Licensing Fee

[ultramoderate]

I am a very amateur photographer and have never done anything remotely commercial. Recently I received an email from a graphic design firm in California that wanted to use a picture of mine in a client’s project (a wall montage of local landmarks). They found it on my Flickr site. They’ve asked me how much it would cost, but I have no idea what to charge. It was a quick snapshot that turned out pretty nice-looking but I wouldn’t say it’s worth more than 40 or so. I have no hesitation selling it, as it has no sentimental value, and I’m broke.

Any suggestions?

the pic in question:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gskx/132667260/

[monkeybort]

i have no idea what to charge, but i know $40 is not enough. are you selling them all rights, forever and ever? that means you can no longer publish or sell it to anyone, and they can do whatever they want with it. if you’re not selling all rights, is it a limited or unlimited use? you could just sell it to them for that one specific project, and if they wanted to use it for something else they would have to contact you. and is there a time limit? as in the montage will be up for a specific amount of time? or is it indefinite/open ended?

all of those things should play into how much you charge them.

[ultramoderate]

I will retain all copyrights. They want to use it in a photo montage that will be on a wall in a client’s local office. I did send them an email asking if they can clarify some info such as the final dimensions, duration of use, any editing that may be done, etc.
I guess my main concern is asking for a fair market price without scaring them off.

Thanks so much for your input.

[monkeybort]

Thanks so much for your input.

my pleasure – sorry i don’t have actual numbers for you; i’m not very good at pricing my stuff either.

[Saldo1981]

I know a guy that was a full time professional photographer for about 10 years, he told me not to take less than $1,000 if anyone ever approached me to use a picture I have taken in any kind of ads and the longer they want to use it the more you charge, the more people that will see it the more you charge. He did a 3 photo thing for our local trade center and he said the going price for something like that is $10k+, but those were huge (not sure but probably around 8-10 foot squares if not bigger) and were there permantly but that’s the only place they could use those photos without asking (and paying him). Again he is an established photographer in the area and has a good reputation to produce high quality work.

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