magazine payment for photos

[spicolli1976]

Hi,

I do a lot of bodyboarding and surfing photography and a magazine wants some of my photos for their magazine. I haven't dealt with magazines before and am curious how much I should charge.

EDIT: I have searched through alot of posts. I think I am looking at an uphill battle if I want money for my photos. Hahahaha!!!

Any input would be a great help.

Thanks

[Biffbradford]

I'm no expert, but what kind of circulation does it have? Are they going to be used in an article? 1/2 page? 1/4 page? Cover?

[spicolli1976]

I will talk to the guy early next week and make sure to get that info.

Thanks

[ryant35]

I charge a flat $75 for each photo for magazines.

[MJPhotos24]

Most magazines have a rate they stick with, you just ask the editor what the usual rate is. If they say none you say unfortunately you do not trade photos for credit and move on. If you have a flat rate like mentioned above then in many cases you just lost out depending on the magazine. I know one who pays only $20/40 for interior images and won't go above that no matter what; then there's one that pays $125-2,000 (two full page). It's always better to find out what they pay first before you go quoting prices just in case. If it meets your standard/minimum then good to go, if not then they'll go looking other places for someone who will accept the standard and if they can't find it back to you they come with an "OK" usually.

[amfoto1]

Use this calculator, once you know the size of usage and circulation:

http://photographersindex.com/stockprice.htm

Also, there's a book about pricing your images, too. It goes into a lot more detail and provides samples of licensing documents, definitions of terminology, etc.

"Pricing Photography: The Complete Guide to Assignment & Stock Prices" by Michal Heron and David MacTavish ia a bit out of date now, but still very useful. Amazon sells it.

Most photo editors will try lowballing you... or getting you to give them free usage first. So, while I agree you should walk away if you can't agree on something reasonable, I'd at least counter any offer that seems low, before giving up on it.

[Tom Reichner]

Most magazines have a rate they stick with, you just ask the editor what the usual rate is.
I know one who pays only $20/40 for interior images and won't go above that no matter what; then there's one that pays $125-2,000 (two full page). It's always better to find out what they pay first before you go quoting prices just in case. If it meets your standard/minimum then good to go, if not then they'll go looking other places for someone who will accept the standard and if they can't find it back to you they come with an "OK" usually.

This is what I've also found to be true. The better magazines have pre-set rates that they pay based on size and usage. You don't tell them what you charge - they tell you what they pay.

[spicolli1976]

Thanks everybody!!!