Is This The Future for Licensing To Text Books?

I teach an online class about the business of nature photography and last winter I had a student in the course that I just received an email from the other day regarding a stock usage that was proposed to him.

The student was contacting me for my opinion on a potential stock sale of an old image he had taken in the 80’s. He had been contacted by a text book company who had found his blog and the picture of the Yellowstone fire aftermath in the late 80’s. (Thanks to excellent keywording.)

They wanted to license the picture and said the target print run would be 1,000,000 text books, which I think is the planned print run before a total re-edit of the book. They offered $1200.00 for the use for a 4×6 inside use.

Now my pricing guide suggests a 1 million print run would be around $1000.00 and is probably the rate I would have quoted, but things have changed since this book was published in 2007. In this economy with plummeting prices, what can you really expect to get? Is the ‘normal’ rate a little lower or a lot lower?  … Continue Reading

Sean Bagshaw Pulls Off A Bank Job

Editors Note: The markets are tough these days and making large multi-image Rights Managed sales in the face of a formidable Microstock market is no easy task. When we hear about it we want to feature it so when we caught wind of Southern Oregon photographer Sean Bagshaw’s large project with a bank, we asked Sean if he would share the story behind the project and how he handled the details.

Hi Sean. Congratulations on such a large project with a local bank in your area. It looks like they used a lot of imagery from your files. How did they find you?

Thanks Charlie!  In this case they were already familiar with my work and looked me up.  I am fortunate to be one of very few photographers doing the kind of work I do in my small corner of Southern Oregon. The combination of specializing in imagery from my local area and being very active in keeping my images in the public eye through my website, social media, blog, galleries, exhibits, news articles and so on has created a situation in which many local businesses are already familiar with my photography. When it comes time for them to find images for a project they often seek me out.  It takes a lot of ground work to be in that position but it is nice when the calls come in. … Continue Reading

What Do Photo Buyers Think? A New Report Released

Have you ever wondered just what photo buyers think? If not you should be. Photo buyers are your bread and butter, your meal ticket, and are the key to the success of your outdoor and nature photography business.

Mikael Karlsson in association with Photosource International has just released his new eBook/survey on just what photo buyers think, about many different things related to working with stock photographers.

• The key to successful marketing is to know and understand the needs of your target audience. In this fast paced world of ours knowing the needs of your potential clients isn’t always enough. You must know enough about your marketing  targets to get them to look at your promotional materials in the first place. … Continue Reading

Saturday Morning Reads

Here are some great posts well worth reading while you sip that morning coffee and browse the net.

• This great post by Taylor Davidson describes various business models and general advice for setting up or starting your photography business.
• Scott Bourne posted a great read on 7 Things You should Know About Photo Editors where he discusses the way that photo editors work with photographers.
• Another good read and interesting issue is regarding trademark. Samuel Lewis has written a good piece on Digital Photo Pro regarding trademarks and whether photographers should trademark their business and brand. This is an eye opener as I have never considered trademarking my business.

• Jim Pickerall never disappoints and neither does this post on Black Star Rising, What Should You Charge a Client Who Wants to “Go Viral” with Your Images?

• Dean over at Photopreneur has a thoughtful and curious post about stock photo usage rights and some interesting questions about what the stock industry big-boys are up to.

• SOLAR POWERED CAMERA STRAP? Yes its true and it’s cool. Yanko Designs has developed a camera neck strap that has solar cells built in and charges your camera battery. Check it out here.

Establishing a Price Based on an Images Usage

Pricing? How much to charge? What’s a reasonable fee for an images use? These are all questions I have seen in various forums and from students I have had take my class on the business.

Last week we ran a series of posts on determining the value of an images usage and the questions to ask the client. This approach to image licensing is Right Managed, where a client requests the use of an image and inquires as to “how much” and the photographer establishes a fee and manages the usage.

We are not talking about Microstock or Royalty Free pricing because there is no negotiation going on there. Prices are set for a one price fits all usage that are forever and downloads are automated.

Rather the client here has contacted you and described a specific usage they have in mind and wish to negotiate a reasonable price with you.  … Continue Reading

How to Determine the Value of an Images Usage Part 6

Good selling images often are unique in some way, some more and some less. The usage of a one-of-a-kind image is certainly more valuable than the usage of an average image taken on an average day.

What makes an image unique may be in the eye of the beholder, but the photographer with plenty of market experience understands the difference.

A beautiful image of a Rose flower may be unique to the photographer who created it and no one else. Yet the photographer who happens to capture an image of a tornado carrying a red barn across Kansas has no doubt created a unique image.  … Continue Reading

How to Determine the Value of an Images Usage Part 5

What rights is the client requesting? This, like all the other questions, helps you establish a fair price. Does the client wish to use the image one time and no more and has no preference on who else uses the image? Or do they seek a wider use and want to prohibit anyone else from using the image at the same time?

Each scenario and everything in-between, has varying degrees of value to the client and you should be paid accordingly. A single use has a small value use while an unlimited use has a much greater value.

Most clients are in between there somewhere wanting a reasonable usage that covers a few bases and do not care if anyone else uses the image allowing the photographer the opportunity to continually earn money from the image. … Continue Reading

How to Determine the Value of an Image Usage Part 4

What is the size of the usage and print run your client is requesting? A cover of a brochure has greater value than a small thumbnail on an inside page. A double page spread in a magazine has more value than a quarter-page use.

Your license fees should not only reflect how and where the image is being used but what size the image will be used and print run or length of time. The value received is much higher with a full page 500,000 print run than with a thumbnail and 5,000 print run, and these considerations should be reflected in your fee.

For example, a client is placing an ad in three regional magazines for three months with a combined circulation for all three is 3 million and this first example is a ¼ page ad: … Continue Reading

How to Determine the Value of an Image Usage Part 3

Where is the image going to be used? In this previous post I discussed How an image was going to be used such as an ad or editorially or a brochure and this post is going to discuss Where the usage will take place.

Value is received one way or another but the higher the visibility or circulation, the more value the client receives. If for example and image is to be used on an advertisement in Readers Digest Magazine and its reported 10 million circulations that has a certain value.

On the other hand if the same ad is running in Midwest Living magazine with its reported circulation of just under 1 million, you can see that the difference is rather large. … Continue Reading

How to Determine the Value of an Image Usage Part 2

All usages of photography have value and the usage fees received should reflect the value that the client receives. Clients often when calling will ask immediately “How much?” and you should have your series of questions ready to go to show them that you know how to establish a price.

In fact, I have these questions on a form that I can grab allowing me to remember to ask each question and take note as the clients responds to those questions.

Ask the client the following questions: … Continue Reading