Lively discussions on the graphic arts and publishing — in print or on the web

Ronald · 12-29-2021, 01:34 AM

I'm struggling to figure out a rate to charge for licensing and video editing work. I licensed some photos to a large non-profit (NRDC) for use in an online article. I also heavily edited and added new footage & interview audio to a pre-existing short film I made, which they've uploaded and embedded in the article. The latter took a few hours over the course of a week.

I recently licensed photos to a massive natural history museum at a rate of roughly $100 each. This was for large-scale print display in an exhibit and gave them the right to use the photos in other media; although I think they'll just be used in the exhibit.

For some context, I've been shooting photography for over a decade but only had my work regularly used professionally in recent years. I got into video in fall 2019 within a few months, I landed a full-time job making documentary/promo-style videos and shoot photography. I use a full-frame camera and other expensive equipment.

I'd like to charge at least $50 each for NRDC's licensing and as much as $100. There's always a feeling of guilt associated with charging too much, especially for a nonprofit (even though, again, it's a massive organization). Thoughts?

woody649 · 12-29-2021, 06:47 AM

I think you are selling your rights too cheap.

Look at on-line sites that make stock photos available, such as Shutterstock, Depositphotos, or Dreamstime.

Oops -- looks like Shutterstock has shifted to a subscription-only basis. It used to be possible to buy rights to use an individual image, but that no longer seems possible.

I don't remember what on-line service I was looking at the other day, but I was looking for images for possible use on a book cover. I found one I liked that was priced at $545, which would have given me the right to use the image without paying royalties.

The other approach involves royalties, and I don't know how that works for photographs.

BTW -- The NRDC is a "non-profit" in name only. They have very deep pockets.

Steve Rindsberg · 12-29-2021, 07:44 AM

$100 seems very reasonable for limited rights to a photo that they can view and approve before paying a penny, as opposed to their having to hire a photographer for probably that much an hour or more in the *hope* that the resulting photographs will be to their liking.

Have you looked at stock houses to see what they're charging for comparable photos? That might help bolster your case.

And why not ask for $100 and see what they say; they're not likely throw you out on your ear and refuse ever to talk to you again, and they might just say "OK"

Ronald · 12-29-2021, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woody649

I think you are selling your rights too cheap.

Look at on-line sites that make stock photos available, such as Shutterstock, Depositphotos, or Dreamstime.

BTW -- The NRDC is a "non-profit" in name only. They have very deep pockets.

Thanks, Woody. Their 2015 budget was $151 million. I'd be curious to see the example you noted, as I can't seem to find anything other than subscription sites.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Rindsberg

$100 seems very reasonable for limited rights to a photo that they can view and approve before paying a penny, as opposed to their having to hire a photographer for probably that much an hour or more in the *hope* that the resulting photographs will be to their liking.

Have you looked at stock houses to see what they're charging for comparable photos? That might help bolster your case.

Thanks, Steve. It's hard to look online for a reference since any stock site I visit has a subscription approach.

They use several photos in the article I contributed to, perhaps from a variety of photographers. So I wonder how much they had to pay for all that. Thoughts like this make me apprehensive to charge much. But I just emailed her my "typical rate" of $100/photo, which comes to just over $300 paired with the video editing/publishing time. If she expresses apprehension, I'll drop it some.

woody649 · 12-29-2021, 06:37 PM

Ronald -

Unfortunately, the major stock photo sites all seem to have gone over to a subscription basis since I last purchased an image for a book cover. I know I saw a photo -- somewhere -- just a few days ago with a price of $545 for the "large" version (which was suitable for use as a book cover at 300 dpi, but still not suitable for a poster-size print for display in a show), but I can't remember what site it was on or what I was looking for when I found it.

I did find that in January of this year I paid $68.99 for an image I used on a cover. It didn't encompass the entire cover, it was an inset. The image I bought was a JPEG, 300 dpi, 3261 x 4891. I bought it from the Dreamstime stock image site. What I purchased was the right to use the image as many times as I want in work that I create without paying royalties, but I do not have the right to transfer the original image to anyone else.

WAIT! Check Getty Images for pricing.

12-29-2021, 01:34 AM	#1
Ronald Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Great Plains, USA Posts: 286	Fretting over photography licensing, video editing rate I'm struggling to figure out a rate to charge for licensing and video editing work. I licensed some photos to a large non-profit (NRDC) for use in an online article. I also heavily edited and added new footage & interview audio to a pre-existing short film I made, which they've uploaded and embedded in the article. The latter took a few hours over the course of a week. I recently licensed photos to a massive natural history museum at a rate of roughly $100 each. This was for large-scale print display in an exhibit and gave them the right to use the photos in other media; although I think they'll just be used in the exhibit. For some context, I've been shooting photography for over a decade but only had my work regularly used professionally in recent years. I got into video in fall 2019 within a few months, I landed a full-time job making documentary/promo-style videos and shoot photography. I use a full-frame camera and other expensive equipment. I'd like to charge at least $50 each for NRDC's licensing and as much as $100. There's always a feeling of guilt associated with charging too much, especially for a nonprofit (even though, again, it's a massive organization). Thoughts?

12-29-2021, 07:44 AM	#3
Steve Rindsberg Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 7,710	$100 seems very reasonable for limited rights to a photo that they can view and approve before paying a penny, as opposed to their having to hire a photographer for probably that much an hour or more in the hope that the resulting photographs will be to their liking. Have you looked at stock houses to see what they're charging for comparable photos? That might help bolster your case. And why not ask for $100 and see what they say; they're not likely throw you out on your ear and refuse ever to talk to you again, and they might just say "OK" __________________ Steve Rindsberg ==================== www.pptfaq.com www.pptools.com and stuff

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12-29-2021, 06:47 AM	#2
woody649 Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 478	I think you are selling your rights too cheap. Look at on-line sites that make stock photos available, such as Shutterstock, Depositphotos, or Dreamstime. Oops -- looks like Shutterstock has shifted to a subscription-only basis. It used to be possible to buy rights to use an individual image, but that no longer seems possible. I don't remember what on-line service I was looking at the other day, but I was looking for images for possible use on a book cover. I found one I liked that was priced at $545, which would have given me the right to use the image without paying royalties. The other approach involves royalties, and I don't know how that works for photographs. BTW -- The NRDC is a "non-profit" in name only. They have very deep pockets.

12-29-2021, 06:37 PM	#5
woody649 Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 478	Ronald - Unfortunately, the major stock photo sites all seem to have gone over to a subscription basis since I last purchased an image for a book cover. I know I saw a photo -- somewhere -- just a few days ago with a price of $545 for the "large" version (which was suitable for use as a book cover at 300 dpi, but still not suitable for a poster-size print for display in a show), but I can't remember what site it was on or what I was looking for when I found it. I did find that in January of this year I paid $68.99 for an image I used on a cover. It didn't encompass the entire cover, it was an inset. The image I bought was a JPEG, 300 dpi, 3261 x 4891. I bought it from the Dreamstime stock image site. What I purchased was the right to use the image as many times as I want in work that I create without paying royalties, but I do not have the right to transfer the original image to anyone else. WAIT! Check Getty Images for pricing.