Pictures in newspaper

I was on the scene of a house fire, and the editor for the newspaper asked me to submit my pictures for the newspaper. It is a newspaper in a town of 20,000 people. Is there anything I should do before submitting pictures to him?

Write up an invoice and a license agreement...

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #14545781
Write up an invoice and a license agreement...

Should I give him these for free to get my foot in the door for future pictures?

JoshuaaT wrote in post #14545793
Should I give him these for free to get my foot in the door for future free pictures?

Fixed It...

(No, don't set that precedent if you ever want to be compensated for your efforts.)

In the old days, news agencies would actually have a staff of paid photographers covering events and news. Nowadays, they just "ask" for photos. I wish I could do that when I go shopping for grocery.

What would be a reasonable charge for ten pictures and allowing full use of them in print and online publications?

http://www.photographe​rsindex.com/stockprice​.htm

JoshuaaT wrote in post #14545927
What would be a reasonable charge for ten pictures and allowing full use of them in print and online publications?

my very first published picture was paid at the rate of $12.50 for a front page (of any section) and $10 for any 'inside' print...

the going rate NOW is $50 per assignment* regardless of them using one or all of my submitted pictures... (* as of the middle of May)

having since actually worked for a newspaper or three over the course of the years, i obviously do NOT 'submit' all of my photos. i do my own 'editing/selecting' since i was actually the one at the event/scene, and then let THEIR editors decide which print(s) to use...

hope this helps...

Thank you everybody that helped me. I sent him pictures to review. Fortunately, the house was vacant. The firefighters let it run its course and burn down. It is the second or third manufactured home that has burned down in the past two years.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/joshuaat/716417​8253/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/joshuaat/734939​3036/

I don't know if uploading it to your Flickr page at that resolution is a good idea?

I see the local TV station news rip stuff off YouTube and then credit... YouTube.

I think $50 or $60 is fair, with the understanding that they have limited (it's 30 days on my contract) exclusivity to it, inside the state. After that they can use it as they wish, but so can I.

elrey2375 wrote in post #14546520
I think $50 or $60 is fair, with the understanding that they have limited (it's 30 days on my contract) exclusivity to it, inside the state. After that they can use it as they wish, but so can I.

$60 seems pretty small for basically unlimited use. A normal license would be that they get to use it exclusively for X days and then no more. You then are free to license/sell the image, but they aren't.

They probably just want to use a picture like this for tomorrow's paper, as such you should have acted fast to meet their publishing deadline since a 2 day old news story is no longer news. Small paper like this, get $25 and consider yourself lucky. About the only other interest in these pictures is the insurance agent or possibly an investigator.

Dan Marchant wrote in post #14547609
$60 seems pretty small for basically unlimited use. A normal license would be that they get to use it exclusively for X days and then no more. You then are free to license/sell the image, but they aren't.

Not really. You aren't going to get rich licensing to newspapers. You might not like the terms, but they'll just go get someone who does. I'd rather take the work and get the connections. They don't even pay their staff guys every time a photo runs. Most of the stuff I've done for them is not stuff they would ever really have a reason to use again because it's sports and therefore it's timely, so if they use it a couple more times I couldn't care less.

JoshuaaT wrote in post #14545793
Should I give him these for free to get my foot in the door for future pictures?

Of burning buildings you happen to walk by?