How much a photographer earns, in terms of dollars and cents, is the most difficult question to answer in this book. It is like answering the question: How much is creativity worth?
Estimates of salaries and wages in the photographic field vary considerably. Even current sources of information contain data that were compiled at least one to two years earlier.
Information mentioned on these pages has been obtained from a variety of reliable references. Most dollar amounts are averages, so actual low and high end salaries are much different than the dollars mentioned. Salaries also will vary by geographic region and be affected by changes in the economy in general. However, the following information will serve as a point of reference and will give the reader an idea of the fluctuations in earnings in photography.
Apprentice beginners generally begin at minimum wage while getting started as all around helpers in portrait, commercial, or similar studios. About $6 per hour or slightly more than $12,000 a year would be common, depending on the individual's qualifications and the size of the firm or city. If the opportunity to work as an apprentice under a photographer with a good reputation is offered, it would be wise to seriously consider taking the job primarily for the experience and guidance. Some students will accept this type of employment for part time work while continuing their formal education.
After a few years of practical on the job experience, industrial photographers employed by corporations would have an advantage over employees of private studios because there are usually better fringe benefits and more frequent reviews for salary increases. Photo lab technicians doing processing and printing are now being given the same pay consideration as photographers' assistants with similar experience. Exceptionally talented and dedicated employees usually are recognized by their employers quickly and often receive incentive increases in pay. The degree of success you and your company enjoy also will have a bearing on your pay scale and the amount of increases, or bonuses, you receive.
Large firms with photographic studios tend to pay better than commercial or portrait studios. A person with a two year or four year degree in photography will have a better chance of obtaining a position than a person with similar experience and no degree.
Portrait studios tend to be owned and managed by one person but frequently have other family members working there. Sometimes there are some part time or full time additional photographers to help out in busy seasons.
Independent photographers and freelancers have the broadest range of incomes. The sheer majority of them probably earn only enough to make a modest living. But, they stay in business because they enjoy the freedom of being their own bosses and being able to, within reason, say yes or no to any assignment. There are a number of photographers who have made a name for themselves and can command very high fees for any assignment they choose to accept.
Magazine Photographs
Attempting to provide an approximation of the value of a photograph published in a magazine is difficult since there are so many variances. Some publications receive only small local distribution others are regional, while the most widely circulated publications receive national distribution. The total circulation of a magazine is one of the primary criteria for establishing a print price, as is the size and location of the photograph used in print. Inside editorial usage seldom pays much, while any advertising usage of a picture will normally command top dollar return for the photographer.
A small reproduction of a picture used to illustrate a story or article will naturally receive far less attention, and payment, than an eye catching photo used on the cover. Cover photos rightfully receive the most pay, especially those used on newsstand publications, which depend on attracting the attention of shoppers and enticing them to purchase that issue of the magazine. An exclusive, unique, or rare photograph, especially one of a news event or some unusual happening that nobody else was able to photograph, will command a much higher price than a merely attractive or outstanding photo that anybody could have the opportunity to make. In the 1980s, one photographer made thousands of dollars for his dramatic photographs of the Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption but he almost lost his life in the process of making those pictures!
One photographic magazine that is available on the newsstand nationwide currently pays about $400 per full color page. Another offer $50 to $200 per black and white photo. Large circulation (or distribution) magazines pay the most, while controlled low circulation magazines that number their readers at 50,000 or fewer will pay considerably less for a similar photo.
One time use rights are normally stipulated with the sale of any photo, so the picture is merely "leased" for this one use only. In actuality, one photo can be resold many times for use in different publications if it is unusual or attention commanding. Thus, the income derived from rare or especially interesting pictures can continue for years. Conversely, sometimes a picture is sold outright, with all rights going to the buyer, who gains full control over its use. For this type of sale, a higher payment should be contracted since the photographer no longer owns the picture after the sale. There are other types of image rights that apply to photographs and their publication, but we will not go into detail about them. A good source of information about markets for photographs is:
Photographs As Art
In the 1980s, photographs rapidly became more recognized as a form of art by museums, corporations, banks, galleries, and individual collectors. Along with this recognition, the prices commanded for outstanding photographs by well known photographers also rose dramatically. This trend has continued in recent years.
Controversy accompanied the 1989 and 1990 national exhibitions of the work of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who died of AIDS in 1989. As a result, prices for his photographs, some of which critics have labeled obscene, doubled or tripled, with one self portrait print selling for close to $40,000.
Recent photography sales at auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's, and at some prominent New York City galleries, have resulted in sales of photographs much in excess of their estimated value. Some photos even sold for up to triple the estimates, with some top quality prints made by Alfred Stieglitz during his lifetime selling in a group of twenty one for a record $396,000. A self portrait of Paul Outer Bridge sold for $99,000. Even the asking prices for prominent living photographers' prints currently are running at about ten times what was commonly asked as recently as the 1980s.
Quality photographs made by early photographers, especially those from a limited edition and signed are becoming good investments. This does not imply that every photograph could potentially have such a high value, but outstanding examples of recognized master photographers are finally receiving the recognition and respect deserved by pioneers of the medium. Current sales trends show that considerable money can be made by creative, reliable photographers who can consistently produce top quality results under a wide variety of circumstances.
