Many photographers feel they are “ ready ” to dive into stock photography – they are up to date on quality and content, they have a good starting volume and they have time to work on it, it should All systems work, but one thing stops them.

You just don’t know how much to charge for your photos? They worry that they will ask too much and lose a sale, or that they may ask for too little and the buyer will take advantage of them. Either way, they are worried about losing money and looking a little stupid. Does it sound familiar to you? If so, what follows is a crash course on stock photography pricing that will take the stress out of the process.

Rule 1. Professional photographers don’t sell their images, they license them

When you sell an image, you are actually giving your customer permission to use that image in exchange for a license fee. Usually this is for one specific use only. Usually it is for a fixed period of time or a fixed number of reproductions.

Rule # 2. Professional photographers never relinquish copyright or ownership of their work.

Because you are granting a single use license for a limited time, it is important to note that the image remains yours and the copyright remains yours. You are allowing the Customer to use the image strictly on your terms. You can view the photography license as a rental agreement. Just as a car rental company will tell you where you can go, what you can do, and when you need to take the car back, your photography license tells the customer exactly what you can do with your image and when to stop using it. that.

So how is a price determined?

The cost of licensing a photo is generally a product of the value of use to the Customer and the value of the photo in question. The photographer evaluates the value of the use of the specific image for the Client and then determines a fair and reasonable price that covers the costs and allows a profit margin.

This is standard in any business. The operator studies his client, evaluates his product and determines a price that covers his costs, offers good value for money to his client and leaves him a reasonable profit margin for his efforts. The price of Rights Managed photos is no different EXCEPT that the value of a photo depends on how the customer wants to use it. So based on that, the prices to license the same photo will vary based on usage.

The value of the use of the photo for the client

In simple terms, a photo used on the cover of a magazine has a higher value to the Customer than, for example, a small reproduction on the back of the same magazine.The cover photo will actually help sell the magazine , which is obviously of immediate cash value to the Client. The photo on the back of the magazine still has some value, but its size and location suggests that it is not of great interest to most readers of the magazine, therefore it has less value to the Client.

Of course, if the same photo were used instead for a double page ad spread within the magazine, it would be worth even more to that Client. The advertiser would pay a premium price for the space, so you can be sure that they selected that particular photo because they believe it will give them the maximum return on their investment.

These are very simplistic examples, but what you must recognize is that in each of these examples, the photographer is not selling the photo … he is selling the less tangible “service that the photo provides” to the Client.

Many photographers find it difficult to justify charging different clients different prices for what they consider to be the same “product.” The key is to remember that you are not selling a product; you are selling a service.

You are not selling the photo itself. You are selling the Client the rights to benefit from the use of your photo. And since the return to the Customer in each use will vary, the purchase price must also vary.

The value of the photo itself

Each photo has an intrinsic value based on the uniqueness of the content and the quality of execution. In simple terms of supply and demand, a great photo of a rare subject will always be worth more than a bad photo of an ordinary subject.

A commercial photo also has a residual value, based on its freshness. The more exposure an image has, the less attractive it will have for future Clients. An example would be if a photo were used internationally for a broad advertising campaign. Once the image has been viewed by millions of people, there is little chance that a different Customer will use it to promote their own product. They wouldn’t want to risk sending a mixed message to their audience using a “second hand” image. It is easier and safer for the Client to simply search for another image.

Therefore, each time you license an image, you have an impact on the future sales potential of that image. A textbook editor in need of a simple illustration probably won’t worry too much about where the image has been used before or where it might appear in the future, but that usage will become a factor the next time someone considers using the image.

If a customer wants a new image, no matter if the previous use was a thumbnail in a textbook or a double page in time, they will still consider the image use. Of course, there are many situations where prior use is not a problem, but when a Customer needs an unreleased image, they will usually pay a lot of money for it!

So while there might be a temptation to dismiss smaller sales as insignificant and not worth much … that small sale could disqualify your image from a much bigger sale down the road. As an entrepreneur, you must ensure that you receive compensation for it at that time.

If you are someone who has trouble with the idea of ​​charging different prices for different uses, remember this … If you had to get a license the best photo you’ve ever taken For a high-profile ad campaign, the prospective customer pool for that photo is immediately reduced to one. It is highly unlikely that someone else will buy that image again.

Unless the original Client decides to re-license the image later, its residual value will practically disappear. So your initial license fee should represent your assessment of the residual value of that image!

The mechanics of pricing

Rights-managed licensing takes many factors into account and can be confusing at first. It is much easier if you can remember the following; All the usage factors you’ll see boil down to one thing … assess “exposure.” How prominent will the image be posted and how many people will see it.

Books, software, and calculator websites will talk about dozens of different factors:

• Print run
• Circulation
• Playback size
• Screen display size
• Screen duration
• Number of problems
• Regional rights vs world rights
• Electronic rights
• Time in use
• Placement and positioning
• … And much more.

All they are really asking is how prominent the image to be posted will be, and as a factor of that, how many people will see the image. And as we have already mentioned, when the exposure increases, the benefit value for your client increases and the residual value of the image decreases, so you charge more. Its price is the product of those elements, applied to the Intrinsic / Residual Value of the image.

• Low exposure X Low profit value => Low impact on residual value = Low license fee
• High exposure X High profit value => High impact on residual value = High license fee

Of course, there are any number of degrees for each of these values, but the key is not to get sucked into too much detail. When using the various calculators and printing guides, be as precise as possible, but don’t panic if you don’t know a specific detail or the options offered don’t exactly match your use. In most cases it will not have a major impact on the final price.

My only other suggestion is to use pricing calculators often to develop an idea of ​​what different uses are worth before a buyer knocks on your door. If you are new to the business, a printing price guide is also highly recommended. Above all, don’t be intimidated by the process. Always value your work and your time. Never give up ownership or copyright and remember, you can always say ‘no thanks’ if the price is wrong.