Click on the gallery for a detailed look at the survey results.
Through trade associations such as Editorial Photographers and ASMP, in addition to our own mailing lists, we publicized our online survey directly to freelance editorial shooters. A total of 780 completed the survey, along with 52 editorial photographers employed by either a magazine or newspaper.
This week we present the results in a series of easily readable charts to give readers a snapshot of the editorial market, and so readers can compare their own businesses to industry averages.
Not surprisingly, editorial fees increase with experience, but only to a point. After ten years of shooting editorial, photographers reported that fees top out at about $1,000 per assignment on average. The maximum median fee is about $800. (That is to say, half of respondents earn more than $800, and half earn less than that per assignment after a decade or so of experience).
The survey also showed significant variation in editorial fees and annual billings by specialty. Architectural photographers reported the highest fees (average of $1,428, median of $1250), while photojournalists reported the lowest ($696 average, $425 median). Those reporting the highest annual billings from editorial work, however, were tabletop/still life photographers, with a 2007 average of $62,000 and median of $51,500.
We asked photographers about shooting editorial assignments for free, which is a practice that many blame for keeping fees low while others defend as a legitimate (and effective) means of self-promotion. The vast majority of respondents (74 percent) said they didn't shoot any editorial work for free last year. Those who did, though, were not just younger photographers trying to kick start their careers. One in five survey respondents who are in the middle and late stages of their careers said they shot at least one editorial assignment without collecting a fee last year.
Given the relatively low wages of editorial work, we were trying to find out how editorial photographers survive. It turns out that only a small percentage rely on editorial work alone; most do other forms of (better paying) commercial photography work. A significant number also cut corners on essentials such as retirement savings and healthcare coverage. One-third reported that they have no retirement savings or have been unable to contribute to their retirement accounts in the past three years. And nearly one third of respondents said they either have no health insurance, or they are under insured.
Other topics covered by the survey include secondary income sources of editorial shooters, which specialties tend to have the highest take-home pay, how gross business income relates to the amount of time and effort survey respondents put into editorial work, and what respondents would do with a $50,000 windfall.
Click the link below to see the full results. Note that 'n' values shown on the charts refer to the number of respondents for a given category, and 'median' refers to the y axis value (usually a dollar amount) that divides a category of respondents in half, with 50 percent reporting a figure below the median, and 50 percent reporting a figure above the median. For example, the first chart shows that 159 respondents (n=159) with 3-5 years of editorial experience reported a median editorial fee of $600. That means that half of those 159 photographers typically get less than $600 for an assignment, and the other half typically get more than $600.
Please send any comments, questions, or suggestions to dwalker100@comcast.net.
