Here is a cut and paste of the convo. I'm looking for an online calculator that I used once and cant find now. I googled for a while, then searched 8 pages of FM....
Hey Laura, [editor]
It was good meeting you the other night at Cruisin. [concert venue]
I was just wandering when you go to press....
Mitchel Bowen
Owner, Photographer
*****************************
Hey Mitchel! Good to hear from you.
We've been web-only for a year and a half. We've got an online photo gallery; we'd love to include your shots.
Lemme know! Thanks.
Laura
*****************************
Hey, sounds cool.
What is your [web] circulation?
Mitchel Bowen
Owner, Photographer
MJB DIGITAL
*******************************
4.5 million hits/month. We do quite well!
******Then from a different email address I receive this:
Hey Mitch.
If you can pull the 10 to 12 best of each at high res. (300 dpi for a
6x4 pic) and then ftp them that would be great.
OK screw it.
I saw their posted ad rates, and they arent very high. I see that they give special rates to support events with an artistic endeavor which is respectable but really only means that they make less money when they advertise artists...
I asked them again for a couple of different payrates and mentioned that I would like some more information.
I dont know, I feel that if in this case I follow advice that I have heard on FM, that I will just send them a note that says PAY ME.
Maybe I'm just too sensitive, I wanna pull this off the right way.
I think you really need to slow down. Yo also need to take all advice you read on FM with a grain of Salt. There are more than a few people on here who spout off advice who have never sold a photo in their lives.
Always consider the source of the advice, their experience, and their motivations for offering you advice.
As for online image usage...consider also what type of photos they are and what the photos are being used for. Commercial photos, web catalogs will always sell more than "editorial" usage. What do you think the ad rate and circulation (for lack of a better term) ESPN.com and SI.com get? For the prices they pay for web images, I might be able to afford a cup of coffee at Starbucks...no pastry, just the coffee.
Don't beat yourself over the head so hard...ask them what htey pay for web usage; tell them what you are expecting, if you can't meet somewhere in between that makes you happy, walk away.
I think one of his points really bears repeating: just ask what their rate is. If it's not acceptable to you, offer a different rate. Most publications don't haggle over rates - they set them and leave them set until something larger prompts a re-evaluation. I've never been put in the position to quote a publication MY rates, I've simply been told what they pay for editorial use and I could take it or leave it.
Edited by shatterkiss on Mar 14, 2008 at 04:32 PM GMT
I have to chime in on this because I see this questioned raised frequently.
Photography is first and foremost a business venture. You can be the most skilled photographer in your field and fail at running a photography business.
That being said...it completely baffles me why photographers will buy $10k worth of equipment, yet not buy the support that will help their business be successful.
Im not an exceptionally skilled photographer, but my photography business is very successful because I focus so heavily on the business aspect
