What are astrophotographers actually charging for hotel commissions in LA?
Got approached by a boutique hotel near the DTLA Arts District about producing a series of large format night sky prints for their rooms. They want desert landscapes, Milky Way core shots, the kind of work I normally shoot out near Joshua Tree or Anza Borrego. Fifteen to twenty prints, each around 40x60 on metal.
Their first offer was essentially exposure plus a credit line in the lobby. I pushed back and they came up with a number, but honestly I have no idea if it's reasonable for this market. The printing and mounting alone on metal at that size runs several hundred per piece, and these shots require multiple nights of driving out to dark sky locations, hours of exposure stacking, careful post processing.
I know photographers in other cities have been burned by the "we'll refer clients to you" promise from hospitality groups. But LA is a different animal with so many hotels constantly cycling their decor.
Anyone here done hotel or restaurant commissions locally? What did you actually charge per piece at that scale, and did you retain any reproduction rights?
Hi there! The fact that you pushed back on "exposure plus a credit line" already puts you ahead of most artists in this exact situation — that offer is worthless.
Here's the math that works for hotel commissions in your market:
- Cost recovery first. Add up your actual costs — printing, metal mounting, shipping, your time shooting if you need new work. That's your floor. Never go below it.
- Licensing vs. buyout. Are they buying the prints outright, or licensing your images for reproduction? If it's a buyout (they own the physical prints, can reproduce them later), charge 3-4x your cost floor. If it's licensing (they can reproduce your images beyond these 15-20 prints), add a licensing fee on top — typically $500-1500 per image depending on exclusivity and duration.
- Market rate for LA boutique hotels. For 15-20 large-format metal prints (40x60 range) in a DTLA Arts District property, the reasonable range is $8K-15K total for a buyout, or $5K-8K + licensing terms if they want reproduction rights. The wide range depends on whether you're supplying existing work or shooting custom, and whether they're getting exclusivity.
- The credit line is worth $0. Don't let them count it as part of the compensation. It's nice to have, but lobby foot traffic doesn't convert to art sales the way they think it does.
If their number is under your cost floor, walk. If it's in the $5K-8K range and they're asking for a full buyout with no licensing, counter with either a higher buyout number or a licensing structure that pays you again if they reproduce the images later.
Not sure how to word your counteroffer? I can draft the exact message to send them.
Other resources you might find helpful:
- First time pricing a custom commission piece — Real commission pricing strategies from photographers who've faced identical scenarios—per-square-inch rates, hourly calculations, and line-item breakdowns for custom work.
- "Can you do better (on the price)? — Tested strategies for handling price-haggling from buyers—including standing firm, bundling discounts, and redirecting to upsells—directly applicable to hotel commission negotiations.
- Pricing work for a venue that discounts without asking you — How to protect your price floor when venues discount without consent, and what commission structures actually cost you in commissions vs. markups.
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