I've just had an email from a local estate agent who has asked if I might be able to provide her with a couple of images for a billboard (4x6 foot) and they would also be used for some postcards. She said she would pay me for the rights to my images of course. How much do you think they would be worth, for something like that? It's for the Redstone resort (golf course) area in town and a local mailout. I'm not sure if I have any images that would be of use, but I'm going to meet with her in the next day or two. If anyone has some suggestions as to what you think would be a reasonable amount for something like that, I would greatly apprciate it.
@kiwichick to get an idea of what they'd have to pay others, try looking up "real estate photography" in your area. If it's anything like here you'll be surprised at how much they charge, especially considering what they're doing.
You'll need to clarify with them if it's going to be single use on the billboard and postcards only or if they will retain their rights to the image to be used however they want. You may wish to give them single use rights to the image for the billboard, and receive a percentage for postcards. Any future use of your image outside those two uses they would need your permission.
If you haven't had offers like this before, you may wish to price your image slightly lower than others would just so that you can add them as a client to your site. Don't undervalue your work, but don't overvalue it too much either. If it's a stock type image they can always go with someone else if you price it too high.
When I set up my site I looked to a fellow photographer in the area to get an idea of the pricing he had on his site. He offers prints and digital files, in your case his digital pricing would be most accurate, especially since printing costs here in Oz may be different than BC
Downloads
Personal use - medium
Royalty-free personal use, 682 x 1024 px
5.00
Personal use - large
Royalty-free personal use, 1825 x 2738 px
15.00
Commerical - print 1
One-time printed use (no online publishing)
100.00
Commercial - Limited online
Unlimited online use (no printing), 1414 x 2121 px
100.00
Commercial - Original
Royalty-free commercial use
250.00
Most of what I have sold are to newspapers that buy the photos for five years. It is not so much a per photo job as it is a group of photos. Royalty-free for print (top 10 photos) was around 225 pounds. May not help too much but, if you are selling them royalty-free, you can always ask for a higher price.
@kiwichick Well I'll be honest with you: this agency is probably trying to take advantage of you, hoping you either won't know what to charge or hoping that you'll just accept the price they set.
Right now the SkyWheel Myrtle Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has bought a one year right to display one of my photos on 11 billboards in the area. I charged them $2800 for the one photo.
The Charleston Business Association in South Carolina just bought the rights to one of my photos from last year to use as a postcard holiday mailer. I charged them $700 for that photo.
That is the going rate. I use a service called FotoQuote which uses a complicated formula which I don't understand to determine the current going rate for pricing photography. It has never led me wrong.
So...that's what I have charged for similar services.
Way to go, My friend!!!.. You'r photos are fantastic and you must feel great that someone has noticed them, and to be asked is just as exciting in itself, no matter what happens :) Miss ya xx
Oh Lesley that's so great! What an honor to even be asked...way to go! I'm so excited for you. Sorry I have no input because I have no idea but good luck!
@hagscat Thank you. @neda Thanks for the suggestions and tips. I had a look but couldn't find too much here, although there was one website with prices. I'm in a small town and the estate agent had been shown my 365 project by a collegue and liked my shots. So I've never had any paid work before, this is all new. I just hope I can find a couple of shots of what she is looking for and that they are at the quality needed for the enlargement. I don't even shoot in RAW so not sure if that will put her off. @charsurmeli Thanks for commenting, I'm meeting her tomorrow so I'll see how it goes. @jasonbarnette You might be right, but I do know the owner of the agency (who looks at my 365 project on FB) so I'm sure she would like to help give me some exposure too. Thanks for your examples. I feel my work is very amateurish (if that's a word) and find it hard to imagine asking for very much. But it's hard to know where to even start in coming up with a figure so it'll be interesting to see what they suggest. I thought if I could have a figure in my head at least that will help. @kris76 Thanks Kris, I feel like I'm a winner already even if they don't use my images. @shadesofgrey He does give good advice. @tinatmmc Thanks Tina, it's very exciting so we'll see what happens tomorrow!
@kiwichick *SHOOT RAW*!!! serious, I learned my lesson the hard way, seriously the wrong way. I spent two days shooting the Abbey Medieval festival here, was totally psyched that they accepted me as part of the team considering they have two photographers that have gear worth more than both our cars and boat combined (ok a prius, 10yo holden and a tinny but still). Anyway, long story short, I shot all weekend, thought I did great, and wasn't till I started working on processing that I realized how disappointed I was in the images. My lessons learned. I shoot raw for everything unless it needs to write to the card quickly enough (the whole reason I switched out of raw at the start of the event was to try and get the files written to the card faster) which really isn't needed most of the time. Now I only switch out for things like jousting, and cannon/gun fire because my poor little 30D has a hard time keep up.
Back to the issue though, keep in mind they're trying to make money off your work plain and simple.
You've gotten some really great advice from everyone here, hope you get something good from this. Since they like your work hopefully it'll become a semi-regular source of work. Any chance of seeing the photo they're interested in?
@shadesofgrey Thanks for the link. I have read a simliar post on my friends photography blog, and it's so true how much time goes into photos that isn't seen by clients. In my case it's a little different as she is asking for a photo that I had already taken that might sum up the outdoor family aspect of this area. But I love this article as its something we should all remember when charging for our photos. @neda I do need to make that switch I know, I think one of the reasons I haven't is the extra time it will take me to process photos and the memory it will use up on my computer! Crazy thinking I know... I'm sorry you learned your lesson the hard way.
I met with the woman today and she did like a couple of my shots. One I had posted in October and it's ...
