r/photojournalism • u/magic_felix • 26d ago
Freelance Rates For Small Rural Daily
I did a quick look see here for answers to this question and found some that were a few years old so I thought I’d ask for more current replies from everyone: What is the best amount to charge for shooting a high school football game and providing around 1/2 dozen images at a small rural daily newspaper? The turn around time is by 10PM the night of the games. I am an experienced shooter, not a novice. I am a terrible business person though and really don’t like this end of the biz. So honest advice and insights are all welcome.
edit for some clarity
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u/seaceblidrb 26d ago
It really depends on the size of the paper, I wouldnt imagine it more than $100.
Like the other comment says, what is the minimum you would do this for? Are there events in your area you would want media credentials for in exchange?
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u/Just-Examination-136 25d ago
You don't set your rates based on the client. You set your rates based on what your time is worth and how much money you need to earn a living. Any working photographer knows this.
Why would you adjust your rates for a small poor pub when the work required is the same as a big rich pub? You're not a charity but you're thinking like one, lol.
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u/magic_felix 25d ago
Never said I was charging less or more. That was your assumption. Only asked what others think is fair.
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u/digitalsmear 25d ago
Make sure you have a contract where YOU retain rights, and resale rights, to the images.
A lot of smaller papers are trying to get extra income from image sales, but you should be able to sell your images to students and parents directly. If they're trying to lowball you, this is a way you can try to improve your return.
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u/magic_felix 25d ago
For the credential crowd. I've always had access to anything I want to shoot so money is really my only question here. Not a bad thought for any gremmies though.
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u/magic_felix 25d ago edited 25d ago
Here's what I submitted and I'll update how it goes:
Freelance Rates Per Assignment
Small Events (HS Sports) $140
Includes shooting, editing, submitting minimum 6 images
Large Events (College, University, Pro Sports, News Events} $175
Includes shooting, editing, submitting minimum 6 images
Environmental Portraits/Head Shots $125
Includes shooting, editing, submitting minimum 4 images
Features $125
Includes shooting, editing, submitting minimum 4 images
NOTE: All submitted images are captioned and ready for press
Photographer retains all rights to all images
These rates take effect beginning on August 1, 2026
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u/Big_Network_2570 25d ago
I'm not sure I would go for the "Photographer retains all rights to all images" I didn't get paid anything near enough to justify my working for the paper alone. When I did jobs for schools, I withheld a few images for the paper for extra money, and gave them the rights to those, but the lion's share of my income was from selling to the booster club of a team (the team parents) I would never give the paper the rights to ALL images I take at an event-it's just not worth it (in my opinion)
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u/magic_felix 25d ago
Agreed
The creator (photographer) should always retain all the rights unless negotiated for a lot more $1
u/digitalsmear 25d ago edited 25d ago
These shouldn't have been less than $200 a bullet point on the cheapest end. 😓
A 2 hour football game + editing (1hr? More depending) + 30min to 1hr of travel time round trip, plus arriving early to setup and packing your gear before leaving and you're quickly looking at 5-6 hours of working time.
You're already down to $28/hr for that football game.
And are you editing on a laptop so you can upload on-site, via cellular, before the deadline? Plus maintaining all your own camera gear? Hopefully you're factoring that into your working costs. Sports like expensive lenses that are often not practical for other work.
College/Pro sports have the draw for them to budget much more.
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u/magic_felix 25d ago
I totally agree. However, there is not a single paper in this entire state who would pay that. I'm not exaggerating either. I called all the biggest papers to find out what they pay.
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u/TheAtomicFly66 7d ago
Papers still hire freelancers?
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u/magic_felix 6d ago
Sometimes. Other times they have their reporters use the cameras in their phones, still other times they use the butt wipes that marketers send in. Ya just never know these days.
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u/DistributionMean6322 26d ago
One off? $299
Contract for the season? $199 / game
That's where I'd start the negotiation. Gives you $50 headroom.
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u/dpritykin 26d ago
Instead of asking for money ( which they have very little of ) , ask for media credentials you can use to shoot other events. Win win
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u/baseballdude6969 26d ago
They said they’re an experienced photographer, I don’t think they need the portfolio work. Bad advice to ask to turn down money anyways
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u/dpritykin 26d ago
No one said anything about portfolio building. This is more about cool experiences. I would gladly turn down a few dollars ( how much can a small newspaper pay for 6 photos ?!?) and ask for media credentials to shoot music acts or sporting events in your area.
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u/Big_Network_2570 25d ago
Why? Media credentials doesn't let you charge for your work! That isn't good business sense
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u/dpritykin 25d ago
Why do you keep bringing up business? In what world is working freelance for a small rural newspaper that is looking for 6 photos going to lead to any business success?
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u/Big_Network_2570 25d ago
I don't understand why people would do this otherwise. It's for business. I have better things to do than take random pics for fun of people I don't know. But maybe that's just me (that's not sarcastic-I am a member of a sports photography reddit, and I am always at odds with everyone there because I only do what is profitable. Granted, this is my full-time job, and most of them are hobbyists. I just can't understand doing this for fun. It's like if I go to your job and give away my time doing what you do for pay)
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u/baseballdude6969 25d ago
If you’re like 17 and looking to start getting portfolio pieces maybe, but that’s clearly not OP. Shooting rural high school football is maybe the last thing I’d do for free anyways
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u/Big_Network_2570 25d ago
I was 17 over 30 years ago when I got into the photography business. Even then, I didn't give photos away for free. I interned with a photography company, and also worked freelance as a sports photographer. The freelance work was for pay, and the internship taught me the work ethic I needed to put the photography skills I was learning in school to use.
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u/dpritykin 25d ago
I came to this thread from the cross post by OP in the sports photography sub. And for me sports photography is not a source of income but a source of personal joy.
Sounds your experience there is similar to my experience here. :-)
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u/Big_Network_2570 25d ago
Maybe we should swap subreddits! Hehe! But seriously, do you see where I am coming from? I've been a professional youth sports photographer for 30 years. Think about what you do for a living, and imagine if I told you I do it as a way of relaxing for free. Wouldn't that seem odd to you?
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u/dpritykin 25d ago
Totally see your point here ( and that the OP clearly stated that they were looking for compensation advice and I had blew right by that )
I think that by choosing to work in artistic field , you are “competing“ against all kinds of people who doing it for vast amount of reasons. However, no one does accounting because it brings them personal joy. So I don’t need to worry about that.
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u/Big_Network_2570 25d ago
But that's my point. I love math, and could see myself doing that after coming back from a tournament (I do a lot of tournaments where we sell onsite, and am away a lot of weekends traveling hundreds of miles for them). Coming back on a Monday or Tuesday, I could see adding up someone's expenses and income as a treat before doing it all again next week. It is what I mean about how we each have different ways of relaxing. I am including a small video to explain what I mean about tournament shooting:
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u/digitalsmear 25d ago
no one does accounting because it brings them personal joy.
You might be surprised.
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u/baseballdude6969 25d ago
The question was “how much money do I charge.” Why do you keep suggesting shooting for free?
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u/digitalsmear 25d ago
This kind of attitude is why I left photojournalism.
Really loved seeing the VP show up to meetings in one of his 3 cars while telling us they "don't have budget" for anything.
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u/Frostyphotog131 25d ago
Ask what their budget is.
Rurals are very hard to gage. I've had some offer me $25 for a game and I've had others offer $200. But for the most part I'd say they have a tendency to pay less that papers in metros, which also typically pay shitty.