Offer from advertising agency

Hi.

 

I'm a semi professional photographer who usually works in a studio where I take

portraits, family shots, band shots and so on. I also do quite a bit of

TFP-shoots, and I often post these on my flickr account ->

 

Yesterday I received an email from a big international advertising agency where

they asked if they could use one of my flickr photos for one second in a

television ad, together with several other flickr photos they had gained

permission to use.

 

A friend of mine who's a professional photographer said the $300 offer they gave

me was way too low, and if I said yes, it would come back to haunt me in the

future. Especially if this agency gets in contact with me via their Norwegian

offices in the future.

 

He does have a point, because they low fees I receive from the local paper has

been used as an argument against me from other papers, when I've charged them

more normal fees.

 

My question is this: Do you agree with my friend that I should insist on my

minimum fee of $1000? And just say no if they still insist on $300? Is there a

chance that this will come back to bite me in the ass later?

 

I would really like to get an opinion on this from people who are more

experienced in this game than I am.

 

Best wishes

Hogne

This, too, is an old ploy,and sounds like a scam. Stick to your fee!

Art has it right. No it won't come back to bite you in the ass if you stick to your guns -and if there is a person in the photo make damn sure you have a model release in hand before you license it for use in an ad.

...or you could ask for a $300.00 check for each time the television ad aired (and a equal amount in each country) if more than one area is to be used for advertising. That would make the $1,000.00 price a bargain for the ad agenecy.

Thanks for your responses.

 

@Art: I've checked, and the person who contacted me does indeed work at the agency in question, so it's not a scam as such. However, I do get a feeling that they're trying to scam flickr users with a very small fee :)

 

@Ellis: My contract with the model is ok. She will get 10% of any fee I receive for the photos.

 

@Gerald: That's exactly what my friend said :)

 

Once again, thanks for your replies.

Well, I replied and told them my price was $1000, because after taxes and a fee to the model, I would have practically nothing left if they only paid $300. I just received a reply where they said $300 was all they could offer, and thanked me for my time.

They're fishing. Depending on duration and frequency of image use $1200.00 - 2200.00.

Price your work according to it's value. They are searching Flickr hoping to take advantage of those less experienced and willing to give their work away for the "opportunity". Learn and better understand this market segment, it's good that you stuck with your fee, That shows professional conduct on your part, someone who understands the value of their work.

 

I forgot to add from Fotoquote:

 

"Pricing still images used in television advertising is a little different from pricing still images for print. All pictures are priced the same no matter how large they are used on the screen. Normally there is a lot of negotiating room on these usages based on the uniqueness of the image and how much the client wants to use it. As with any usage, you need to get as much information as possible before you determine your price.

 

Many TV commercials run in 13 week cycles, and are priced according to those cycles. A 13 week cycle equals a quarter of a year. If your client buys the rights for a 13 week cycle, that means they can run the ad as many times as they want during those 13 weeks. It is also possible the ad will run only once in a local market, or for years throughout the country. Be sure to be specific in your license as to the time frame the image can appear.

 

If your ad will run for less than 13 weeks, you can adjust your price proportionally, but keep your minimum fairly high. TV advertising is high cost and an advertiser?s expectation of profit is also high."

Thank you Randy, both for the words of encouragement and the information you've provided!

Canon tried to pull the same thing on me. Offered me $500 for using one of my pix for the launch of a camera in Europe. Regular price for that usage from a stock agency would have been more like $15,000.

<p>

If they need your shot, make them pay.