Stock Photography Pricing - A Simple Method For Calculating Photo Prices
Stock photography pricing can be a bit of a mystery to a lot of photographers; professional and amateur alike.
The good news is, photo pricing doesn't need to be difficult or complicated.
Most photographers should be able to find a print price guide or online calculator that works well for them most of the time.
Most license fees can be determined simply by opening a price table in a book, or selecting a few criteria from an online price calculator.
I personally believe every working photographer should have a print guide on their bookshelf and a pricing calculator bookmarked in their favorites so they can deal professionally with any enquiries.
However, they should also be able to come up with a 'number' on their own when the need arises.
There will be situations where you simply don't have access to your usual pricing tool.
Other times you'll be put on the spot by a Client and not have immediate access to those resources.
In other situations the guides simply won't cover the usage you're looking for.
What follows is a simple system I use to handle those situations.
It's not 100% accurate and it's surely not foolproof, but once you're familiar with it, you'll be amazed at how closely your prices will match the other guides and calculators...
most of the time.
First of all though, all the standard disclaimers apply.
This information is offered as personal opinion and you should educate and inform yourself appropriately before entering into any business negotiations.
This is simply a process I use personally when I don't have the option of looking up a pricing table or a calculator! It's a simple four step process: 1.
I put an Exposure Value on the usage, from 1 to 10.
How prominently will it be displayed and as a result, how many people are going to see it? A value of '1' might be a thumbnail on a website that no one really visits, '10' could be a double page spread in a major international magazine for multiple issues over the course of a year.
2.
I put Profit Value on the return the Client expects, again from 1 to 10 No matter what the usage, a Client will only ever want to use your photo if there is some value in it for them.
Advertising uses have the highest values but any time a Client uses and image, there is going to be some value in if for them.
So as an example, a '1' could be a small illustration in a non-profit trade magazine, a '10' might be an advertisement for a high ticket item.
3.
I put an Intrinsic Value on the image.
I usually put the Intrinsic Value somewhere in the range of $1000 to $5000 depending on the quality, content and uniqueness of the material.
I'm basically saying if I could make $5000 in lifetime sales from each of my very best images I'd be pretty happy, and the minimum I'd want would be $1000.
There will always be exceptions; some will never make a single sale, others will make more $5000, but again, this is a 'comparative' process.
4.
I make a simple calculation using those values.
Then it's a simple matter of multiplying 1 by 2 to get percentage figure, and applying that to 3 to get a dollar value.
For example:A Client wants to use an image at 1/4 page in a national magazine, 50,000 circulation, inside editorial, one issue only.
I consider the image quite good, but nothing spectacular, nor is it particularly unique or hard to come by.
1.
Exposure Value (EV): I'd tend to put this in the low to medium range, so I'll give it a value of 4 2.
Profit Value to the Client (PV): This one is obviously not a direct cash earner for the Client but it still has 'content value for the publication, so I'll give it a value of 3 3.
Intrinsic Value: In this case I'll put a value on the image of say $1800.
4.
Price = (EV x PV)/100 x RV Price = 12/100 x 1800 Price = $216 Obviously this is very subjective and small changes can have a big impact...
Add just one to each factor and you get: Price = (5 x 4) x 1800 Price = $360 Take one off and it also changes considerably: Price = (3 x 2) x 1800 Price = $108 At the top end of the scale: the double page spread we mentioned earlier, selling a high price item to an international audience would give you and EV of 10, a PV of 10, so my price would generally be pretty close to 100% of the Intrinsic Value I assign to the photo.
At the bottom end of the scale: you should know the minimum rate at which you can supply an image and cover your costs/overheads and still have a profit margin...
so if the calculated price falls below that, you simply quote your minimum rate.
Before you start using this method you do need to get a feel for what different uses are worth.
One way to do that is to do a little research and make a list with examples for each value for each factor...
write down 10 examples of Client Profit Values, 1 to 10.
Then write down 10 examples of Exposure Values, again, one each for values 1 to 10.
Then do some calculations, and compare the results to the price guides and calculators.
From that you'll be able to get a feel for how accurate your values are, and what sort of Intrinsic Value that puts on your photos! Again I'll stress that this is only intended to be used when you need an estimate and don't have access to a proper pricing guide or calculator.
