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This is where the rubber meets the road.
You are ready to call an agency and negotiate a price for a stock image you'd like to use. What follows is a description of exactly what the agency is going to try to determine about this transaction and precisely the five things they are going to take into consideration.
They're going to be asking you a bunch of questions. We can assure you that every question they ask you will be associated with one of these five factors.
You should be aware, always, that the way you respond to the agency's questions, as they relate to these five factors, will have very significant impact on the price you are charged, and that whereas these five factors are fairly specific, they, in turn, are designed to address the three umbrella issues described in the previous section.
Each of these "factors" can work in your favor if you know how to make them do so, or your disfavor if you don't. Let's take them one at a time, and in each case we'll show you how to make it work to your advantage:
Generally, the greater the number of people who will see the stock image, the higher the price. This is where all those questions about distribution, print run and number of insertions come from. It’s why, in the case of an ad, the stock agent might want to know, generally, what the circulation is of the magazines the ad will appear in.
It’s all going towards determining how "important" the project is. And, frankly, they’re probably making some kind of rough calculation as to how much money is being spent on the overall project, with a view towards pricing the stock image accordingly. For example, if you are doing a national advertisement that will be placed in many national consumer magazines, they know that perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent buying the space in the magazines. Or, if your brochure will have a print run of two million copies, they know that is costing a pretty penny and that a few extra dollars for the picture isn't going to break the bank. Perhaps that shouldn't affect their thinking, but it does, and you need to know that.
The way you should be thinking about all this is that the fewer the number of people who see the stock image — the lower the price!
The agency is interested in knowing how much "exposure" the stock image will receive; YOU are interested in letting them know how little it will receive. "Yes, but..." is the most important tool in your arsenal:
Is the distribution of your brochure "national"? "Yes, but it will only be distributed to plumbers and only for a two week period..."
Will you be running this ad for a year? "Yes, but it will only be inserted twice in a magazine aimed at left-handed brain surgeons..."
The agency will be asking "broad brush" questions: You want to pro-actively supply the finer brush information that reduces the implications of a simple "yes" or "no" answer. Don't wait for them to ask you for it. Volunteer any information that works in your favor.
The worst advice we could give you would be to suggest you distort the information in a way that would result in a fundamental untruth about how the picture will be used. Please refer to the section of this document on why you should be sure to purchase all the rights you DO need. When we are dealing with stock images, we’re dealing with copyrights, and it is legally mandatory that you do obtain the rights you need, framed within an accurate description of your usage.
How large (or small) a role does the photo play in the project you are developing?
"Cover" photos cost more than "inside" photos. Ads in which the photo is the "major visual" cost more than when the photo plays a minor role. And so on.
Why should size play such a role, really? Either you're using the picture or not, right? Well, its a "back door" way of determining how important the image is to the project. Stock images used large are assumed to be more important to you than stock images used small or on the inside of a brochure. The more important the agency figures the image is to you, the more they are going to charge (and the less likely they will be to negotiate for less).
Don't forget: "Yes, but..."
Will the stock image be used full page? "Yes, but it will be a background with many other images superimposed on top of it. You'll hardly see it..."
Is this the major visual in your ad? "Yes, but I am cropping into a small portion of the sky and using only that."
Whatever. Don't veer from the truth, but DO volunteer any information that reduces the agency's notion of the importance this image plays in your project, if, indeed, that is the case.
If it is not the case, be careful: Don't overplay this hand. If the agency gets the idea that this stock image is so insignificant to you that they're going to have to reduce the price also to insignificance, they won't budge at all. (Plus, they're not going to believe you. After all, you're calling them about the image, right?)
But, as in number 1, if your use of the stock image is, indeed, of less significance than would be indicated by simple answers to the "broad brush" questions, be sure to supply the additional information that countervails that impression, assuming it's true.
Once the agency has a clear understanding of how important the stock image is to the project and how important the project itself might be, a price is arrived at based upon the past experience of the agency with similar projects and usages. What prices have previous clients with similar projects been willing to pay?
The key word here is "similar". Our own experience, dealing with thousands upon thousands of projects, is that no two jobs are exactly alike. There are literally thousands of permutations, and, in at least some respects, your project is probably unique. To whatever extent the factors listed in numbers one and two, above, are not taken into account by the agency, you are going to get lumped into a pricing category that you might not belong in.
So, the first thing to do is to make sure that the price you are being given is based upon your particular project, with all its unique characteristics taken into account, not being subjected to a "pricing chart category".
And there's a second thing...
The agency is focused on the prices they have received for "similar projects" in the past: You need to point out the prices you have paid for similar projects in the past.
Once again, however, we're going to counsel strict truthfulness. But if you have done similar projects in the past and have paid lower prices than you are being quoted, say so. However, bear in mind that this is where the "similar" issue can come back into play -- in your disfavor. We have had many situations where a client's current project might seem similar -- to them -- to one they have done in the past, and they therefore feel the price this time should also be similar. In conversation, however, it becomes clear that the current project is actually very different in crucial pricing respects. Don't forget: We're not trying to teach you how to cheat the agency, we're just trying to make sure you're operating on a level playing field. The price for your project should be fair: Fair to you and the agency and the photographer they are representing, and it should be based on all relevant factors being taken into account.
This is why it is so important to concentrate your buying power. If you are using more than one stock image in your project, and you buy them all from one agency, you should get a better price than if you were purchasing just one.
This is a controversial issue amongst photographers represented by agencies. They feel that "quantity discounts" demean the inherent value of the work. Whether that is true or not, the fact is that you will, or should, get a "favorable" price if you are purchasing a few stock images at the same time from the same agency. If the agency will not do that, or doesn't have a mechanism in place to do that (an increasing problem -- see online price calculators), we advise shopping elsewhere.
Number one: If you are using several stock images from the agency you are negotiating with, but you are not getting favorable treatment for doing so, have alternative images in mind from other agencies, and let them know that.
Number two: The next best thing to buying several stock images on this project, is buying more images on another project. If you have something in the works, and you are considering purchasing those images from this same agency, let them know that.
Good customers get good prices. Or, at least, they should get good prices. One of the ways you should "kick the tires" of the agency you are dealing with is to determine if, indeed, they have systems in place so that when you call for a price on this project, the person you are dealing with at the agency is well aware of your purchasing history on past projects. That's how you build up your "purchasing power" with them. There's no way they can take that information into account in your favor if the salesperson you're dealing with isn't even aware of it.
If the agency is not aware of a purchasing history that should work to your advantage, we recommend two things: First, on this project, make them aware of it. Second, on your next project, shop elsewhere.
ANOTHER TIP: Suppose you haven't done much (or any) business with the photo agency in the past, but your client has. Mention it. Or suppose you have recently switched companies and whereas you haven't done business with this photo agency in your current position, you did do so in your past position. Mention it. They're probably looking up your records based upon your current company's name; have them look up your purchasing history under your old company's name...
Don't forget Umbrella issue number four: How important are you to them? If you have purchasing power use it, and if the agency you're dealing with is unwilling to take into account your "most favored nation" status, find an agency that will.
The stock agency is interested in obtaining sufficient information so that they don’t undercharge you. You should be interested in volunteering information that will prevent them from overcharging you!
As you proceed through the process, relentlessly bear that fact in mind. Know that everything that is going on is with a view towards addressing the three umbrella issues, and make the five factors work to your advantage, fair and square.
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