Photography in the cultural sector
Are you a professional photographer? Or do you occasionally commission one? Then it is important to consider fair pay. After all, what constitutes appropriate compensation for a portrait, reportage, or campaign photo? And what employment conditions should accompany it? FairPACCT helps, providing concrete guidelines and tools.
Photographers deserve better
Many photographers in the cultural and creative sector struggle with their freelance rates. In addition to time spent shooting, they spend a significant amount of time on preparation, post-processing, administration, and communication. Ideally, employers and clients should know and understand this, so that the hours actually worked can be invoiced.
To ensure that professional photographers in the cultural and creative sector are appropriately compensated, fairPACCT established the Photography chain table. It focuses primarily on applied photography commissioned by cultural institutions, rather than photography as an art form.
About the chain table
The chain table was established in May 2023 and consists of nineteen professionals from the field. Photographers, clients from cultural institutions and event organizations, as well as representatives from knowledge institutes and vocational training programs. Led by independent chair Ruud Visschedijk, advisor and former director of the Nederlands Fotomuseum, the chain table conducts its own research or commissions it. The chain table performs analyses and develops concrete guidelines and tools for practical application. Examples from the cultural sector and comparable sectors are used for this purpose.
Concrete tools have now been developed to strengthen the labor market position of photographers in the field of culture and event photography, and the chain table has established a working group for the communication of these tools. Additionally, an explorer has been appointed to investigate whether there is sufficient support for securing fair pay and employment conditions in photography.
Tools & downloads
Sample calculations of freelance starting rates
Here you will find sample calculations of freelance rates in 2025 for professional photographers working for cultural institutions. The rates are based on four types of income: a median income, the salary of a higher professional education (HBO) starter, and, for comparison, the minimum wage and a double-median income. These are starting rates. Factors such as the type of assignment or work experience are not included but may play a role in negotiations.
The sample calculations are based on the survey report ‘A Sharper Picture: Uncompensated Activities of Photographers’ from April 2024 and the research report ‘Focusing on Billability: Exploration of Paid and Unpaid Hours of Professional Photographers in the Cultural Sector’ from December 2024.
Copyright Guide
The copyright guide by legal expert Max van Olden states that almost every photograph is protected by copyright. This means that use by clients is subject to rules and the creator is entitled to appropriate compensation. Moral rights protect the bond between the creator and the work, while portrait rights allow the person photographed to oppose distribution. Specific rights also apply to exhibitions, copying, resale, and current topics such as digital platforms and AI.
Pricing Guide
The pricing guide by researcher Marc Prüst shows which components you should include in your rate structure as a professional photographer. This includes preparation, the photoshoot, post-processing, travel time, and business costs. The type of photo and additional costs for staff, transport, equipment, or locations also influence the rate. This is explained with concrete examples of common assignments. This provides both creators and clients with a complete overview of what a fair rate entails.
Freelance rate tables for professional photographers
Here you will find the tables with freelance rates for professional photographers up to and including 2026. These focus on work for cultural institutions and contain sample calculations derived from four types of income.
Calculation tool
The calculation tool is currently under development.