Tips for Pricing Your Images for Licensing and Stock Sales 💸

Where to start and what to consider.

I remember I used to tense up whenever I got a request from someone to license one of my images. I felt elated to be asked but completely confused about what to charge! Over the years, I’ve learned how to navigate the system. My experience licensing to various clients has helped me to build my framework for what to charge and how to handle various scenarios. These include images licensed to The Senate, various tourism organizations and DMOs, companies for corporate gifting, banners and billboards, wallpapers and decals for buildings, collaborative merchandise, hundreds of publications and more.

One of my most frequently-licensed images of skating at Lake Louise. Model: Lee Nordbye.

Setting Your Prices

If you work with a stock image agency they will set the pricing for you. Magazines will also usually have set prices depending on the size of the image they are printing. Occasionally, a client will disclose their budget to you, which gives you a starting place and lets you decide how to proceed.

When it comes to setting prices otherwise, I’ve found it’s a process that is fine-tuned over time. You might be eager for me to tell you exactly what I charge, but it’s not an easy thing to do. Pricing is dependent on several variables, including:

• The status of the client - Are they non-profit, big business, repeat client, a start-up? Essentially: what can they reasonably afford?

• Where and how the image is being used - There are a multitude of variables here: print and/or web use, large banners, merchandise, book covers…the list goes on.

• Exclusive versus non-exclusive needs - Occasionally, a client will want full exclusive use of an image.

• What the image is worth to you - An important factor in determining how much you are willing to sell it for.

• What you’ve sold an image/usage for historically - This data adds up to some very good intel!

• The amount of admin time required - For instance, if a client needs several images curated this can be a much longer process than if they know exactly which image(s) they want.

• Where you are at in your career - This scale slides as much as everything in this process. Don’t undercharge when you’re starting out. But also recognize that your work is worth more as you become more established.

It’s important to reiterate that at times it comes down to what the client can afford, and you need to decide if you want to sell it for a rate within their budget. What this means is that you might sell the exact same image for the same usage at different rates over time.

Images for book covers that I’ve licensed over the years.

Where to Start

The process can feel a bit overwhelming at first. But, over time, you gain more knowledge to help you quote.

If you are lost as to where to start: