selling photos, a little advice needed

a magazine contacted me and wants to buy one of my photos. i have never done this before and have a number of questions which i hope you guys can help me with:

- does this preclude me from entering one day a photo contest in the beginner/newbie section? (i AM a newbie)

- who retains rights to the photo

- how much , can i just let them use it for free against my name being mentioned or something..

ok advice and help are more than welcome here

/paul

Well, your images may vary, but here are some general responses to your questions, based on my limited experience

- Re. future entry of *that image* to a photo contest - you will probably find that most comps will not allow images that have previously been published or taken a placing at a major competition

- Rights - generally the magazine buys "one time publishing" rights, meaning that you own the image still, and can re-use it in other publication. Ask the publishers specifically about this question.

- How much - its up to you. But before you let them use it for free, remember that they are a commercial entity, not a charity. Its nice to see your stuff in print, very nice, but it has cost you to get it there.

Again, I'd ask the magazine about the second and third items

Good luck. Let us know when your image goes to print.

Best

Des

Consider the nature of the magazine. Is it a local magazine or one on a shoestring budget? You could consider donating an image to such a publication. Mags that exist to make money should pay for your image, though. Everyone else in the chain is profiting, after all, and donating your work only encourages them to lock out pros that are trying to earn a living. Ask for a proper credit regardless of the money.

Craig makes an excellent point. In my previous post, I had assumed that the magazine would be a commercial type thing. But if its a local or other low circ mag, I probably still wouldn't donate for free.

If they don't have the ability to pay $$, maybe some sort of in kind deal.

As Craig says, though, either way make sure they give you appropriate credit.

thanks for the advice guys

i'll keep you posted if anything comes out of it

/paul

Based on what I have seen on another forum, I would say that the magazine is quite large, has a worldwide circulation in the 100K's (though mainly US), and is published by a large company that rhymes with smelter... (depending on your accent)

Am I even close?

Anyhow, what they should pay you, (And they very definitely should pay you, don't accept the "but you get full credit" crap. If you give it to them for free, another professional goes hungry and a fairy dies, or something like that ...) basically depends upon the planned use of the image, (cover vs inside), size it is used at etc etc as already mentioned by others.

They should have a published/readily available guide to their payment rates for photography, but I have not been able to find it on the website(s) of either the magazine itself or the custom publisher I believe is involved. Ask them for it, and ask them for what they say they are willing to pay B) .

If you have no joy with that, there are services out there that will guide you in the direction you should be going, based on the answers to the questions above. But there is no point asking for $1500 for a cover from a magazine that openly states that they pay, say, $50.00. As they have not been all that transparent (AFAIK), then I think that leaves you in a position to negotiate.

Oh, BTW: it is standard practice to ask MORE for an image where no credit is given, as they are denying you recognition and the potential sales leads that arise from the credit...

You will sell them the rights to use the image ONCE, in a defined market, and for a defined purpose only. If they later decide to include it in the "Best of..." book, they need to pay for that use as well.

Oh yes, congratulations. It must be a real thrill. But don't let the thrill lead you to making a potentially expensive (in terms of lost opportunity) mistake. As the other craig says, everyone else in the chain is going to profit, and so should you.

sounds spot on!!!

will certainly keep all that great advice in mind, i would never want to a fairy to die (am of irish descent so can't let that happen ), also i am all fo defending the pros out there, especially when i am from one.

/paul

oh well seems that raw files from the oly 5050 are not high enough res to be printed.

i am surprised i thought they would have been.

nvm next time will be better.

question:

what is the minimum resolution for a photo to be printed

size (Lxl), pixels, ppi...

/paul

Hi Paul,

Whoa nelly! First rule: always ask what file size the editor wants BEFORE sending the file in. So what size did the editor want?

These sizes are often TOTALLY arbitrary and were set based on film scans...

So if they want a 45 megabyte tiff (they often specify the size in megabytes, not pixels, ROFL!) then that's what you send them.

You can use Photoshop to upsize the photo (use a SI action, etc) then resharpen and save as TIFF.

Cheers

James

Just out of interest, can we ask (or even, maybe, see...) the shot they were interested in??

