Shooting for Magazines:: Some Questions... - GoFuckYourself.com

xenigo · 03-22-2006, 01:34 AM

My questions are regarding rates, model approvals, and the content I'm selling being purchased by competing magazines.

First of all, how are rates determined? Do I send them an invoice, or do they pay me a pre-determined amount? How are model approvals taken care of? Do I simply send them whatever I've already shot... and hope they buy? How do I know if the content has been purchased... will I know before publishing, or will I only find out afterwards? And let's say there's 10 competing magazines in my niche. Do I send the content to all 10 of them? Do they expect to have any exclusivity in ownership? How would I best ensure that the content actually gets sold?

I've heard Paul Markham say that shooting for magazines is more lucrative than shooting for websites, which I'm guessing to be true - simply because the online marketplace seems extremely limited.

Mr.Right - Banned For Life · 03-22-2006, 01:38 AM

You should try and contact Paul Markham, he would know all about it.

xenigo · 03-22-2006, 02:10 AM

Bump for the late night crowd.

Paul Markham · 03-22-2006, 02:52 AM

When you sell to magazines you sell a license. This license can be different things but I will do my best to explain it.

They buy First or Second rights by country or region. The best payers are the US First Rights magazines. This means they will be the only magazine to publish this set for one year in the US. Second best payers are UK magazines and again the same rule applies, one year exclusive.

So you are still able to sell to Europe, who don't really care about First and Second rights. Australia and Japan also buy but tough markets.

Prices will vary from from $5,000 for a good boy-girl first rights, might include more than two performers. To $100 for second rights to an EU magazine.

The secret is selling the set again and again. A good set can easily produce a return of $3,000. This is dine by selling it to the US for $2,000 and the UK for $1,000. Sales to EU and second rights are icing on the cake and often the cherry on the icing.

Now the downside. Few shooters are good enough to supply this market. Forget about "Amateur is what I'm into" so are 100 other shooters and most using it as an excuse to cover bad techniques. We sell "Amateur" sets of 4-5 pictures for $200 to a US mag and $150 to a UK mag, same set same pictures often.

Editors who pay the best are looking for sets on slides. They don't like digital and only use them if the accountant forces them to. Digital takes a long time to view, the color balance is a crap shoot and the printers prefer to charge for scanning a slide.

They are looking for a set that is of a girl they have not seen before, is an 8 or higher out of 10 on the porn scale. She has to have something that makes them buy her because they have 10 to 12 sets in the magazine and need to get them right.

They also have a list of favorites they buy from, simply because they see 10 times the amount of content they need. T%hey look at the guys they know first. But a visit will always put you in the frame.

So how do you go about selling to them?

Buy the magazines you intend to target. Study them and see what they are buying, the girls, style, strength, poses, everything. Make a note of the editors name and address.

Then find a girl as good or better than the average girl they have in the magazine, better than any is going to be best but hard. They buy the girls first. Shoot 3-4 sets of her, do not shoot them on the same day because the last set will be crap and you want to make a good impression.

A set is 120 pictures + from clothed to naked and covering at least 15 poses, the more poses the better. Every picture should say "Fuck ME"

Then phone the editor and tell him you would like to come and see him. If he says send it in the post, send him an email with some pictures from the sets. Then phone him again.

It's a tough market to supply, but the rewards are high and I find editors very friendly and easy to deal with.

They mostly pay on publication and you need to be well funded to shoot a lot for them. Look at 4 to 12 months to get published.

Paul Markham · 03-22-2006, 07:08 AM

Bumping it for those who missed it.

Hollywood376 · 03-22-2006, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Editors who pay the best are looking for sets on slides.

This is off topic, but you made me think about this:

I shot a lot of slide film, when I did nature/wildlife. I loved fuji's Velvia for this, but I don't think it would give good tones under studio light. Do you have a particular slide film that you prefer?

xenigo · 03-22-2006, 12:01 PM

Hey Paul, that was a great post. Most of my questions were answered, but I'm a little confused about the definition of Second Rights.

