The NUJ Guide to Charging for Digital Imaging |
In Editorial Photography.
The seismic transformation from
film to digital has left clients and photographers alike unsure how and
what to charge for photographs taken and supplied digitally. The issue was clear when film was the norm, and
during the recent transition period of shooting film but delivering a
digital scan. Clients would pay for film costs and processing, and would
receive processed scans as an additional service, paying scanning fees
either to the photographer or to a processing lab. In the photographer's case these
fees went towards the additional expenses incurred in digital production
- simply put, the costs of the computer, monitor, calibration equipment,
scanner and photo-processing software (Photoshop), investment in
acquiring the necessary skills, and of course the additional labour
time now spent after each job, scanning individual film into 'ready to
use' RGB digital files. Now however, film, ‘wet’
processing and the presentation of prints, transparencies or even scans
from film is steadily fading. Digital capture is now the norm in
the overwhelming degree of cases - but the 'virtual' nature of digital
images has left some clients thinking there are no longer any costs to
pay beyond the photographer's initial commission fee. Many photographers who are in no
doubt about the additional costs they still have to bear, charge for
those costs in ways that confuse not only their clients but also
themselves. So what should photographers
be charging for, and why? They no longer have to pay for film &
processing, so some would argue, neither should their clients. But photographers still have to
supply their work - photographs - in a material form. They do so in the
form of processed digital image files*, digitally transmitted to clients or delivered on
digital media (CD, DVD). That is the service photographers now provide
& must charge their clients for - their costs of capturing,
processing, transmitting and presenting the images on digital media to
clients. This service requires the
appropriate equipment, skills and labour time, and so fees must be
levied to clients (in the same way as a film scanning fee) that
goes towards the additional expenses incurred in digital production. So perhaps the question would be better
re-phrased as follows: What services do clients require, and what should
they pay? Some clients say they require
nothing more than the files straight from the camera (sometimes the
entire contents of the camera card) and claim they should pay no
more than the commission fee itself, by asserting that these ‘digits’
cost the photographer nothing, and should therefore not be charged to
the client. Firstly, this is not true. In order to produce digital images,
the photographer has to meet the huge capital cost of professional
digital cameras, which cost 3-4 times more than film cameras, and
require replacement in less than half the time of their film equivalents
(The
life span of professional digital cameras is currently about two years
before replacement, whereas film cameras could last a decade or more). Secondly, the frequent dismissal of
these capital costs on the grounds that they save photographers money in
film and lab bills is not true either. The photographer used to pass these
film/lab production charges directly on to the client IN ADDITION
to the commission fee, so nothing is being saved by the photographer,
who is now facing the extra costs of producing digital images, which
now, as then, has to be met one way or another by the client. The ‘straight from the camera’
supply of digital files is deeply unsatisfactory for photographers and
clients, and the practice of handing over the entire contents of a
camera card for the commission fee - commonly referred to in justly
unflattering terms as a 'Dump and Run' - cannot be endorsed or
encouraged by the NUJ and is considered unprofessional. The client gets unedited digital
files, including all the under and overexposed frames, the unsharp
frames and all the "indecisive" moments. Moreover, digital
files that are correctly exposed but otherwise uncorrected or processed
in imaging software like Photoshop rarely match the quality of original
prints or transparencies, or the scans photographers used to make from
them. It also provides no way of tracking
image usage, due to the amount of files handed over, lack of captions or
photographer credit on each file, and with widespread ignorance about
the licensing of images**, constitutes a virtually 'Royalty Free'
handover of images from the photographer without appropriate payment. (This should be distinguished from
the legitimate professional need for unprocessed files on some occasions
– for example a newspaper requiring a picture wired on a very tight
deadline. However, the photographer should in these cases still provide
AN EDIT of their shoot, which should be captioned accordingly with
copyright details – not
the whole card, and licensing usage should always be confirmed
beforehand). Photographers take pride in
providing an edited selection of colour corrected, sharpened &
captioned photographs - in short, working professionally - the way they
always have, by presenting an edited, processed, captioned set of
prints, transparencies and now...digital images. So professionally prepared files
are the best way of supplying photographs for both photographer and
client - they are after all exactly what the client previously received
in the form of prints, transparencies or scans from film. And charging for the production of
professional files is also the most appropriate way of meeting digital
costs. They can either be charged for individually, or in bulk at an
hourly rate if appropriate. It should be remembered here that
in addition to meeting the capital costs of digital cameras, and
charging for extra labour time, the photographer has to meet the costs
of running a 'digital darkroom'. These include the capital cost of
computers that become obsolete almost as fast as the cameras, monitors
and software. In addition photographers charge for digital
delivery, either by burning to CD/DVD, or by digital transmission, and
also digital archiving on a hard drive or storable media. Here then is a guide to digital charges
recommended by the NUJ, to create a transparent and open system that
fairly rewards photographers for both their time and expertise, as well
as one that informs buyers of photography what they should expect for
their money. The guide works through a typical digital
photographer’s workflow – from digital capture through to the
presentation of processed files. Digital or inkjet contact sheets - £20.00
per contact sheet. Processed digital image file* (or
scan from film) - £15.00 per file. Bulk processing of digital files - £100.00
per hour for orders over 7 files (A
contact sheet is in effect ‘the contents of the camera card’, but is
a preview for client choice and photographer processing – a
legitimate and more transparent alternative to a ‘Dump and Run’, as
the client can choose how many files they need processing on an amount
or cost basis, in consultation with the photographer) Burning files to CD - £10.00
per CD Burning files to DVD - £20.00
per DVD Digital Transmission -
£20.00 for up to 10 images. Each further transmission after the
first 10 - £2.00 surcharge on each image (£15.00 plus £2.00
= £17.00) VAT is added at the standard rate where the
photographer is VAT registered. NB: these
charges are applicable only to editorial and PR photography for
newspaper and magazines. Digital charges for medium to large format and
studio work will be higher, especially where files are converted from
RGB to CMYK, and proof prints are supplied. __________________________________________________________________________________ *
A processed digital image file is a file that is cleaned, cropped and
colour corrected for appropriate use in print or the Web, and captioned
with IPTC information. For further definitions and guidelines, please
refer to the NUJ Digital Processing Guide, which provides a basic outline. ** Photographers,
particularly freelances, do not sell their images to clients - they
‘license’ the use of the image for a specific purpose and time frame
for an appropriate fee, and issue a simple licence agreement and Terms
and Conditions in their delivery note. The licence, in conjunction with
covering digital costs and the photographer’s commission fee
constitutes their ‘fee for the job’, and can vary from job to job.
For further definitions and guidelines, please refer to the NUJ
Photographic Licensing Guide, which
provides a basic outline.
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