ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography: Sixth Edition [Paperback]

American Society of Media Photographers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 1581151977 | ISBN-13: 978-1581151978 | Edition: 6th

This classic guide is the ultimate source on key business practices and industry standards from the foremost authority in professional photography.



From standard practices in stock and assignment photography to special one-time decisions such as acquiring a digital workstation, this "business bible" provides the latest answers to any legal or business question an aspiring or professional photographer can ask. In eleven in-depth chapters, over two dozen industry experts offer practical guidance on such topics as estimating prices, formalizing agreements, using electronic technology, and much more. This completely updated Sixth Edition also features dozens of ready-to-copy legal and business forms, helpful checklists, and an extensive cross-media bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In a Shifting Photography Business, a Yardstick to Long-Term Entrepreneurial Success

Whether setting up their first photography businesses or renegotiating prices in the face of a declining economy, photographers seeking long-time success need a yardstick for fair and healthy business practices. The American Society of Media Photographers has long ago recognized this need and responded by issuing the renowned "ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography." Now in its sixth edition, this time-tested classic has been completely updated to address media photographers’ most pressing concerns in the age of electronic rights and online distribution.

Packed with basic business and legal forms, checklists, and an extensive cross-media bibliography, "ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography" discusses how to

* price products and services intelligently
* negotiate fees and agreements with competence
* handle rights in traditional and electronic media
* develop profitable business and marketing strategies
* choosing the right technology
* book publishing

"ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography" provides reference tools, resources, and hands-on advice for any business, legal, and financial question that media photographers could stumble upon during the course of their careers. The time-tested guidebook is enlightening both for photographers facing one-time decisions and those seeking to make routine-tasks more efficient, from setting up a business and deciding the best time to expand, to justifying higher fees to clients and fine-tuning marketing skills. Encompassing the expertise of more than two dozen acclaimed industry members, including photographers’ representatives, writers, educators, web experts, and leading authorities in the stock photography industry, this sixth edition of a classic offers a powerful tool to keeping one’s photography business fit in the face of a changing industry.

About the Author

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)
has been the leading national organization of professional photographers for more than 50 years and is the accepted authority setting the standards for business practices in professional photography. ASMP (originally the Society of Magazine Photographers and later the American Society of Magazine Photographers) was founded in 1944 by a handful of the world¹s leading photojournalists to protect and promote the rights of photographers whose work was primarily for publication. It was formed at a time when photographers were forced to shoot on speculation and when credit lines were unheard of. The organization was born out of need, and that need has driven it for more than half a century.



Today, ASMP is the link to professional business practices, up-to-date standards in the photographic industry, and every photographer's voice in lobbying and advocacy efforts at state and federal levels. The nonprofit Society, with more than 5,000 members, is the largest organization of its kind in the United States and has won international recognition for its efforts on behalf of photographers. The Society has members in more than thirty countries, with the majority based in the U.S.



Besides its primary mission of protecting and promoting photographers' interests, ASMP is dedicated to promoting high professional standards and ethics and to cultivating friendship and mutual understanding among photographers. Its membership consists of photographers in every field with most working in the areas of advertising, editorial, commercial, and photojournalism. Through the efforts of its national office and its thirty-seven chapters nationwide, the ASMP is instrumental in educating its members and other photographers in good business practices.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press; 6th edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581151977
• ISBN-13: 978-1581151978
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #873,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Camel, July 15, 2005

By 

Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography: Sixth Edition (Paperback)

Amongst professional photographers it's almost an axiom that they knew little about the business end of photography when they started taking pictures for a living. This book aims at remedying that condition. It has chapters on assignment and stock photography; pricing and estimating; negotiating fees and agreements; rights and value; formalizing agreements; copyright; electronic technology, business and marketing strategies; book publishing; and professional services. Unfortunately, like a camel, which is a horse built by a committee, this book varies widely in its usefulness for the business of photography. Among other reasons, this is because the chapters, and sometimes parts of chapters, are written by different authors, so that the work is not integrated and some important business areas are omitted.

The first two chapters which deal generally with the nature of stock photography versus assignment photography are quite good and will be helpful to anyone making the transition from one type to another.

Some chapters are first rate. The chapter on pricing and estimating takes an economic approach rather then asking, "what are my competitors charging?" It asks the question what price does the photographer need to establish in order to support himself and his business. Unfortunately, the book is not blunt enough to say that, if you don't expect to get the resulting price, you shouldn't be in the market.

At the other end of the scale is the chapter on marketing. Apparently six different authors each contributed their own uncoordinated efforts. There's some good advice here, but my litmus test was whether the book contained some discussion of how a fine arts photographer finds and approaches galleries. There wasn't much help here.

One area that many photographers encounter trouble with is keeping the books and paying income taxes. Unfortunately there were no references to these subjects. Even if all the book did were refer to a basic text or software, like Quicken or Quick Books and Turbo Tax, which were readily available at the time of publication, it would have been helpful.

This book is a useful guide for the professional photographer to keep on his shelf for a quick answer to many questions he may encounter in business. But for detailed answers, professional photographers will require more help in running their business.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Photographer's Business Bible, March 12, 2007

By 

Steven Giannitsis (New york) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography: Sixth Edition (Paperback)

If Your the type of photographer who just wants to shoot nice photos this book may not be for you. But if your trying to start a business as a photographer you may want to strap yourself in. I find that ASMP Professional Business Practices in photography: Sixth Edition is the perfect book to get photographers started in addition to lerning how to run a photo Business in the real world. Some of the contents reenforced what I already knew while other contents helped me with some of my weak points. ASMP Professional Business Practices in photography covers a large specturem of different types of photography and I will no doubt refer to the book in the future.
Sometimes young adults will tell me that they want to become photographers and I just tell them to major in business and minor photography, But if you missed that boat this book is the next best thing.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The bible for any working photographer, September 15, 2008

By 

David Larson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography: Sixth Edition (Paperback)

This is a great reference book on many different issues a professional photographer will encounter in the field.

From pricing and estimating to marketing there are many subjects covered. Like another reviewer commented there is no chapter on taxes which is a huge issue.

Fashion photographer David Paul Larson
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