Getting paid and how much

Getting paid is probably the subject I get asked most about... “How much for this?”, “How much that?” etc.

To be honest, it’s never an easy question to answer. How much a photographer should get paid really is one of those ‘how long is a piece of string?’ kind of questions!

First thing to say is:

Don't work for free, and never give up copy right, only sell usage rights.

There are a few things to consider when pricing a job though…

You should also factor in expenses but as a general rule of thumb - the more exposure your work gets the more you charge.

First of all, work out how much all of these factors are going to cost you the photographer:

• Gear
• Insurance
• Petrol
• Accommodation
• food
• time
• usage

Total up all of these and the figure you get is your ballpark for a specific job.

Everything on that list is pretty set in stone other than the usage. Usage is the tricky part I’m afraid.

Where and how your work is used will all affect the price. Magazines, companies, video, stills, location etc all affect the price.

Generally, the more they use your shots – the more you should charge. For example, you would generally charge less for an image on a website than you would for a double spread in a magazine.

What about if a company doesn’t have a budget? In that situation you have a choice...

You can say “no thanks” and walk away which is the best thing to do a lot of the time

Or you can take the job because you really want to work with said client, shoot with the particular rider or the opportunity will get you shit loads of exposure. But, it’s always a trade off and you really want to be aiming to get paid. Getting paid pays the bills, fills up the car and keeps you in business.

At the end of the day if you always seem to have more money coming in than you have going out, you’re doing something right... If you don't, maybe give things a second thought!

Anyway here is a link that's great as getting a rough idea of the ball park, but consider this is based on very general pricing, every industry is different and every job is different...So if you have no idea at all have a look here then have a think about everything else... and then get ready to haggle a bit ha

http://www.londonfreelance.org/feesguide/index.php?&section=Welcome&subsect=All&subsubs=All


Ta Jacob