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Author Topic: What is the going rate for magazine work  (Read 1673 times)

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Offline tpe

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What is the going rate for magazine work
« on: December 13, 2008, 10:18:23 AM »
Well it is kind of late now but just wondering. Some may remeber I was very pleased I got two of my pictures in Practical photography in september and they arrived on page 35 of the november 2008 issue. They contacted me ad asked if they could use my images, I asked them how much I was likely to get for the printing but they said they could not tell me as it all had to do with column width and layout and that I would get the standard rate. O.K i must admit I thought it a bit odd but Practical photography is a recognized photo mag owned by bauer so it should be ok. Anyway, there were a couple of problems and it took some months and many emails but they finally paid me (well it still has to actually arrive in my account) the grand total of 15 euros per picture (about 10gbp?). As i had spent several hours chasing them up and one of the pictures was one they had asked me to do specifically and although the pictures were pretty small I was still a little supprised. Does anyone know what standard rates for other magazines are? Is this kind of price just for photography pictures? or is this kind of price indicative of all?

tim (aka tpe, aka peter parker ;) ).
« Last Edit: December 13, 2008, 10:21:45 AM by tpe »
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Offline winjeel

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2008, 10:56:35 AM »
According to Fotoquote, in the UK, for a 1/8 of a page sized picture, in a consumer magazine, with a circulation of up to 10,000, it'd be an average price of USD$180 per picture. I don't know about EU wide circulation.

(edited for clarity)
« Last Edit: December 13, 2008, 11:17:24 AM by winjeel »
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Offline tpe

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2008, 11:07:15 AM »
Many thanks winjeel. I think the editorial assistant will just laugh at me now, she is so fed up with me asking what happened to the payment, perhaps I will send her a chistmas card though ;).

tim
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Offline winjeel

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2008, 11:14:41 AM »
I've never dealt directly with photo editors, but apparently accounts can take about 3 months to process, but for 'little guys' they may not get processed, but if you follow them up and keep at them, then you'll get your payment. I'd send a Christmas card, too, partly in the hope that they'd ask for more photos in the future. :)
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Offline Clive

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2008, 01:30:42 PM »
I used to sell a lot to ad agencies (another story...they are using iStock these days) and sometimes directly to magazines. The rags paid about ¼ as much as ad agencies.

Even for small images my minimum for ad agencies was (was, past tense) $300 (~€180) per image no matter how small. But the agencies I dealt with are now using iStock (and others) for the majority of their needs (even specialized needs) and prices are way down. I got a royalty cheque last week for (are you ready for this?) .. for $12!! Customer > ad agency > Corbus > ASUSA > me....poof .. nothing left.

A digression...the money is in custom shoots. The sky is the limit. If ad agencies can't get images elsewhere and a customer is doing a million dollar ad campaign, then they don't care about paying a few hundred $$ or a few thousand $$ for some pictures.

My two bits worth. ;)
« Last Edit: December 13, 2008, 01:43:04 PM by Clive »
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Offline tpe

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2008, 01:38:04 PM »
LOL, well clive, it's you and me mate, soon to be the richest men in the world :).

tim
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Offline winjeel

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2008, 02:06:29 PM »
It is kind of foolish of ad agencies to use micro stock, like iStock, especially since they've found out the hard way. The Bank of America, and some other one (can remember the name) ran brochures that contained the same models, same set up, same set, but slightly different postures and angles, at the same time. Fools have rushed in, I feel.
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Offline Clive

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2008, 02:34:22 PM »
winjeel..for a lot of ad images the dupes don't matter much..it is certainly an issues with multiuse of recognizable models. I looked at iStock images of the agricultural stuff I used to sell...say, canola fields, potato leaves and flowers etc etc. For technical stuff it is very pathetic...technical inaccuracies, poor quality subjects, poor photography. However, the ad agency account managers I used to sell to would always run ad images past their clients first for an okay. So they will not get away with crap. BUT things can go to hell if the client is disinterested and the ad account manager does not know their stuff. About two years ago I got an email from an account manager who knew I knew something about potatoes and asked me to look at a picture of a "potato" field one of their sister agencies had put in a BOOK. In a book. :P It was a field of another crop and definitely not potatoes. Someone fell down and I bet someone's butt was kicked over that. Makes me happy! :P

Just three weeks ago I wrote to a rep at one of the agencies. Here is what she told me in part:
How companies source photography has certainly changed in the last couple of years. We still tend to contact photographers when we need a specific shot especially for covers etc. but many of our art directors source their own images on the Internet from places like istock because they are relatively cheap and convenient.

So a person wanting to sell stuff either gets on the online bandwagon (peanuts I think) or finds their own niche. Methinks a niche for those interested. Shoots still pay very well.

Time for another coffee this cold morn! ;)


 
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Offline Asher

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2008, 02:49:13 PM »

What about making money from portraits?
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Offline winjeel

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2008, 02:49:39 PM »
It's rather unfortunate that the market has gone this way. It really is amateurising the industry, making it difficult for professional photographers, not just to upgrade their gear, but also to make ends meet. When I was in high school, in the last days before finishing and I was looking at what to do in which uni, I went to a local photographer to find out more about photography. And at that time, he said that he only earnt money in the wedding season, school photos, and from delivering newspapers. He missed the days when he could earn 100% of his living from photography.

Ahhh... the old days :)
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Offline Clive

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2008, 03:23:51 PM »
Asher.... Absolutely. Portraits are another whole area. It is fee-for-service stuff. I don't do it. I shot the neighbors two months ago as a favor--nice young people working their way thru life. I have done informal portrait shoots for ad agencies who want a picture for an endorsement ad. There's good money in that but it is occasional.
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Offline winjeel

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2008, 01:14:11 PM »
A little off topic

Ever wondered how some people read and reply to posts? Well, I often take the speed reading approach, where you quickly scan and identify the key information. Here's an example from Clive's post above...

Quote from: Clive on December 13, 2008, 03:23:51 PM
... I shot the neighbors two months ago as a favor--...

If you adopt speed reading, too, your experiences on these forums will be a whole lot more interesting. ;)
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Offline dominicall

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2008, 01:15:28 PM »
winjeel - just brilliant. Make me laugh very loudly.

Dominic
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Offline Clive

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2008, 01:28:16 PM »
I hid their bodies well ... :P :D
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Offline winjeel

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Re: What is the going rate for magazine work
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2008, 01:32:06 PM »
I have to admit, I shot my parents-in-law the other day, and everyone liked the result, and my wife was quite happy about it, too. The composition, the style, and angles all seemed to really impress. And my daughter said her first word, "pretty".
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