Just a short list of a few resources for learning to price commercial photography. 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 quite surprised at what your CODB is.
• 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. Very important to remember that this site 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.
• 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.
• 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 since their numbers are usually out of context. A photographer should consider their own business situation before quoting prices for their work.
