Photo Publication Fee

Gafoto

I have a friend who would like to use one of my photos to "beef up" an article for a local arts/culture magazine (so not exactly National Geographic). He wants to know what fee I charge for use of the photo in the magazine. It doesn't sound like the photo will be cover material by any means but I don't really want to give the use away for completely free. What is a reasonable amount to charge for something of this nature?

DirtyDirtyVagrant

Photo as in you're a photographer and this is your bread?

Or photo as in a picture of you?

If the former, I don't know. There are plenty of people here who do though, rest assured.

If the latter, have him buy you lunch or something I guess.

EggyToast

Are you retaining copyright of the picture in question? If you are, then you're essentially selling a "license" for him for this one use. Those are typically not very much, depending on the caliber of your photography portfolio.

If you're selling him the copyright then it's worth more, because then HE controls how often it would be reprinted, if it could be used online, and so on.

But it is really up to you. For one time use from an amateur photographer in a local arts magazine, maybe $50? 25?

muninn

Never sell copyright, unless its for $Texas. Draft up a release form stating what usage rights of the photo in question and the resulting fee, and have that signed. I cant tell you how much your photo is worth, but if you want to be mathematical about it, there are publications and services that calculate usage fee based on the circulation of a magazine plus a myriad other factors. See if anyone has access to such stuff and ask for an estimate.
$50 seems a tad low to me...

noobert

Wouldn't having your photography used in a local arts magazine be a pretty darn good thing for your portfolio?
Maybe just flat out ask what they can afford and go with that?

Dark Moon

Find someone who has a copy of FotoQuote. If you're doing a lot of sales it'd probably be worth your while - it's only $150. Very useful tool. Don't sell your copyright outright, obviously.

Assuming this is a decent size local arts magazine: Off the cuff, I'd ask $200 for the printing rights for the single issue and an accompanying image on the online version of the article (if it exists) and judge the reaction. If you're dealing with a friend I'm sure they'll tell you if you're way off base. Though, if they're a friend, I'd probably push them for a budget (or what an average amount would be) before giving a quote.

Gafoto

Thanks guys. Since I'm by no means a professional photographer I'm going to go on the low end for charging. I didn't even think about the difference between copywrite and licensing, thanks for reminding me.