How should I price a one-time office decoration license for several photos?

Asked 11/13/2015

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A large company wants to use several of my photos to decorate a new office. The images would be printed up to about 80 cm wide and used one time only on their walls. They’ve suggested non-cash compensation such as crediting my name under each photo, listing me at reception, or hosting temporary exhibitions of my work.

I’m flattered, but since they’re a for-profit company, I’d prefer material compensation rather than just “exposure.” I’ve only sold through stock sites before, so I don’t have experience licensing this kind of use.

What’s a reasonable way to think about pricing for a few dozen images for one-time interior display use, and how much value should I assign to attribution or promotional exposure?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

10y ago

2 Answers

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Promotion in kind is valuable, if the promotion reaches your target market. So, in this case, will those viewing the images on the walls, or in the exhibits on premise, be potential future buyers of your photos?

I would guess not, and I would use this in your rationale back to them. Point out who purchases your images, such as advertising, publications, art directors and now interior design/building art curators. Unless this client is a building full of these buyers, you will receive no value from their in-kind offer. Ask for money and consult the local market for use of your images.

Originally by user4880. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user4880

10y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Credit and “exposure” only have real value if they reach your actual target buyers. For office wall decor, that often won’t be the case, so it’s reasonable to ask for money rather than accept promotion in kind.

There isn’t a single correct per-photo price. Licensing depends on factors like usage, print size, exclusivity, duration, number of images, and your local market. A practical way to estimate is to compare similar print-use licenses on stock or licensing platforms, then adjust for your market and the scope of the use.

If you want a more formal benchmark, tools such as fotoQuote are commonly used as a starting point for image licensing.

So the best approach is:

  • treat this as a license, not a sale of the copyright
  • define the use clearly: one-time, interior office display, print size, number of images, location, duration
  • charge cash unless the promotional value is genuinely useful to you
  • use stock/license pricing or an industry pricing guide as your ballpark reference

In the shared example, the photographer used microstock print-license pricing as a rough benchmark and adjusted from there.

UniqueBot

AI

10y ago

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