Also, what is the protocol for dealing with multiple magazines, to make sure I find a buyer? Do you just approach them one-at-a-time until one of them says they're interested? Or is it ever that clear?

Paul Markham · 03-22-2006, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hollywood376

This is off topic, but you made me think about this:

I shot a lot of slide film, when I did nature/wildlife. I loved fuji's Velvia for this, but I don't think it would give good tones under studio light. Do you have a particular slide film that you prefer?

We use Echtachrome G.

Velvia needs a filter, to warm.

Paul Markham · 03-22-2006, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenigo

Hey Paul, that was a great post. Most of my questions were answered, but I'm a little confused about the definition of Second Rights.

Also, what is the protocol for dealing with multiple magazines, to make sure I find a buyer? Do you just approach them one-at-a-time until one of them says they're interested? Or is it ever that clear?

Second rights is when you sell the set a second time, on a poor set is can be the first time but still known as second rights.

It will pay a lot less and there are no restriction on how many times or when you can sell it in the same country.

Approach "First Rights" magazines one at a time with the content, if two magazines publish the same "First Rights" set both will drop you. They have no problem about the same girl, but make sure the setting anf clothing is different.

We can shoot 3 sets and videos in a day. So with a good girl and good sales you can see why we're not working for $1500 a day.

jtpornstar · 03-22-2006, 02:59 PM

One other ploblemo the Paul didn't mention concerns the 'truthfulness' of models. The work market is suprisingly limited, with many shooters all looking for that 'hot' new face. As a result, many girls (and their agents) are only too willing to be 'economic' with the truth when questioned about previous work. Meaning one could easily shoot a girl, only to later discover stacks of sets sitting on the editors desk. I recommened truth syrum.
Because magazines 'option' the work (ie it sits at the bottom of a fucking monster pile), you can't move it else where for sale until as they have first use. So you'll be needing some deep pockets as cash flow is pretty much 0 for the first six months.
Please forgive the split infinitive!

Paul Markham · 03-22-2006, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtpornstar

One other ploblemo the Paul didn't mention concerns the 'truthfulness' of models. The work market is suprisingly limited, with many shooters all looking for that 'hot' new face. As a result, many girls (and their agents) are only too willing to be 'economic' with the truth when questioned about previous work. Meaning one could easily shoot a girl, only to later discover stacks of sets sitting on the editors desk. I recommened truth syrum.
Because magazines 'option' the work (ie it sits at the bottom of a fucking monster pile), you can't move it else where for sale until as they have first use. So you'll be needing some deep pockets as cash flow is pretty much 0 for the first six months.
Please forgive the split infinitive!

Very, very good point.

Most established shooters are paying top dollar and using a lot of girls, so if you're going via an agent forget about getting a girl who has not been shot before.

Magazines do pile up the work, usually into 3 piles. Guys they know and like and always a sure bet to supply the goods. Guys they know and don't like. Guys they have never heard of.

They go through the first pile, then the second and if they still need something the third.

Jumping the line is important which is why I recommend a visit.

03-22-2006, 01:34 AM	#1
xenigo Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 8,067	Shooting for Magazines:: Some Questions... My questions are regarding rates, model approvals, and the content I'm selling being purchased by competing magazines. First of all, how are rates determined? Do I send them an invoice, or do they pay me a pre-determined amount? How are model approvals taken care of? Do I simply send them whatever I've already shot... and hope they buy? How do I know if the content has been purchased... will I know before publishing, or will I only find out afterwards? And let's say there's 10 competing magazines in my niche. Do I send the content to all 10 of them? Do they expect to have any exclusivity in ownership? How would I best ensure that the content actually gets sold? I've heard Paul Markham say that shooting for magazines is more lucrative than shooting for websites, which I'm guessing to be true - simply because the online marketplace seems extremely limited. Last edited by xenigo; 03-22-2006 at 01:34 AM.. Reason: yak yak yak

