How much for a photo in local newspaper?

Hi, I'm brand spankin new on the forum so forgive me if this is a repetitive

post or in the wrong section.

 

I take photos as a hobby and I had a photo printed on the Sunday front page of

our local newspaper (Winnipeg Free press average of 125k daily readers). It's

a smaller shot about 2 x 3.5 (business card sized) but still I was excited it

was on the front page.

 

Anyway the lady I spoke with was not clear about pricing and (since 'the

photo guy was not in the office') she said to include my contact info in the

email when I sent the photo and a line or two about payment. So the photo got

printed and I was credited but they have not got back to me on payment. I

wrote them again today but when/if they respond I have no idea how much to

request for the photo.

 

Does anyone have fotoquote or could share their expertise on how much I should

ask for? Or should I let them go with not paying me and realise my mistake in

not finalizing before hand? :/

 

Thanks so much for your help/time.

Sadiya<div></div>

I got paid $25 for an "impromtu" photo, but that was not on front page.

After it was already printed? - you are at disadvantage.

My opinion is that you should let them have this one for free, but let them know you'd be interested in working as a freelancer for them. Settle with the newspaper on pricing (more if the photo is unique, less if they could choose one from another photographer - you might discreetly contact some of the paper's other freelancers and ask how much they get paid) and start shooting!

 

Congratulations on your front page debut.

I've seen this from both sides, having done a fair amount of press photography and also having edited local newspapers in the UK. Here, most newspapers have set payments for pictures. Because they work on very low margins, the fees offered are usually pretty low as well. If you just sent the picture in without a request for payment you may not get one, as readers frequently supply pictures for free.

 

A general tip on submitting images to the local press is to use the magic words on all material: "for publication at your normal rates". It doesn't guarantee payment, unfortunately, as some local papers have a standard rate of zero.

 

:-)))

Thank you very much for your advice. I appreciate it so much :)

 

Someone from the paper replied and asked for my mailing address to send a check of $100. I have no idea if that is standard but I should probably accept it and hope that I did not step on any toes for asking.

 

Thanks again.

In Finland, in magazines the price tag for one offs is between 35 and 150 euros, typically 50-70 euros. I've never shot for a newspaper, but I'd guess the basic range is about the same. Never ever sell anything for free, not even the first one!

I'm a newspaper photographer and the smallish newspapers in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan pay about $35 to $40 for one 3 column photo. From the looks of it, your photo was quite large, plus you had a smaller one. The price of $100 seems about right.. Congrats.. they are great pics..

 

jude

The Washington Post pays about $100 for a spot-news submission (some times more if you're a long-time, talented contributor), and they don't pay any more if they use more than one image of a single incident. That seems to be around the top end for daily newspapers in the U.S., and it hasn't gone up in decades. The Montgomery County Journal, which was a daily paper for a major metro county just outside DC (650,000 pop., 75,000 circ.), used to pay $50 for a B&W shot and $75 for a color, but they're out of business. The county papers that are still in business around here are supposed to pay $40/shot, but I've stopped submitting because they've stopped paying.

 

There used to be a decent market for spot news shots in local papers, but that has eroded because of several factors. Lately, if you can get any payment at all out of a local paper, I'd consider that quite a coup.

 

Spend $50 on a decent billing software (Billing Solution is easy to use, if basic) and start sending out professional-looking invoices. Like one of my mentors said, "When you get right down to it, sending out invoices is the only thing you really get paid for."

 

Of course, some people have taken this though a bit too far (witness the current Katrina fraud debacle), but basically he was right.

 

Best of luck. -BC-

Yeah, in Canada that 100 bucks is just fine. If you want a freelance job, meet hte photo editor over lunch or coffee or whatever. If he's (or she) is a nice person, they'll gladly meet you and talk about your career.