and catching up to do FIRST and should also join a professional association, attend local chapter meetings, and accomulate the knowledge necessary to price your work on your own based on industry standards. Once you've undercut yourself (and others) it's going to be difficult or impossible to recover from it for future gigs with the same or related publications. Beware the siren song of publication and the promises of more work and higher rates in the future once the publication gets rolling. That's a cheap come on. Run don't walk from those kinds of offers.
|
|
|
|
||
|
TRACY WILLIAMS |
Mark Thanks for the response, so far I have turned down 'work for free' offers w/ grand illusions of it paying off in other ways. I'd rather NOT be published than be published in that way. You've given me some guidelines to study on, however, after re-reading my question, I realized I didn't ask it quite right. What I meant to ask was how to charge for usage rights of existing photos. I'm not ready to step up to doing photo shoots as I still have a bit of homework to do on charging, etc. If you've got some ideas on that, I'd greatly appreciate your thoughts. Tracy
|
|
|
|
||
|
Raymond H. Kemp |
You will discover that many magazines already have a stock photography cost outline within their contributor's or freelance photography contract. So many dollars for quarter page, half page, cover, etc. Most will have a freelance contract for you to sign which stipulates the stock image rates with limited rights. Exclusive rights are a different matter. Also, assignment work which could be handled in a manner Mark as described. But, you will find many mags go for stock with limited rights. Fotoquote is an excellent software tool to price your work within particular markets that are gaged against circulation data. I have compared it to some of my magazine and book publishers and it's pretty close. Ray
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bob Cammarata |
Try this link.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Mark Feldstein |
Hey Robert! I ran a few combinations through their calculator today. It strikes me as being very very low. In addition, their APA link isn't working and leads to a secondary link. That tells me their site probably hasn't been upgraded in several years when the APA site URL changed. Call me crazy (or anything else but late for supper). M.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bob Cammarata |
That was an old link I had saved and I haven't referred to it for quite a while. I guess it's true that the info there hasn't been updated, so I guess it's fair to call ME crazy. (...so what time is dinner?)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Mark Feldstein |
No sweat Bob. Cocktails at 6:30 Mexicano food fest at 7:30, and if I'm cooking, that would likely be followed by nausea and Montezuma's revenge about 10:00.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bob Cammarata |
Why not go Italian? (I can help out in the kitchen in that respect.) That cocktail part sounds good though.
|
|
|
|
||
|
TRACY WILLIAMS |
Thanks for the posts - enjoy your dinner plans!
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||