help me out here

[Ken Neher]

a magazine has approached me wanting "access" to some of my work, promising compensation based on usage. I am smart enough to know that I could get taken that way so I was going to send them some watermarked photos for their consideration and then if they want to use them they can contact me about usage. this is my first foray in being potentially published and I dont want to sell my self short, but how do I price images withouth knowing their intended usage?

[John Thawley]

You don't.

How would you cater a wedding if you didn't know how many guests you'd be serving? Or how many courses?

You have to define the work.

Now, what is frustrating, is our work gets priced differently under different scenarios. Certainly we look at size, frequency, territory, and time. But we also look at circulation.. AND, the strangest one of all, we look at the client.

In my area of specialty, we look at different aspects. But, wether it's a driver, an privateer team, a factory team or the factory... even though the pricing is different, there's a rationale to the variance. And basically, it's potential of use.

I know a driver isn't going to use an image running a full page ad in USA Today. So... I'm going to base a drivers pricing and stated usage as personal, promotional, editorial and web. No commercial use.. and the rights are non transferrable.

I'm going to price a team, pretty much the same way... but I KNOW they're going to do more promotional, probably more editorial... and more web. So... they're going to see a higher fee than a driver. But still... no commercial use rights and non-transferrable.

Factory Team, same logic...

Factory Team with commercial rights.... now we have to consider the "potential" use. Are they going to win every week prompting large circulation win ads? Probably not. So, what I'm going to do in this case is find a number (and I'm projecting .... GUESSING) what the potential use is. So, I'm going to look back, see what a similar manufacture may have used in a previous year... what those rights cost on an individual basis... then try to spread that same dollar total over the season.

In all cases, rights are non-transferrable.

So... I guess I'm suggesting you try and develop a similar strategy. You have every right to say "I need to know how you plan on using my images." Or, in the case of editorial, perhaps it's as simple as seeing if they have an established rate of what they pay.

But either way... don't put the cart ahead of the horse. You'll regret it.

Lastly, BUY FOTOQUOTE. You'll not only get paid properly, you'll develop a better understanding of the pricing in this industry works.

JT