Base Usage Rate.

In their book, Beyond the Lens, the Association of Photographers give Photographers (in the UK), guidelines as to what they should be taking into account, when negotiating the fee for the use of their images. They talk briefly about the Base Usage Rate (BUR) and then go to great lengths to give us percentage figures, so as we can calculate what the Licence fee should be, for the use of the images that we produce and / or create, for others to use.
Most Photographers know that they own the Copyright of the images that they create; however, calculating their value and/or determining what they should charge, often causes them lots of problems.

So, here is my take on the Association of Photographer’s BUR pricing system and how it works – which I hope others will find of value:

As a commercial photographer, we simply produce & provide images for others to use.

So our goal is to produce & provide the best images possible so that others will want to use them… and use them a lot.
Simple.

However, putting a price on what we do is not quite so simple.
Why ?

Because there are more than 100 different ways to shoot any subject – from quick snap-shots using just a basic camera, through to full production staged shots using larger camera systems, lights, models, stylists, etc, etc – which means all images are not equal or the same. So depending on which way we choose to shoot it, that will, in some way or other affect the value to both you & others … which will ultimately affect the fee.

And because the images are usually being produced for others to use, then the value of what the images are worth to them, really needs to be taken into account too. Media use, Period of use & Territory of use, are usually the 3 main things that will determine that value to them.

So all of this needs to be taken into account – and this is were the Association of Photographer’s BUR pricing system comes into play – to help us determine the value of our images and what the fee ‘should be’ to ensure we get it right.

The BUR figure is therefore our starting point.

It’s our estimated basic production costs, to produce images for ‘Standard use’.
(Standard use is considered to be either: 2 media for 1 year or 1 media for 2 years, in 1 country).

So we start by working-out what our basic production costs would be first, by taking the following things into account:

Pre production time:
Photography time:
Post production time:
Travel time:
Retouching time:
Crew / Assistant:
Stylist / Hair / Make-up:
DVD & back-up:
Prints / Contact sheets:
Insurance:
Location / Studio fee:
Props, Wardrobe:
Rentals:
Sets / Expendable:
Courier / P&P:
Actors / Models:
Travel / Fuel:
Miscellaneous:

(Please note: some of these things may not apply – it’s simply a check-list to help us work-out what our basic costs will be, to finance the project to a standard level – which may be very different to the actual usage required by the client).

Next, we divide is figure by the number of images or ‘sets of images’ we plan to produce and that becomes our BUR per image price.

(Added note: The AOP suggest this figure should not be less than one’s normal day rate – which is fine – but I prefer to calculate it on a per image bases, so each image or ‘set of images’ has its own value – and include our production costs, so as we know where we stand.)

(Also note: our ‘day rate’ doesn’t change here – so this figure is calculated out using our normal day rate figure – not a ‘day rate’ figure which has already taken the client’s usage into account – because their actually usage requirements may change, once they see the final results. So this is our base rate figure for standard use, which is our starting point, when negotiating the fee, for the use of our images.)

Then using the Association of Photographer’s guidelines – which can be found in their book Beyond the Lens – we can workout what the Licence fee should be, for the use of our images that the client requires.

So the Licence fee will be based on the client’s actual usage requirements – as opposed to our actual costs – which may be very different.

Example:
If the client says they only want to use the images for Web use only (1 media) or for Magazine ads & Brochures (2 media), then the Licence fee would be similar to our BUR figure – as it would be based on either 1 media for 2 years Use on the Worldwide web or 2 Media for 1 years Use in 1 country i.e. Standard use.

If however, the client said they required more use of our images than this, then we would negotiate the fee starting with the BUR figure and add (+%) to that figure – or if they said they required less use of the images than this, then we would negotiate the fee by giving them a discount (-%).

So the Media use, Period of use & Territory of use, are the 3 key things that we would take into account when quoting a fee.

(As it’s the client’s usage requirements that will determine the value of the images to them – and it’s that value to them that will determine their budget – which this system helps us put a figure on.)

Which means, because there are more than 100 different ways to shoot any subject, it’s this figure we then use to determine what we can ultimately do, to meet their needs.

Which is based on:

Little Use = Little Value.
Greater Use = Greater Value.

When Quoting a fee, we try to keep it simple for our clients to understand; as well as, make the deal as clear as possible, so as to avoid any misunderstandings down the road.

Example:
The Quote below is based on a client (Ace Company Ltd) asking us to produce & then provide them with 6 images, for them to use in 3 media, for 3 years. (As you can see, we have estimated our Base Rate for Standard use to be £210.00 per image).
So to help us meet this client’s planed usage requirements, the fee – based on that information and using the AOP’s guidelines – would be calulated out like so:
BUR +100% for the additional media, plus for 3 years use (in those 3 media) we would add 100%, which would then equal the total amount, which we would be estimating would be required here.
This is known as the Licence fee… which if approved, would then become our budget to meet this client’s needs:

Please note: Licence fee based on the above … meaning the information above, which is based on my understanding of the facts, which I have simply listed. Should that information change, then naturally the Licence fee would change too – so a new Quote, based on that new information, would therefore need to be submitted.

(Added note: it’s the +% amount that you use, to help you to raise the bar, to meet their additional Usage requirements.)

So we use the BUR figure to workout the Licence fee – and it’s that fee that we then use to determine what we can ultimately do – to achieve our goal.

Which is to produce & provide the best images possible so that others will want to use them… and use them a lot..

A win, win situation for everyone, if we succeed.