Photos for Airline Magazines

yes, it “should” be around 150, but depending on their budget. philippine airlines “mabuhay” pay 50 bucks per, no matter how small or large (extra for front covers though), bangkok airways “fah thai” about the same, whereas Korean “morning calm” more what you expect 150 or 180 for 1/4 page. though one is loathe to lower the bar here, I have had lots of repeating business from semi-low-payers simply because they buy quite a few per year from me – in other words, I’d rather sell rights to $3000 worth of images over a year to one editor, than insist on proper payment for one. the tricky part seems to be how to ask “will you be buying more of my images later on?”

since I sell lots to various airlines, I look at the airline’s destination map and if I cover lots of it or plan to, it’s always good to mention “other collections you may be interested in” or other destinations you plan on covering in the next few weeks/months. Good luck! John

If it is Kris Flyer (Singapore Airlines), they are notoriously late at paying and require way too much follow up.

As for price, $100 to $150 is about right, though what John said is true – you can develop good relationships with some airline magazines which pay lower, but over the medium term, you license $1,000’s of dollars worth of imagery too. Always difficult to know though.

www.thomaspickard.com

Accepting low prices in the hope of future business (or to get your “foot in the door”) is a recipe for disaster.

It only works if you already have established relationships, and like in any business, you extend discounts for “buying in bulk” once it has actually happened. Do this preemptively – before any bulk purchase has happened – and all you’re doing is letting nine out of ten clients get a cheap single picture.

At the end of the day, if it’s a pissy $150, I’d forgo it rather than be ripped off for the privilege.

But if they’re bothering to talk to you instead of just pulling it from Getty, doesn’t that suggest you have something reasonably unique and maybe worth a little more … or is Getty, etc, just too dear for them?

Personally I am not concerned so much whether or not it’s $150 or $100 – that’s peanuts. I prefer to sell to HBO or Showtime where I make a couple grand but in this case I’ll accept $100 or $150 to get my foot in the door. The majority of my work is in boxing and Muay Thai and slowly but surely I’m getting work in other areas. Thanks for the help.