When it comes to pricing their work, photographers need all the help they can get. fotoQuote and Blinkbid are two common software tools used.
An overlooked tool for editorial photographers is Editorial Photography Estimator. The free version is still available but not the commercial version which included data for advertising photography. A new edition of the commercial version was supposed to have been released in 2011.
It’s very important to remember that Editorial Photography Estimator (EPE) is from 2001 and its numbers are out-of-date. However, the underlying concepts are still valid. Editorial fees, for both assignment and stock, are based upon the circulation of the publication and that publication’s ad rate for a full-page colour ad.
EPE lists hundreds of US magazines, some of which are no longer in business. Nevertheless, a photographer can update or create a new entry for any magazine they want, as long as they know that publication’s circulation and ad rate, both of which can usually be found online.
With all pricing software, never follow the numbers blindly. Software cannot account for a photographer’s location, overhead, expertise, talent, business plans, etc.
The EPE web site has a link to the documentation for the discontinued commercial version. This explains the logic behind both versions of the software. Some quotes:
It was obvious very quickly after creating this software, that photographers are insanely underpaid.
The Estimator does not grant any discounts for multiple image use. While some publishers might try to get such a discount, such a system is not appropriate for editorial work nor has it been traditional to give discounts for multiple images.
To help with negotiating a fair editorial photo fee, EPE software also displays the photography cost per magazine copy. For example, a $1,400 fee for editorial photography might seem too high but when you consider that the magazine circulation is 200,000 copies then that fee works out to only 0.7¢ per copy.
Editorial Photography Estimator is worthwhile if only for informational purposes.