The other is one from last year of my hubby and son on their bikes. It was taken in bright sunlight and far from great, but it's the best I had. She's going to get back to me tomorrow as to whether they'll use them or not. It would be great if they do but if not then maybe it's an in with them anyway. Thanks for all your advice and replies. @exposure4u Thanks Wendy, it really made my day. @kris76@tinatmmc@hagscat@charsurmeli@jasonbarnette Thanks once again for your imput and kind words. Above is one of the two photos she was interested in. Nothing amazing, but it sounds like what they were looking for.
@kiwichick Something you said in response to Shades really struck a chord with me. "In my case it's a little different as she is asking for a photo that I had already taken..." Would you be surprised to know that as a travel photographer nearly 70% of my photos are taken on my own time? I am only on assignment about 10 days each month. The rest of the time I am traveling to popular destinations, going inside restaurants and tourist attractions, taking photos on my own. When someone does a search for "Myrtle Beach travel photography" or "Coastal landscapes" they will find a photo I had already taken. In fact, I make nearly twice as much money off one-time sells than I do frequent clients with assignments. Keep that in mind!
@jasonbarnette I am starting to think that might be the way to go! Maybe down the track I would like to get into that sort of photography. Just in this local area as I have 3 small kids so I can't exactly go tripping around to restaurants and attractions as much as I might like to! I have just signed up for a 2 year diploma in Digital photography (part time) and now I'm wondering where it might take me.
Is there a generic type contract that I should get them to sign, or should I google it to find something? I just started thinking about that today.
@kiwichick There are only two types of contracts I ever use: model release and property release. A Google search will returns lots of good results. I honestly don't remember where I found mine but it has served me well.
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You'll need to clarify with them if it's going to be single use on the billboard and postcards only or if they will retain their rights to the image to be used however they want. You may wish to give them single use rights to the image for the billboard, and receive a percentage for postcards. Any future use of your image outside those two uses they would need your permission.
If you haven't had offers like this before, you may wish to price your image slightly lower than others would just so that you can add them as a client to your site. Don't undervalue your work, but don't overvalue it too much either. If it's a stock type image they can always go with someone else if you price it too high.
When I set up my site I looked to a fellow photographer in the area to get an idea of the pricing he had on his site. He offers prints and digital files, in your case his digital pricing would be most accurate, especially since printing costs here in Oz may be different than BC
Downloads
Personal use - medium
Royalty-free personal use, 682 x 1024 px
5.00
Personal use - large
Royalty-free personal use, 1825 x 2738 px
15.00
Commerical - print 1
One-time printed use (no online publishing)
100.00
Commercial - Limited online
Unlimited online use (no printing), 1414 x 2121 px
100.00
Commercial - Original
Royalty-free commercial use
250.00
Prices in Aussie $.
Best of luck!
Right now the SkyWheel Myrtle Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has bought a one year right to display one of my photos on 11 billboards in the area. I charged them $2800 for the one photo.
The Charleston Business Association in South Carolina just bought the rights to one of my photos from last year to use as a postcard holiday mailer. I charged them $700 for that photo.
That is the going rate. I use a service called FotoQuote which uses a complicated formula which I don't understand to determine the current going rate for pricing photography. It has never led me wrong.
So...that's what I have charged for similar services.
@neda Thanks for the suggestions and tips. I had a look but couldn't find too much here, although there was one website with prices. I'm in a small town and the estate agent had been shown my 365 project by a collegue and liked my shots. So I've never had any paid work before, this is all new. I just hope I can find a couple of shots of what she is looking for and that they are at the quality needed for the enlargement. I don't even shoot in RAW so not sure if that will put her off.
@charsurmeli Thanks for commenting, I'm meeting her tomorrow so I'll see how it goes.
@jasonbarnette You might be right, but I do know the owner of the agency (who looks at my 365 project on FB) so I'm sure she would like to help give me some exposure too. Thanks for your examples. I feel my work is very amateurish (if that's a word) and find it hard to imagine asking for very much. But it's hard to know where to even start in coming up with a figure so it'll be interesting to see what they suggest. I thought if I could have a figure in my head at least that will help.
@kris76 Thanks Kris, I feel like I'm a winner already even if they don't use my images.
@shadesofgrey He does give good advice.
@tinatmmc Thanks Tina, it's very exciting so we'll see what happens tomorrow!
http://365project.org/discuss/articles/5092/why-pro-photogs-charge-lots-of
Please look at it before you decide on a final price.
Back to the issue though, keep in mind they're trying to make money off your work plain and simple.
You've gotten some really great advice from everyone here, hope you get something good from this. Since they like your work hopefully it'll become a semi-regular source of work. Any chance of seeing the photo they're interested in?
@neda I do need to make that switch I know, I think one of the reasons I haven't is the extra time it will take me to process photos and the memory it will use up on my computer! Crazy thinking I know... I'm sorry you learned your lesson the hard way.
I met with the woman today and she did like a couple of my shots. One I had posted in October and it's ...
The other is one from last year of my hubby and son on their bikes. It was taken in bright sunlight and far from great, but it's the best I had. She's going to get back to me tomorrow as to whether they'll use them or not. It would be great if they do but if not then maybe it's an in with them anyway. Thanks for all your advice and replies.
@exposure4u Thanks Wendy, it really made my day.
@kris76 @tinatmmc @hagscat @charsurmeli @jasonbarnette Thanks once again for your imput and kind words. Above is one of the two photos she was interested in. Nothing amazing, but it sounds like what they were looking for.
Is there a generic type contract that I should get them to sign, or should I google it to find something? I just started thinking about that today.