licensing photos for the calendar - how much

how much should I ask for licensing images for the calendar? I've never done this and I feel kind of at lost. I was contacted by a company that wants to produce a calendar, they want my images, and they want to know pricing for licensing - please help me out

The response to your question would require more room than is available here. My best advice would be to run to a large bookstore and pick up Pricing Photography. You will to learn about asking specific questions regarding the usage, pricing and writing a Licensing Agreement. There is no quick answer unless you have the details and buy FotoQuote software for $200. Of course, it will pay for itself in a short period of time.

I don't want any soft, since it's going to be one time offer. I was thinking to charge around 600Euros for 12 photos. Is this too low for calendar? since they make money by selling calendar, it's for commercial use can I charge more?

At the end of the day, you charge what you think you and your photos are worth. This company obviously sees some commercial viability in them. Maybe look at a revenue sharing agreement where you make $X per calendar sold. Though it's always a challenge to confirm actual sales.

You: How should I price my photography?
tcphoto1: (Advice)
You: I don't want advice, I want an easy answer.
Me: Fine. Ask for $1M.

snails wrote in post #10914105
You: How should I price my photography?
tcphoto1: (Advice)
You: I don't want advice, I want an easy answer.
Me: Fine. Ask for $1M.

That's not what he said. He said that he isn't going to be doing this regularly. That's like faulting him for not buying a Macro lens when he just wants to know where to rent one once.

John the Geek wrote in post #10914770
That's not what he said. He said that he isn't going to be doing this regularly. That's like faulting him for not buying a Macro lens when he just wants to know where to rent one once.

I disagree.

Do you buy software that you may only use once?

John the Geek wrote in post #10916904
Do you buy software that you may only use once?

Purchasing software wasn't the only advice given. tcphoto1 explained that the decision is more complicated than "is 600 euros ok?" and suggested that the OP will need to do some research (via a book, or a piece of software). The OP then reposted his original question with a couple more details sprinkled in. Which meant he didn't want to do the research, he wants to be given the answer.

The answer is that the situation is more complicated than "Can I charge 600 euros?" The OP needs to look at what kind of licensing he is allowing, what kind of distribution the product might get. This would vary greatly depending on the publisher, type of photos, the market, and other factors I haven't even thought of. The only kind of person who could accurately say what kind of price is reasonable would be another photographer who sells photos for calendars in his area on a regular basis. So, go out and buy a book.

sandro9mm wrote in post #10913759
I don't want any soft, since it's going to be one time offer. I was thinking to charge around 600Euros for 12 photos. Is this too low for calendar? since they make money by selling calendar, it's for commercial use can I charge more?

Isn't it possible that if sales are good, they will come back to you for additional work? Foto Quote will also help you put together a professional proposal. I don't know the exchange rate but lets say the software is 300 euros, and you only charge 600 euros, you will still be ahead of the game and have the software for future use.

FotoQuote will help you determine a fee based on several factors including the type of publication and quantity of it.

Congratulations on the job, regardless of how you approach it.

snails wrote in post #10917602
Purchasing software wasn't the only advice given. tcphoto1 explained that the decision is more complicated than "is 600 euros ok?" and suggested that the OP will need to do some research (via a book, or a piece of software). The OP then reposted his original question with a couple more details sprinkled in. Which meant he didn't want to do the research, he wants to be given the answer.

The answer is that the situation is more complicated than "Can I charge 600 euros?" The OP needs to look at what kind of licensing he is allowing, what kind of distribution the product might get. This would vary greatly depending on the publisher, type of photos, the market, and other factors I haven't even thought of. The only kind of person who could accurately say what kind of price is reasonable would be another photographer who sells photos for calendars in his area on a regular basis. So, go out and buy a book.

that's kind of impossible to know, no book or software will tell you what this particular company is going to do with photos. I can ask about market segment, international distribution, number of calendars produced, but I don't think any answer will be credible... how book or soft will be helpful in this situation I don't get.

I understand it's hard to asses value of a photo, it's not something created in the factory, it's not a box of chocolate price of which can be determined through market forces of demand and supply.

Photo is a niche product, with imperfect market.

I guess I should have asked question differently... Have you ever dealt with a calendar company? have u ever licensed photo for calendar? If yes, how much did u ask?

Answer to this will give me vague idea of what is a reasonable price to ask.


I don't need soft.

Potential Client calls/emails and asks about using images for their project. I listen to their description of the project and I take notes. I ask specific questions like how and how large will they be used. Then how many will be printed or how many hits they had on their website which determines how many people may see the images. Will they need the images for a one time use or on their website for a year or more?

