Setting Your Price

One of the most common questions asked by freelance photographers is "How much should I charge for photo"? The answer is very complex and depends of many elements. Here are some questions a photographer should ask before setting the price for his or hers photo:
1. What is the circulation of the publication which is going to use the photo? That number will tell you if you are dealing with a small newspaper (with small budget), or the one that can pay more. Circulation numbers for most of the newspapers in Canada can be found at Canadian Newspaper Association web site
2. Where in the publication is picture going to be used and how big? Usually the pictures used on the front page are paid more than ones used inside. Also, price may vary if the picture is used full-page, half-a-page, quarter-page or smaller.
3. Is the picture going to be used for online edition, and for how long? Some photographers treat online rights separately, as it should be. Therefore, the online edition adds to the price of the picture. Duration could be set from 3 months to a year or longer.

When all is agreed upon, do not forget to ask for an email confirmation from the publication. Email is considered a legal document in Canada. Also, make sure that the caption of the photo you are selling bears "One Time Use Only" warning along with your copyright information, unless you sold rights for multiple use in the same publication. If no other use is paid for, include all the limitations in the caption, such as: "Internet Out", "No Archives", "CP Out", or, if the publication is a part of the media chain, e.g. "Sun Media Out" or "CanWest Out." However, I advise to leave open the possibility for more re-sales by including "Contact Photographer For Usage Rights" instead of the limitations and outs. Include your contact email and phone number in the caption.

This is all nice, but what price should you quote when the call comes? Here is a helpful link to help establish the negotiating value:

American NPPA (National Press Photographers Association) Pricing Calculator
There is also the "Photographer's Market" book which lists contacts for newspapers, magazines and books publishers across continent and gives the average price per photo information.

Photoshop Tip: Reducing Noise in High ISO Digital Picture

There are no photographers around who haven’t been in a low-light situation, but unable to use flash for any reason. With digital cameras the solution is easy – just boost the ISO value! Unfortunately, as ISO value gets higher, so does the digital noise. It shows in those weird-colored pixels, usually yellow, greenish or bluish in the shadow areas of the picture. Here is a quick tip how to reduce some of that noise using Lab Color mode in Photoshop:

- Open the noisy image in Photoshop, then select from the menu bar Image->Mode->Lab Color (this changes the color mode of your picture from RGB to Lab)
- Open Channels palette by selecting from menu bar Window->Channels (“a” and “b” channels contain color information, “lightness” contains the details)
- Select “a” channel
- While in “a” channel, select Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur. Increase the pixel radius in the dialogue window until the details in the picture are completely blurred. Make sure you blurred all the rough edges and grain in the picture. You can easily go to radius of 4 pixels or more.
- Select “b” channel and repeat the Gaussian Blur filter
- Select “lightness” – if the edges are not so crisp, sharpen the picture a little using Unsharp Mask filter. Do not over-sharpen!
- Change the mode back to RGB (select Image->Mode->RGB Color

When working with files of the same size all the time, it may be useful to record this procedure as a Photoshop action.