Pricing Photomanipulations

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Art in the Professions Week!

My name is Orina and I am a digital artist, mainly photomanipulator. I've been working commercially with clients for a few years and I've been often asked, by fellow photomanipulators, how do I price my works. Many of the people who are just starting getting involved with selling their skills, feel a bit lost when it comes down to pricing their work, so I'd be happy to shed some light on this field, based on my personal experience so far.

But let's start from the beginning. What is photomanipulation?

Photomanipulation is the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception (in contrast to mere enhancement or correction), through analog or digital means.source: Wikipedia

Hence, two or more photographs are required for a piece of art to be considered a photomanipulation. Those photographs can be own resources or they can be used with permission from their rightful owners - in such case, they're called stock images.

Many people believe that just because a photomanipulation is based on "simply" editing some images, the cost for a commission will be a lot lower compared to the cost for, let's say, a digital drawing made from scratch. That might be the case sometimes, but there are many factors to take under consideration when setting prices for photomanipulations, and generally your works.

To the point, I'd say that it all comes down on how do you price your time, actually. So it's always good to keep in mind:

The source of the stock images.

Stock images are easy to find around the web, both free and pay-to-use. When you have to pay for a stock photo to use, you can either ask the client to buy it for you, or you can buy it yourself and include the cost in the final price. In case you have already purchased a certain stock image by yourself before you have been appointed with the job and then decide to use it, I would recommend that you also include the cost of that image in the final price as well. It's up to you, but keep in mind that when setting a price for your work, you have to make sure you cover all the possible costs of getting the right stock photos.

• _{Notes:
  FAQ #157: Can I use things created by other people in my submissions?
  FAQ #217: What are "Stock and Resources" and can I use them in my submissions?
  Always make sure you are using legitimate stock for your personal and (especially) your commercial work and that you have the right license and/or permission by the stock provider to do so.
  Here is an extremely useful article by Wesley-Souza on how to properly use stock images, as well as a list of stock sites you can use images commercially from, both free and pay-to-use.}
  
  Tips for Beginners MembersUPDATE artorifreedom wrote a great article about commercial work, if you want to start doing commercial work (books/cds/ etc) read the journal, find the link at the bottom of this blog.
  Four years ago I created my account and literally was lost, I had many doubts, and in those years I discovered many things and decided to do a special blog with such useful information for beginners because every day brings new members who are also lost, then I am posting this to try and help in some way some beginners  
  Start in the community in a good way.
  Be an active member and try to participate and be part of the community, participate in contests, events, make friends, make journal feature, it is always good to see people sharing works, it does not matter if you still do not have many watchers, it's always good to see works being sharing and helping promote. Post your work in groups so that

The complexity of the work.

A photomanipulation is often a lot more complex than it seems. It may involve a lot of editing as well as digital painting too. It's only logical that you should charge less for a simple image of, let's say, 2-3 stock photos and some coloring, and more for an image with more stock photos and even some painting. Complex works obviously take more time to make.

• _{Note: Some artists charge different between editing stock images and painting instead. For example, you want to make the hair of your model. You can either use one (or more) stock images or you can paint it. Most will think that painting it is more complex, but maybe it's more time-consuming to try and find the right stock and then edit it. In the end, it all comes down to how much time you spend on this specific work. So if painting some details comes easier for you than finding stock and editing, then you should probably charge less, or vice versa.}
  

The time you spend working on it.

Is it something you can make in a couple of hours or does it take, let's say, 8-9 hours? Many people price their work per hour, for example $20/hour. There are various costs out there, like $5/hour, $10/hour, $25/hour and so on.. It depends on how comfortable you feel to charge your invested time. Especially in photomanipulation, your "work time" should also include the time spent in searching for the right stock images. This may seem easy or fast, but sometimes when the job appointed is extremely specific, finding the right stock pictures can be very time-consuming.  

• _{Note: If you're not known yet, you should start from a low rate till you get a little more experienced with working with clients. But remember: your time is your time, so don't get way too low on prices.}
  

The purpose of the deal.

What does the client want the work for? Do they want it on a canvas on their living room wall to admire or do they want it as a book cover - thus making money from it? Many artists charge more when the work will be used commercially and the client will make profit out of it. Such uses include cd/dvd/book covers, posters for a purpose with paid tickets (e.g. a mgic show or a concert) and any other way the client will make money using your work as advertisement. As a photomanipulator, you should always notify your stock providers of such use. Some providers require a fee in order for your work to be used commercially twice: a) you selling the artwork itself AND b) the client selling a product using this specific artwork as advertisment.

• _{Note: If the work is to be used commercially by the client, many people request a copy or more of the final product featuring their artowork (e.g. a book, a dvd, free pass on the concert you made the work for, etc.). Note that maybe even some stock providers may request one or two copies of the product in which your art is used. You can either reduce the final cost in exchange for a couple of free copies, or request some copies anyway without an impact on the price. It's all up to you and how comfortable you are towards your client. Note that maybe even some stock providers may request one or two copies of the product in which your art is used.}
  

Internet/print.

Some people, including myself, charge less when making covers for the internet (e-books/e-cds/music track covers for i-tunes etc.) than they charge for printed books/cds/dvds. The reason is that since the client doesn't feel comfortable to publish their work printed yet, or they may don't have the budget to do so, I don't want to push them on a price which may seem unaffortable.

• _{Note: If it's a printed work, it's usually good to ask for the print run (how many copies of their work will be published). If it's a small run, let's say 100 copies, you could charge less than, let's say 500 copies. There's always the case that the client may start with a small print run, and in the long run publish more copies. In such case, you have the possibility to either get paid a higher price once, or get paid less and receiving extra fee when the new print run will be puplished, or receiving a percentage % on every (agreed) amount of copies being published.}
  

Your client's budget.

It's good to ask how much they're willing to pay for your work and always be ready to negotiate. Also, when giving your price, state that you're open to negotiation - even if the price seems big, they may be able to make a deal with you. Be sure to discuss beforehand any issues with paid stock images and include them during the negotiation. You understand that it won't be nice if your client and you decide on a price and after a while you come to them with extra costs because of stock images.

• _{Note: Make offers in order to make your price appealing. For example, you can offer to make the back cover of the book or the booklet of the cd for free (included in the price) or for a small fee.}
  

New or old work?

I don't think if that's important to other artists, but me, when I'm asked to sell a work that already exists in my gallery, I usually charge less than when I'm ordered to make a new work. The reason is, I have made the works in my gallery for my own satisfaction, I don't find it to be the same when I spend my time working on something they tell me how/when to do. There are artists that sell all works, old and new alike, at the same price because they see it as "time invested in that work". There's no right and wrong, it's simply a matter of personal choice.




I hope you will find this article, as well as all articles from the Art in the Professions Week quite useful. I wish you good luck and I hope the best for you and your art!