Tag: commercial
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Pricing images for publications: Part Two
In the last blog entry, I explored a scenario where you (or me) would need to calculate the use fee for an image to be used in a publication. I directed readers to a few useful resources for calculating that proposed licensee fee. Now, I want to offer a few thinking points that should be part of your process when pricing images for publication.
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Pricing images for publications: Part One
A friend/former student wrote me with a great question. He wrote: “I have an opportunity to license some images to a travel company for their brochures. I’ve never done this before and therefore I’d love to get your quick opinion of what the right price range should be. The email below is from the director of communications from the travel company.”
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Thoughts on web sites for photographers
A friend asked me about web sites and I got to thinking about my own web site. I considered how it evolved from a coding disaster, to a nice try, and finally to the real thing. My path, with all its ups and downs, may be instructive for other photographers thinking about their existing (or) future web sites.
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The symbiosis between personal and commercial work
Who are you taking pictures for? That’s a question that photojournalists hear a lot. But, I think ALL photographers should be asking themselves that question. In the process of sorting that question out, most photographers divide their efforts into “personal work,” and “commercial work.” I am not so sure about the wisdom of such clear demarcations.
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Adapting to new technology verses adopting a new philosophy
As commercial photographers, we are continually adapting to new technologies, moving from black and white, to color (then to slides) and now to digital. Similarly we are often expected to adopt new strategies and philosophies as the market we work within changes. More and more folks I hear from are finding that second process of adopting harder to take, and I am not sure…
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The future of commercial photography and percieved value
A friend wrote to suggest I “talk about photography as a business and how it relates to our economic times.” I was hesitant at first, unsure what I could add to the discussion since my expertise is minimal when it comes to economics, business or marketing. I thought about it for a while and realized I did have something I could add to the…
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My “brief stint” as a fashion photographer
I was reading an interesting article in The New York Times about the Presidential dress code. Barack Obama’s recent choice to be photographed without his suit jacket in the Oval Office was front-page news. It rang a bell and then I remembered how another President’s fashion choices changed my life as a photographer.
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Blurring the lines between art and commerce
You hear and read a lot about how the lines between the worlds of art photography and commercial photography are continually being blurred. In most ways that is good. I recently lived through a particularly interesting experience that shows just how much these once distinctive realms are blurring.
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Marketing is the key to being a professional photographer
The longer I work as a professional photographer, the more I am reminded that taking pictures is the easiest part of this job. The hardest part is marketing your work and yourself. I have tried various marketing strategies over the years, some more successful than others. All of them are built on the idea of regularly getting your work in front of the folks…