Schmap.

I've had a couple of photos published in the schmap Brisbane guide. They have in the past chosen pictures I wasn't particularly fond of in the first place so I didn't mind allowing them use them.

I've yet to have anyone ask to pay me for usage though, darn it.

I have had a number of requests where it was explicitly requested to use photographs of mine without compensation. They mostly claimed to be nonprofit organisations or to have no budget, etc., but while I appreciated them asking at least I do not give away my photographs for free.

There might be cases where the subject is really worth to give away photographs without payment but I did not encounter such so far.

Interesting to read about your experiences. I like the schmap guides and it's ok for me that they use 'em for the time being. Like David experienced so far they did not use what I consider my "best" pictures. But I had a request from a company for a Budapest photo to be used in an american children television program. They claimed not to be able to pay anything nor were they able to at least provide a tape of the final product (they claimed they were "only" producing the thing and not owning the final product... yeah right... but they would get my photo for free while they earn by charging the tv station for the production...).
As probably many photographers here or on flickr I am naturally interested in seeing my photos used somehow somewhere. But I think if someone really makes "big bugs" with my photos they should share ;-)
I have also seen some of my photos being used in blogs though almost no one ever made the effort to at least announce to me they would use 'em. I do not disable the possibility on flickr to blog them so it already implies my consent. But of course it would be nice to know...

I'd also love to be published somewhere, but as long as they are not willing to compensate for usage of my work, they are only interested in free photos, regardless of quality. And as soon as I give away my work free of charge I degrade myself. No way.

Hm, I see what you're saying. And actually I agree. Maybe I should get stricter on that, if I ever get a request again that is... :-) Any idea where you can get ideas on how much you can ask for publishing your picture? Just in case a magazine/editor/whoever calls... :-) Inspired by you, I at least uploaded some of my pictures on imagekind. I cannot imagine though that I will ever sell anything there but still it's a nice thought anyway... ;-)

This page might give an idea about pricing: www.kasstzam.com/stockpricing.htm

But this is only for publishing in the media. Fine art pricing is different, here I have the feeling it more depends on a photographers 'image' than on the quality or subjects of the photographs.

I think the same about Imagekind. It is just a way to be prepared to sell for the case. It is tough to sell prints, no one seems to be interested in at least paying the production cost not to speak of a markup... anyway, it is good to be prepared ;)

Thanks Ulrich for the info. Very interesting to see those amounts. I had no clue what kind of money you can make with your photos and that you have to sell quite a lot to make a living with that... ;-) It sure would be a nice auxiliary income... ;-)