i am club photographer at a Football (soccer) club and a printing company has rung me up saying that they would like a put to together a calendar and they wanted to know how much i would charge per photo, ive never had to charge for a calendar before and i dont know how much to charge, i dont want to come in too high that the decide to go else where but cant afford to do it for free. i will be greatful for any help.

Pricing depends on volume. If they are only going to print 100 calendars you can't charge as much as you would with them printing 1,000,000. Ask them for their expected volume and you should be able to look at a standard volume pricing chart to figure it out.

dionysis wrote:
Pricing depends on volume. If they are only going to print 100 calendars you can't charge as much as you would with them printing 1,000,000. Ask them for their expected volume and you should be able to look at a standard volume pricing chart to figure it out.

I know this pricing depending on volume is utilized in the photo industry, but I wonder if it is used in other industries? I find it kind of weird. For example, how would people feel them being charged different prices for the same camera depending on how you intend to use the camera? An amateur gets the camera for 1 price while a professional would have to pay a much higher price.

If I went into a large supply business and asked for one pound/kilogram of product X they would likely give me a price. But if I went back and asked for 1,000 pounds/kilograms of product X, I'd expect a different price. Ask any supply purchasing professional in a business about volume pricing -- photography is similar in that respect.
Best,
AndyK

AndyKellett wrote:
If I went into a large supply business and asked for one pound/kilogram of product X they would likely give me a price. But if I went back and asked for 1,000 pounds/kilograms of product X, I'd expect a different price. Ask any supply purchasing professional in a business about volume pricing -- photography is similar in that respect.
Best,
AndyK


Not really. Economy of scale comes into play with your example. There are manufacturing, production and shipping costs savings when you order items in bulk. There is no such savings supplying 1 photo, no matter how many calendars that photos appears on.

chez wrote:
AndyKellett wrote:
If I went into a large supply business and asked for one pound/kilogram of product X they would likely give me a price. But if I went back and asked for 1,000 pounds/kilograms of product X, I'd expect a different price. Ask any supply purchasing professional in a business about volume pricing -- photography is similar in that respect.
Best,
AndyK


Not really. Economy of scale comes into play with your example. There are manufacturing, production and shipping costs savings when you order items in bulk. There is no such savings supplying 1 photo, no matter how many calendars that photos appears on.
Feel free to sell your photos royalty free. That's much closer to the pricing model you are talking about. Rights managed is the model being discussed. Many large companies are using a third model - Corporate Image Libraries.

Calender photos are almost always a RM photo. The calendar co. wants exclusive use of the image for 2011 calendars and may want multiyear exclusives for calendars. Would you sell an ad photo to Macdonalds for a nationwide print campaign at the same rate as a local retailer with one location for use in a 5000 run weekly newspaper for a year? Usage matters, exclusivity matters.

Joe

joebee wrote:
chez wrote:
AndyKellett wrote:
If I went into a large supply business and asked for one pound/kilogram of product X they would likely give me a price. But if I went back and asked for 1,000 pounds/kilograms of product X, I'd expect a different price. Ask any supply purchasing professional in a business about volume pricing -- photography is similar in that respect.
Best,
AndyK


Not really. Economy of scale comes into play with your example. There are manufacturing, production and shipping costs savings when you order items in bulk. There is no such savings supplying 1 photo, no matter how many calendars that photos appears on.
Feel free to sell your photos royalty free. That's much closer to the pricing model you are talking about. Rights managed is the model being discussed. Many large companies are using a third model - Corporate Image Libraries.

Calender photos are almost always a RM photo. The calendar co. wants exclusive use of the image for 2011 calendars and may want multiyear exclusives for calendars. Would you sell an ad photo to Macdonalds for a nationwide print campaign at the same rate as a local retailer with one location for use in a 5000 run weekly newspaper for a year? Usage matters, exclusivity matters.

Joe

I understand the differences between the different model. What I was wondering out loud about is if this type of model exists in other industries. For example, since you are a pro...maybe you should pay say $20,000 for your camera since you'll be using it to generate income while a hobbyist pay something like $500 for the same model since they will just use it for fun. Is this not the same as sort of differentiating between a Macdonalds add and a 5000 run weekly newspaper?

Look at it this way... if they only make $1 profit per calendar, they're going to make $100 off your photos. Charging them $200 for the license might be a bit steep.

On the other hand, if they plan to sell a million calendars, then it's a $1,000,000 profit from your work. You would certainly want to charge a higher licensing fee in that case, wouldn't you?

Amateur photographers get caught up in the idea that they're selling a photo, when in reality they should be negotiating a license to use the photo, and there's nothing wrong with structuring the license so the photographer earns his fair share of the revenue the customer is going to gain from using the photographer's work.

Joe

I understand the differences between the different model. What I was wondering out loud about is if this type of model exists in other industries.


This model is not a manufacturing model, but rather a creative field model. It applies to writing, illustration and photography. Syndicated columnists make much more for their column than those who write for a small town paper. National Geographic Magazine pays more for an article than a local magazine. Part of the reason is they earn much more. Advertising rates are much higher in national magazines than in local publications. In manufacturing, the model is to look over your shoulder at what other manufacturers are doing (but you do pay much less for an amateur camera -Rebel,etc - than you do for a professional camera - the 1Ds for example - and the difference is easily discerned).