How much to charge for photos?

dinneenp

Hi,
Irish Greyhound Board commented on one if my photos in my photoblog and asked how much it'd cost to get some of my photos. didn't state how many and I haven't sent them all yet.
I'm an ameteur, wondering what I should ask for/what's a fair price/going rate?
Cheers
Pa

magicbastarder

what do they want to use it for?

dinneenp

I haven't replied yet but suppose I'll ask that.
Any other questions?
Would it be different price if it's for website vs programme vs posters etc or the one price?

PCPhoto

ask them if they are looking for regular contributions - and maybe offer to do a deal ....covering every week - giving a number of pics for X amount.

if they are not interested in that - its down to what they want to use the image for and how much they are willing to pay.

- its possible they want to use it for free :rolleyes:
- website usage - generally most photographers try to organise a link to their websites in exchange for using their images on a website.
- print depending on size they are looking for - multiply your cost by XX number and add a bit.

I recently had a customer ask me if they could purchase a two prints of images that were printed in the Herald - I replied with 2 options:
1 - Prints cost €20 each, €25 for a team pic.
2 - I can sell you digital downloads of all the images I sent to the papers for €60 (7 images) - you go off and get it printed yourself (and as many times as you want)

my reasoning behind the digital download is that the images are virtually worthless to me but its upselling...letting the buyer think they are getting a better deal when infact they are paying more for something they didnt want in the first place.

oh the buyer went for the digital download....I dont care if they print it off 10, 20times.... as long as its not used commercially - and this was emphasised in the terms and conditions of sale.

oh.... option 1 takes approx a week, option 2 takes max 30mins from when I receive funds.

Paulw

I agree with what PCPhoto has said, and I'd be of a similar mind. Prints - €20, and digital downloads are slightly cheaper (depending on how many). I also woudln't give the highest res jpg image, but a smaller file size (1.5-2mb file) so they can only print up to 8x10 size without having to expand the image.

Costing a job is always tricky, since you want money but don't want to price yourself too high. In a lot of cases, especially now, companies want things for free. This is never in your interest, in the long run.

dinneenp

It'd be for commercial use so does that mean charging higher?
Is €50 for digital copy per picture reasonable?

Ballyman

dinneenp wrote: »

It'd be for commercial use so does that mean charging higher?
Is €50 for digital copy per picture reasonable?

No!

If they hired a commercial photographer to take photos for them it would cost them multiples of €50. Many, many, many multiples.

Find out what kind of commercial usage and get full details from them before you do anything. You can't price it properly until you know the exact usage.

Orly

As above, €50 is ridiculously low. Depending on usage, this should certainly cost many times that.

It may be press, billboard, online, or a combination of those. Or it could just be for specific printed material (flyers, brochure etc.) at one particular greyhound track. But who knows, you'll have to find out.

You need to put a time limit on the usage too - generally a year, with the option for them to license the image again when the 12 months is up, if they wish. You're selling the license to use the image, rather than the image itself.

Don't give in to low-offers with promise of credit for the usage! Far too many cowboys out there.

You may find the AOP website useful... http://c4c.the-aop.org/downloads