Case in point, a Fortune 500 Company emails and they saw a series of 5 images that would work for them in their upcoming direct mailer. They email a layout in a PDF and will print 50K, so it's a one time usage. They need a number and will likely add it to their website after the mailer goes out. I go to my reference materials and factor in the uniqueness of the images which are from an Editorial shoot and the size of the Client. I received approval, they used PayPal to pay and I uploaded on their server. I am anticipating their email to license those images and perhaps more on the same subject matter very soon. The first transaction was $3200 and second could be $6-$35K depending if they do a buyout. I recently lost a project because the owner wanted the same price per shot at 50 shots as I quoted for 200-400 shots. And this man said the he sees his Company as a luxury brand. He just sees images as objects, doesn't understand Intellectual Property. As they say, eggs are cheaper by the dozen.

Now do you understand why we ask so many questions about the usage? It's all about Intellectual Property. When you purchase a car, do you think the price is written in stone? You always do your homework and understand the value of the vehicle.

tcphoto1 wrote in post #10926359
Potential Client calls/emails and asks about using images for their project. I listen to their description of the project and I take notes. I ask specific questions like how and how large will they be used. Then how many will be printed or how many hits they had on their website which determines how many people may see the images. Will they need the images for a one time use or on their website for a year or more?

Case in point, a Fortune 500 Company emails and they saw a series of 5 images that would work for them in their upcoming direct mailer. They email a layout in a PDF and will print 50K, so it's a one time usage. They need a number and will likely add it to their website after the mailer goes out. I go to my reference materials and factor in the uniqueness of the images which are from an Editorial shoot and the size of the Client. I received approval, they used PayPal to pay and I uploaded on their server. I am anticipating their email to license those images and perhaps more on the same subject matter very soon. The first transaction was $3200 and second could be $6-$35K depending if they do a buyout. I recently lost a project because the owner wanted the same price per shot at 50 shots as I quoted for 200-400 shots. And this man said the he sees his Company as a luxury brand. He just sees images as objects, doesn't understand Intellectual Property. As they say, eggs are cheaper by the dozen.

Now do you understand why we ask so many questions about the usage? It's all about Intellectual Property. When you purchase a car, do you think the price is written in stone? You always do your homework and understand the value of the vehicle.

sure, I understand this, and I asked those questions...

Photos will be used only once, for calendar job only. And 10,000 copies for usa and 1,500 copies for canada. That's the whole story.

sandro9mm wrote in post #10926879
sure, I understand this, and I asked those questions...

Photos will be used only once, for calendar job only. And 10,000 copies for usa and 1,500 copies for canada. That's the whole story.

What I do in cases such as these is go to a proper stock image site such as Alamy ( http://www.alamy.com/ ), then search for similar photographs and look up prices, based on the usage specified by the person who has enquired about my images.

If you select Rights Managed (RM) then you can get a price quote for any particular image and specify usage, such as calendar, how many copies, what region. Alternatively you can search Royalty-Free (RF) and get a price for the size of image they will need.

I usually search a few images to get a good idea how much it would cost these people if they go to a stock photography site, then price my images a bit below those prices, maybe 10% - 15%.

If the person comes back to you and starts mentioning microstock prices then you know it's time to forget it as they will think they can get your images for virtually nothing. If that happens then I suggest that you stick to your quoted price and say you always price your work according to typical prices from reputable photographic stock agencies.

I've had this a few times now, and if they want your photographs specifically then they will pay the going rate.

Mike

Mike-DT6 wrote in post #10941304
What I do in cases such as these is go to a proper stock image site such as Alamy ( http://www.alamy.com/ ), then search for similar photographs and look up prices, based on the usage specified by the person who has enquired about my images.

If you select Rights Managed (RM) then you can get a price quote for any particular image and specify usage, such as calendar, how many copies, what region. Alternatively you can search Royalty-Free (RF) and get a price for the size of image they will need.

I usually search a few images to get a good idea how much it would cost these people if they go to a stock photography site, then price my images a bit below those prices, maybe 10% - 15%.

If the person comes back to you and starts mentioning microstock prices then you know it's time to forget it as they will think they can get your images for virtually nothing. If that happens then I suggest that you stick to your quoted price and say you always price your work according to typical prices from reputable photographic stock agencies.

I've had this a few times now, and if they want your photographs specifically then they will pay the going rate.

Mike

this is an awesome advice! thanks allot...