It isn't ever going to be 100% accurate, but it sure beats guessing!
The good news is, photo pricing doesn't need to be difficult or complicated.
Most photographers should be able to find a print price guide or online calculator that works well for them most of the time.
Most license fees can be determined simply by opening a price table in a book, or selecting a few criteria from an online price calculator.
I personally believe every working photographer should have a print guide on their bookshelf and a pricing calculator bookmarked in their favorites so they can deal professionally with any enquiries.
However, they should also be able to come up with a 'number' on their own when the need arises.
There will be situations where you simply don't have access to your usual pricing tool.
Other times you'll be put on the spot by a Client and not have immediate access to those resources.
In other situations the guides simply won't cover the usage you're looking for.
What follows is a simple system I use to handle those situations.
It's not 100% accurate and it's surely not foolproof, but once you're familiar with it, you'll be amazed at how closely your prices will match the other guides and calculators...
most of the time.
First of all though, all the standard disclaimers apply.
This information is offered as personal opinion and you should educate and inform yourself appropriately before entering into any business negotiations.
This is simply a process I use personally when I don't have the option of looking up a pricing table or a calculator! It's a simple four step process: 1.
I put an Exposure Value on the usage, from 1 to 10.
How prominently will it be displayed and as a result, how many people are going to see it? A value of '1' might be a thumbnail on a website that no one really visits, '10' could be a double page spread in a major international magazine for multiple issues over the course of a year.
2.
I put Profit Value on the return the Client expects, again from 1 to 10 No matter what the usage, a Client will only ever want to use your photo if there is some value in it for them.
Advertising uses have the highest values but any time a Client uses and image, there is going to be some value in if for them.
So as an example, a '1' could be a small illustration in a non-profit trade magazine, a '10' might be an advertisement for a high ticket item.
3.
I put an Intrinsic Value on the image.
I usually put the Intrinsic Value somewhere in the range of $1000 to $5000 depending on the quality, content and uniqueness of the material.
I'm basically saying if I could make $5000 in lifetime sales from each of my very best images I'd be pretty happy, and the minimum I'd want would be $1000.
There will always be exceptions; some will never make a single sale, others will make more $5000, but again, this is a 'comparative' process.
4.
I make a simple calculation using those values.
Then it's a simple matter of multiplying 1 by 2 to get percentage figure, and applying that to 3 to get a dollar value.
For example:A Client wants to use an image at 1/4 page in a national magazine, 50,000 circulation, inside editorial, one issue only.
I consider the image quite good, but nothing spectacular, nor is it particularly unique or hard to come by.
1.
Exposure Value (EV): I'd tend to put this in the low to medium range, so I'll give it a value of 4 2.
Profit Value to the Client (PV): This one is obviously not a direct cash earner for the Client but it still has 'content value for the publication, so I'll give it a value of 3 3.
Intrinsic Value: In this case I'll put a value on the image of say $1800.
4.
Price = (EV x PV)/100 x RV Price = 12/100 x 1800 Price = $216 Obviously this is very subjective and small changes can have a big impact...
Add just one to each factor and you get: Price = (5 x 4) x 1800 Price = $360 Take one off and it also changes considerably: Price = (3 x 2) x 1800 Price = $108 At the top end of the scale: the double page spread we mentioned earlier, selling a high price item to an international audience would give you and EV of 10, a PV of 10, so my price would generally be pretty close to 100% of the Intrinsic Value I assign to the photo.
At the bottom end of the scale: you should know the minimum rate at which you can supply an image and cover your costs/overheads and still have a profit margin...
so if the calculated price falls below that, you simply quote your minimum rate.
Before you start using this method you do need to get a feel for what different uses are worth.
One way to do that is to do a little research and make a list with examples for each value for each factor...
write down 10 examples of Client Profit Values, 1 to 10.
Then write down 10 examples of Exposure Values, again, one each for values 1 to 10.
Then do some calculations, and compare the results to the price guides and calculators.
From that you'll be able to get a feel for how accurate your values are, and what sort of Intrinsic Value that puts on your photos! Again I'll stress that this is only intended to be used when you need an estimate and don't have access to a proper pricing guide or calculator.
It isn't ever going to be 100% accurate, but it sure beats guessing!