What should I charge?

It depends entirely on your market, status and the usage granted. The more useful question is what usage the fee buys — the same shoot is worth very different amounts for a single story post versus a year of advertising.

Should I invoice for a show I was only accredited for?

No. Accreditation is access you asked for. Invoicing after the fact for unrequested work damages the relationship that gave you the access.

Do I hand over raw files?

Generally not, and it is worth saying so upfront. Delivering edited images is the normal expectation; raws are a separate, larger negotiation.

What if they use images I never licensed?

Raise it directly and privately first — with small promoters it is very often a misunderstanding about what 'free to use' covered, which is exactly why scope is worth writing down.

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Invoicing a promoter

To invoice a promoter in France, agree the fee and the usage in writing before the show, then issue an invoice carrying your registered status number, the name and date of the show, the fee, your VAT position, and payment terms. Agree the licence scope, not just the price.

Accreditation is access, not income. The moment money is involved the conversation changes, and most of the difficulty comes from things not agreed before the show.

Updated 10 August 2026·By Paul Visions

Nothing here is legal or tax advice, and arrangements differ by country and by status. This is how the practical conversation tends to go.

Agree the scope before the night

Four things decide whether a job goes smoothly, and all four are settled in advance or not at all:

Deliverable. How many edited images, and by when. "A selection" is not a number. Ten to twenty edited frames is a normal set for one show.
Usage. What they may do with them, where, and for how long. Social announcement only, or website and print too? Perpetual, or a year?
Credit. How you are credited and whether it is required.
Fee, and when. A number, and a payment term.

Usage is the one photographers give away by accident. "Free to use with credit" is a perfectly good offer to make in exchange for access — but it is a different thing from a paid commission, and it is worth being explicit about which one is happening.

What goes on the invoice

Your name, address and whatever business identifier applies to you
The promoter's full legal entity name — not the brand they run nights under, which is frequently not the entity that pays
An invoice number and date
A single clear line: "Photography — [ARTIST] at [VENUE], [DATE] — [N] edited images, [usage granted]"
The amount, tax handled as your status requires
Payment terms and full bank details

Putting the usage grant on the invoice matters: it is the document both sides keep, so it becomes the record of what was agreed.

Getting paid

Promoters are frequently small operations with money moving in and out around each event, so late payment is more often cashflow than bad faith. That does not mean absorbing it.

Send the invoice with the images, not weeks later. The moment they receive the work is the moment paying you is most salient.
State a term — 30 days is normal.
Chase once at the term, politely, in the same thread.
Chase again a fortnight later, more firmly, and say what happens next.

Delivering the images before payment is standard in this field, and the relationship is usually worth more than the leverage of withholding them. Repeat non-payment, though, is a reason to stop working with someone — quietly, without a public argument.

Keeping track

Once you are shooting more than a couple of shows a month, the admin becomes the actual difficulty: which show, which promoter, whether the pass was granted, whether the set was delivered, whether it was invoiced, whether it was paid. That is six states per show, and it does not fit in your head.

Liaison tracks that per show alongside the listing itself, so the shoot list and the paperwork are the same list.

Common questions

What should I charge?: It depends entirely on your market, status and the usage granted. The more useful question is what usage the fee buys — the same shoot is worth very different amounts for a single story post versus a year of advertising.
Should I invoice for a show I was only accredited for?: No. Accreditation is access you asked for. Invoicing after the fact for unrequested work damages the relationship that gave you the access.
Do I hand over raw files?: Generally not, and it is worth saying so upfront. Delivering edited images is the normal expectation; raws are a separate, larger negotiation.
What if they use images I never licensed?: Raise it directly and privately first — with small promoters it is very often a misunderstanding about what 'free to use' covered, which is exactly why scope is worth writing down.

Liaison tracks accreditation, delivery and payment against each Paris show you save.

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