What should you charge? There is no simple answer. First, examine your cost of doing business to understand the minimums you must charge to meet your income goals. Next, consider the value your client will derive from your pictures.
Assignments should be priced based on a combination of time, difficulty, experience, special techniques or equipment required, market segment, and the intended use for the images. The traditional journalism assignment was based on “day rate, plus space.” Photographers were guaranteed a fee for making the pictures, and that fee was compared to a schedule of rates for reproducing those pictures. If the usage of pictures from an assignment exceeded the assignment fee, photographers received payment for that extra amount. For instance, the assignment fee might be $800, but the fee for usage on the assigning magazine’s cover might be $1,600. The photographer’s final payment would be $1600, plus any other usage and expenses.
This assignment model has changed at many publications, which proffer contracts demanding broader rights without additional compensation, but as you can read in our Best Practices lists, NPPA continues to support day rate, plus space, as the fair method for contracting news photography.
Some factors affecting usage value include:
If you are a staff photographer shooting on the side, you should go through the motions of determining your CDB as if you were in business for yourself--because you are. You should also consult with other self-employed photographers in the area. You don't want to undercut the market, because you just may need to make a living in it one day.
A good way to get an idea of what the market will bear is to look at what other photographers charge for similar services. The following photographers have posted their prices online.
The cost of providing digital photography to your clients is very high. Here are some tips on pricing accurately for it. This is a relatively new area. Opinions and guidelines vary.
Also see our list of books for several good pricing guides.
If you have any suggestions for changes or additions to this page, please email us at bpc@nppa.com
