How does usage affect rates (and what is usage anyway?)

We’re sometimes asked by new clients why usage fees are a thing. Often, they’re surprised to learn that they don’t own the images. Understandable, considering most of the time, when we pay for something, we own it. But photography is not real property, it’s intellectual property and the rules are different.

In the US, photography (and other works of art) are protected by copyright law. Absent an employment, or work for hire agreement, the photographer is automatically the copyright holder of any images they create. Even though a client may have commissioned the photographer to create those images - the copyright remains with the artist.  Therefore in order for a client to be able to use the images that they’ve commissioned, a usage license must be granted.  Most of the time, that license has a fee associated with it. The more extensive the usage, the longer the period of time, and the more creative/impactful the image - the greater the fee.

Considering the way in which the images will be used, and the impact it will have in the marketplace, allow artists to more fairly calculate the value associated with a production. An image that appears on billboards in multiple markets across the country will have much greater impact than a similar image on a small shop’s social media - and hence command a greater licensing fee. Images that are in wide circulation for years, will have a higher fee than those that are only for a one time use.

By tailoring licensing fees to specific usage, artists can make sure that clients aren’t paying for rights they’ll never use, and that the artist is being fairly compensated for the work they’re creating.