03-22-2006, 02:52 AM	#4
Paul Markham Too old to care Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: On the sofa, watching TV or doing my jigsaws. Posts: 52,943	When you sell to magazines you sell a license. This license can be different things but I will do my best to explain it. They buy First or Second rights by country or region. The best payers are the US First Rights magazines. This means they will be the only magazine to publish this set for one year in the US. Second best payers are UK magazines and again the same rule applies, one year exclusive. So you are still able to sell to Europe, who don't really care about First and Second rights. Australia and Japan also buy but tough markets. Prices will vary from from $5,000 for a good boy-girl first rights, might include more than two performers. To $100 for second rights to an EU magazine. The secret is selling the set again and again. A good set can easily produce a return of $3,000. This is dine by selling it to the US for $2,000 and the UK for $1,000. Sales to EU and second rights are icing on the cake and often the cherry on the icing. Now the downside. Few shooters are good enough to supply this market. Forget about "Amateur is what I'm into" so are 100 other shooters and most using it as an excuse to cover bad techniques. We sell "Amateur" sets of 4-5 pictures for $200 to a US mag and $150 to a UK mag, same set same pictures often. Editors who pay the best are looking for sets on slides. They don't like digital and only use them if the accountant forces them to. Digital takes a long time to view, the color balance is a crap shoot and the printers prefer to charge for scanning a slide. They are looking for a set that is of a girl they have not seen before, is an 8 or higher out of 10 on the porn scale. She has to have something that makes them buy her because they have 10 to 12 sets in the magazine and need to get them right. They also have a list of favorites they buy from, simply because they see 10 times the amount of content they need. T%hey look at the guys they know first. But a visit will always put you in the frame. So how do you go about selling to them? Buy the magazines you intend to target. Study them and see what they are buying, the girls, style, strength, poses, everything. Make a note of the editors name and address. Then find a girl as good or better than the average girl they have in the magazine, better than any is going to be best but hard. They buy the girls first. Shoot 3-4 sets of her, do not shoot them on the same day because the last set will be crap and you want to make a good impression. A set is 120 pictures + from clothed to naked and covering at least 15 poses, the more poses the better. Every picture should say "Fuck ME" Then phone the editor and tell him you would like to come and see him. If he says send it in the post, send him an email with some pictures from the sets. Then phone him again. It's a tough market to supply, but the rewards are high and I find editors very friendly and easy to deal with. They mostly pay on publication and you need to be well funded to shoot a lot for them. Look at 4 to 12 months to get published. __________________ Blowout deal. 880 videos, 2,400 image sets, plus many RAW videos. $500. PM me for a deal. Skype Paulmarkham70

03-22-2006, 07:08 AM	#5
Paul Markham Too old to care Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: On the sofa, watching TV or doing my jigsaws. Posts: 52,943	Bumping it for those who missed it. __________________ Blowout deal. 880 videos, 2,400 image sets, plus many RAW videos. $500. PM me for a deal. Skype Paulmarkham70

03-22-2006, 01:38 AM	#2
Mr.Right - Banned For Life I guarantee it Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 18,314	You should try and contact Paul Markham, he would know all about it.

03-22-2006, 02:10 AM	#3
xenigo Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 8,067	Bump for the late night crowd.

03-22-2006, 12:01 PM	#7
xenigo Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 8,067	Hey Paul, that was a great post. Most of my questions were answered, but I'm a little confused about the definition of Second Rights. Also, what is the protocol for dealing with multiple magazines, to make sure I find a buyer? Do you just approach them one-at-a-time until one of them says they're interested? Or is it ever that clear?

03-22-2006, 02:59 PM	#10
jtpornstar Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: In your mother's fears Posts: 122	One other ploblemo the Paul didn't mention concerns the 'truthfulness' of models. The work market is suprisingly limited, with many shooters all looking for that 'hot' new face. As a result, many girls (and their agents) are only too willing to be 'economic' with the truth when questioned about previous work. Meaning one could easily shoot a girl, only to later discover stacks of sets sitting on the editors desk. I recommened truth syrum. Because magazines 'option' the work (ie it sits at the bottom of a fucking monster pile), you can't move it else where for sale until as they have first use. So you'll be needing some deep pockets as cash flow is pretty much 0 for the first six months. Please forgive the split infinitive!