PRICING & NEGOTIATING Commercial & Editorial Assignments

Bill Cramer/CEO

A photograph has no intrinsic value.

So how do you quantify it?

Copyright

“Licensing” vs. “Usage”

Charging For Time vs. Usage

Licensing Agreements

Types of Usage

Editorial Contracts

Commercial Contracts

Negotiating Points

Pricing and Negotiating

COPYRIGHT ▹  …is the right to reproduce or distribute an artistic work ▹  You own the copyright as soon as you take a picture ▹  Copyright gives photographers tremendous negotiating leverage ▹  Commercial photographers don’t sell images, they license them ▹  Clients can only use photographs if they have a license ▹  Photographers grant use of images to their clients with a licensing

agreement ▹  Work For Hire ▹  Copyright Registration

“LICENSING” VS. “USAGE” ▹  Often used interchangeably, but there’s a subtle difference ▹  License is what you grant to your client allowing them use of your pictures ▹  Usage is more about what they’re actually going to do with them ▹  The terms of the license are often different from the actual usage

CHARGING FOR TIME VS. USAGE ▹  Assignment fees are a function of time, skill and usage/licensing ▹  The time it takes a photographer to execute an assignment tends to

determine the minimum price ▹  Usage/licensing tends to determine the maximum price ▹  Commercial value is not related to your cost of doing business, it’s

solely a function of the benefit your images bring to the client ▹  If you charge for your time but not usage, you’re missing that point,

and you’re probably leaving money on the table ▹  Especially true of advertising where it’s usually more lucrative to

charge by the picture rather than by the day

LICENSING AGREEMENTS ▹  In order to write a licensing agreement, you have to be able to describe that usage:

▹  Type of Use (editorial, commercial (publicity, collateral, advertising))

▹  Prominence (placement, how big, how many, who is the company)

▹  Duration (how long will the pictures be used)

▹  Geography (where will they be distributed)

▹  Volume (number of copies or views)

▹  Exclusivity (how long before you can license them to someone else)

▹  Draw a box around the usage you want to allow for a certain price

▹  It’s like appraising a house (square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, neighborhood)

▹  Licensing agreement defines usage the way a deed defines a property

TYPES OF USAGE ▹  (In roughly order of value) ▹  EDITORIAL (newspapers, magazines, books) ▹  COMMERCIAL (ad agencies, graphic design firms, corporations, institutions,

entertainment) ▹  Publicity – client gives photos to publications for editorial use (press kits, press

releases)

▹  Collateral – client produced and distributed (brochures, annual reports, posters, websites)

▹  Advertising – client pays to place photos in media (newspaper and magazine ads, web banners, billboards, transit ads)

▹  Avoid vague terms like “buyout” or “unlimited”

▹  Web isn’t a usage, it’s a medium

Understand the client and the project

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS ▹  What’s the concept of the shoot?

▹  Do you have a shot list, comps? ▹  Who is the client (or the client’s client)?

▹  What is the goal of the campaign/project? ▹  Who is the audience?

▹  What licensing do they need?

▹  What is the intended use (this may be different from the licensing granted)? ▹  What level of production is appropriate (hair/make-up, wardrobe stylists, prop

stylists)? ▹  Who else is quoting on the job?

▹  Have you established a budget?

EDITORIAL CONTRACTS ▹  Their contract or yours?

▹  Fee plus expenses or all inclusive? ▹  Day rate vs. space or fixed fee?

▹  Large circulation magazines vs. small ▹  Consumer magazines vs. trade magazines

▹  Custom publications for associations and corporations

▹  “Advertorial” ▹  Typical national magazine rates 500.00 – 700.00/day vs. 500.00 – 1200.00/page

▹  Rates have fallen in the past 5 years ▹  More and more, magazines are offering flat fees

COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS ▹  Costs page, Terms & Conditions page

▹  Expressed as an Estimate (fee+expenses) or Bid (all inclusive) ▹  Use an estimating software like BlinkBid or at least an invoicing app like Quickbooks

▹  Consult pricing guides like BlinkBid, FotoQuote, Corbis, Getty (stock vs. assignment) ▹  Pricing by the hour, by the day, by the image, by the project

▹  Bundle usage with day rate or separate the two

▹  Itemize everything (whether you submit it like that or not) ▹  Specify items that the client is providing

▹  Low bid often doesn’t get the job ▹  Review with a consultant, rep or friend

▹  Prices can vary wildly depending on the photographer, client and project

EditorialType of Publications: Newspaper, Consumer

Magazine, Trade Magazine, Book, Other (for Corp. Mag, See Collateral)

PublicityTypes of use: Media Kits, Other

AdvertisingWhat type of media? Newspaper, Magazine, Point of Purchase, Catalog, Billboard, Bus Shelter, Direct Mail,

Packaging, Freestanding Insert, Other

prominence

Anticipated SpaceHow many photos do you plan to use, and

what sizes? Cover? Inside? What about web use, foreign language use, syndication use? Do you want these included or a la carte?

N/ASize of Photo(s):

Are there other photos in the ad or just ours?

duration One Time Use? Other? One Year? Other? One Year? Other?

geographyLocal? Regional? National?

International? Foreign Edition Use? Foreign Language Use? Other?

Local? Regional? National? International? Other?

Local? Regional? National? International? Other?

volume What is the circulation of the publication? What is the advertising page rate?

Number of copies?Number of insertions? Names of publications?

Number of pieces?

exclusivity 30 days from publication or 180 days from delivery, whichever is less. Other.

Proprietary images are exclusive forever, non-proprietary images are exclusive

for one year. Other.

Proprietary images are exclusive forever, non-proprietary images are exclusive

for one year. Other.

creditAdjacent to the photo, or if a cover on the table of contents page, or if a spread, one

large credit.Credit on all prints and slides.

This is a negotiable point. Be sure to get it when you make any other concessions.

PublicityMedia Kits, etc.

CollateralBrochure, Annual Report,

Corporate Magazine, CD-Rom. What is the title of the publication?

AdvertisingNewspaper, Magazine, Point of Purchase, Catalog,

Billboard, Bus Shelter, Direct Mail, Packaging, Freestanding Insert

prominence In what geographic areadoes the company do business?

Front cover, back cover, inside, or both? Will our photos appear with others?

Size of Photo(s): Are there other photos in the ad or just ours?

duration One time? One year? Forever?What is the life expectancy of this piece?

Do you want one time use of photos? One time? One year? Forever?

geography Local? Regional? National? International?

Will the publication be distributed:Locally? Regionally? Nationally?

Internationally? Are there separate foreign editions? Separate language editions?

Local? Regional? National? International?

volume Number of copies? What is the print run?Number of insertions? Names of publications?

Number of pieces?

exclusivityProprietary images are exclusive forever,

non-proprietary images are exclusive for one year.

Proprietary images are exclusive forever, non-proprietary images are exclusive

for one year.

Proprietary images are exclusive forever, non-proprietary images are exclusive

for one year.

credit Credit on all prints and slides.Once in the back of the

publication is customary. This is a negotiable point. Be sure to get it

when you make any other concessions.

“Why can’t we use the pictures

any way we want?”

BLINKBID

FOTOQUOTE

GETTY & CORBIS

What’s a “media buy” and how does it affect

value ?

Case study

The Penn Stater Magazine

Cover Shoot

- Brothers. Star basketball players.

- Cover, opener, table of contents.

- Posed, in action, with their family.

Case study

Inc. Magazine Portrait

- Brothers who run an online wine company

- One inside picture. Full page.

- White background.

- Sitting on wine crates. With and without wine glasses.

Case study Ad Campaign

-  Large New York ad agency

-  Medium-sized brand (part of big company)

-  3 pictures, 3 models, 1 prop

-  1 day in studio

- 1 year consumer pubs, POS, direct mail, collateral, internet

NEGOTIATING POINTS ▹  Negotiating is about finding a “win/win” ▹  It doesn’t need to be contentious or adversarial ▹  Don’t give up something for nothing (licensing/fee/expenses) ▹  Never give a price quote over the phone ▹  What’s in it for you? Portfolio, experience, relationship, money ▹  Does the intended use match the licensing? ▹  Production responsibilities (what can your client do to help?) ▹  Bid vs. Estimate (heads I win, tails you lose) ▹  Working for free or for cheap

More Look for a copy of this presentation on our blog next Saturday

To see dozens of examples of assignment pricing, go to our blog and type “Pricing & Negotiating: ” into the search field

Questions?

Thank you!

(The End)