Here are some resources for learning to price commercial photography. But I’m not vouching for any of these. A photographer would be foolish to base their business practices on numbers from someone else’s web site. Use these for informational purposes and to help understand the underlying principles.
— The News Photographers Association of Canada Cost of Doing Business Calculator (CODB) is a good place to start. You may be surprised at your CODB.
— The Canadian Association of Professional Image Creators has a PDF listing suggested minimum usage fees (i.e. licensing fees only). Main page > Useful Resources > Resources > Reproduction Fee Schedule. The site has other useful information.
— The Editorial Photography Estimator has information on a large number of US publications. It seems to use 2001 data but it still should provide some insight.
— The National Union of Journalists in the UK has a Freelance Fees Guide. It’s important to remember that this is for photographers working in the UK market.
— The Association of Photographers in the UK has an online usage calculator to help photographers determine a suitable fee. It’s important to understand how this UK calculator works: it’s based on a BUR system (Base Usage Rate).
— D-65 is web site by well-known US photographer Seth Resnick. The site has general numbers for *his* stock photography pricing.
— Some general US information on pricing and negotiating and more here.
— FotoQuote commercial software. Some of the numbers seem old. There’s no indication of when the US pricing information was collected or how large the sample size was.
— Blinkbid commercial software.
— An online stock picture agency such as Getty Images can be used to see what that agency charges for any particular use. But remember that the pricing shown tends to be “suggested list prices” and the actual fee can vary.
— Wonderful Machine is a US agency that, among other things, helps photographers build estimates and produce photo shoots. Its website publishes many case studies, photo estimates, and other information for editorial, corporate, and commercial photographers.
The photo estimates have the names redacted but all the numbers are included. These estimates can give you an idea of how to create a professional estimate. Do note that many of the estimates are for larger clients, which may not apply to your situation. But read a few of the estimates and understand their reasoning behind their numbers.
— Best Business Practices for Photographers (2nd edition) by John Harrington. A US book published in 2009.
— Some general US business information from American Photographic Artists.
Most online price lists are somewhat meaningless because the numbers are usually out of context. A photographer must consider their own business situation before quoting prices for their work.
Prices listed on photographers’ web sites tend to be the “manufacturer’s suggested list prices” and there’s no indication of what a real customer was actually charged. So take web site prices with a grain of salt.