I agree with James, if they have not completely shut the door on you, maybe go back and point out that 2.47 Mpixel D1H images are used "double truck" by some sports magazines, and even Outdoor Photographer (a bastion of quality printing ) has used D1H images full page... It is quite possible that they want 45MB files then will sample down to fit into a 2x3 inch space, which is quite silly.

the photo they wanted is attached, all comments on the photo are welcome

i did not send them a file.

the discussions centred around the resolution of the photo. initially i mentioned my psd was 240ppi, as when i converted the raw file, that is what i used.

it was then mentioned to me that that was not sufficient and did i have the original photo/slide. i mentioned that it was a digital photo, that it was raw format and froma 5050 5meg camera, but then they mentioned that it was not suffucient.

any way i will chase again tonight and see if i can find out the resolution they want and take it from there.

will keep you guys posted,

thanks again for all the input and help

/paul

Uh, about that file size thing. Edit your image. Save as TIFF. Print at 360ppi or some other multiple of the printer dpi, creating whatever size print that turns out to be. (Basically, get the best damn print you can)

Take print and get it scanned at say 3200dpi at your local lab. Save as TIFF. Now you got the damn MBs the mag thinks it needs. Worked for Galen Rowell.

There are various scales for what the image is worth. This is based on use (e.g. cover, brochure, etc., circulation numbers). I don't have any handy.

License for single use. They should be able to provide you with a previously used agreement that was acceptable to them. Don't cheat yourself. Don't be greedy. But get paid. Want more money, but don't want to appear greedy? License them several other shots for one time use over the next 12 months, all for one package price of $xxxx.

As for contests, each contest has its own rules and definitions. Chances are you won't be able to use previously published photos and definitely can't enter images that are under current license. But I doubt you will be considered a pro.

Never sell the image (as in all the rights permanently) unless it is for big bucks. They don't want it anyway, and you may want to license it again later.

Sorry guys, but upscaling an image as James said to do or printing and scanning will never really work out well. You end up with a lot of interpolation, then sharpening just oversharpens the fuzzies.

Magazines need to have images at 300 dpi at the size they will be used. Or at least 2x the LPI of the printing., as a general rule. You might be able to get away with 280 dpi.

His camera should work ok to 5x7 or so, but not much bigger. Not sure if they are cropping it.

Making a print and scanning it is a kludge, no real magazine is going to want to use it that way, too much contrast, dirt and more noise from rescanning.

This is why I've waited and held of on the consumer digitals to get a decent dslr.

Nice shot btw.

I guess my advice would be to give them the RAW image and see what they can do with it.

Jack

I was recently approached to submit images for a new business. As it was dive related, and small, I agreed to charge less. When it came down to the deadline, the owner wanted me to give the image away for free. My attitude is, it is a business, and even if you are starting out, if you give your work away, you are putting a value on it: worthless. Don't ever expect to make what you pay out in time or expenses. The magazine publisher does not give away its product, neither should you. As mentioned earlier, perhaps you can barter for something other than cash, such as goods or services, if for a dive operation or store.

Reputable magazines will freely give freelance photographers their schedule of payment. Payments vary substantially. For example, a magazine with a low circulation may pay $100 for a cover while major high circulation magazines may pay up to $1000. Magazines in Asia pay far less than the United States, generally. Unless represented by an agency, a credit should be given when a photo is used for editorial purposes. Editorial use generally pays less than advertising use.

By the way, the same image that was wanted for free is being published for $400.

Good luck!

Marli

Most Ad houses and magazines just require you to supply on PSD format or TIFF and they either adapt this to 4 coloUr working or convert via Mac if not done by yourself.

Super High dpi is fine but not generally required unless something special is destined for it. Supplying the Full file as a PSD should enable them flexibility. Nikons webpage has a few interesting facts about this and well worth a read.

If you are inexperienced in selling imagery I advise you to work through an image library or agency that are experienced in the matters. They will take a cut, but they do all of the work and will continually try to sell your images infinitum. Most require a collection of a 100 or so images, and will contact you for updating.

Shop around for a good deal, but 50% is the normal working relationship.

Magazines are a business and should have a reasonable buy-in scale budget offset by a 50:1 ad rate. Most Asian Mags pay just $25.00 per image. Covers range from $2-500.00 and unique shots as much as $1000, but there ain't that many.

Ironically fish keeping mags pay more that dive mags!