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Photojournalism - Package Deal

Published by Writelink

It's a proven fact that you are more likely to sell your non-fiction magazine articles if you can also supply
the editor with accompanying pictures. You may consider yourself a writer rather than a photographer, but
if you want to sell more work you must 'think pictures'.

Editors need pictures but many magazines, even the well-known ones, are run with a very small staff,
sometimes as few as two or three. Traditionally, it was the responsibility of an in-house picture
researcher to source the images found in books and magazines from press agencies, picture libraries,
museums and so on. But for most magazines the days of employing a picture researcher have long
gone.

Sourcing editorial pictures is time consuming; many publications just don't have the resources, which is
why so many otherwise interesting and well-written articles are rejected. A lot of editors now prefer to
accept complete packages of words and pictures. So, provide the editor with what he (or she) wants -
become an editor's 'delight'!

Of course if you have a half-decent camera and can take your own photos to illustrate your feature then
so much the better. You could be laughing all the way to the bank, having doubled your fee. Naturally this
should be the first choice of any sane writer.

There are occasions though when it just isn't feasible to take your own pictures - when you want to
illustrate a historic or specialist piece for example. This is when picture libraries are useful. But beware!

Recently, I did some research on a Victorian bridge for a local government department. They needed
pictures for a presentation, and these I located in 'Heritage'. The fee for using four pictures from their
library was Ł400 - waived in the end because it was another local government department.

There are dozens of picture libraries, a good number of which have a web presence. Thousands of
images are available on these libraries and they range from the work of one individual covering a specific
area or theme to vast miscellaneous collections.

Online picture libraries are often 'rights managed'. This means a fee is paid each time an image is used,
usually the photographer and the library each have 50 per cent of the fee charged.

Picture library charges might include:

Service fee - this is a flat fee that covers the library's time if you need them to research a picture on your
behalf, postage and packaging if the pictures are sent by mail and various other admin charges.

Reproduction fee - this is for the use of the image. This charge varies according to how the picture will be
used, its size, a magazine's publication figures and its commercial value.

Hire fee - this is based on the normal loan time of between 4-6 weeks.

The costs for one-time usage of these stock images start at around Ł50 but can run into many hundreds,
so limiting the use by any magazines with a small budget.

So you can see that while it is certainly a good idea to source pictures to accompany your writing -
thereby saving your editor valuable time and earning you some extra Brownie points - it is unwise to pay
for these yourself. Instead, you should supply your editor with the relevant source details, reference
numbers and so on and let him or her negotiate the fee with the picture library.

Sometimes libraries offer collections of 'royalty free' images on CD Rom. These collections can be
bought for a moderate sum and are useful for writers who can use general images to accompany their
work. A photographer will usually receive a one-off payment for each image though they sometimes hold
limited rights.

Pictures for free!

Another way to supply your editor with a 'words and pictures' package is to contact the Public Relations
departments of various organisations and businesses. Many of these organisations are eager for free
publicity and will gladly supply you with pictures.

Some of the PR departments that might be helpful include tourist boards, conservation groups, charities,
tourist attractions, auctioneers, travel companies, re-enactment groups, animal-aid societies and sports
organisations. Any of these may be willing to supply you with pictures in exchange for editorial exposure.

Next time you write a non-fiction magazine article offer a 'package deal' - make it as easy as you can for
the editor to say "yes"!

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