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U.S. Park Service Sets Commercial Photography Fees06-13-06 | News

U.S. Park Service Sets Commercial Photography Fees

A commercial photographer can now be charged $50 to $250 a day to take pictures of Yellowstone and other national parklands.

On May 15, 2006, a new Park Service policy began requiring payment of $50 to $250 from groups that hire commercial photographers to take pictures at some of the monuments and sites. The cost depends on the size of the group. Fees have been charged in Washington, D.C., the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, the Statue of Liberty, Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska) and Big Bend (Texas).

Commercial photographers were previously paying only a $200 annual fee to zoom in on park scenery, flora and fauna as often as they liked.

The new commercial photography fees are prompted by a 2000 federal law to ?EUR??,,????'??recoup?EUR??,,????'?? maintenance and security costs stemming from commercial filming and photography, the kind of disruption that ensures when a large film crew is on site, but not usually a consideration for individual photographers shooting ?EUR??,,????'??stock footage.?EUR??,,????'?? Some stock footage photographers spend hundreds of days a year shooting images at the national parks.

The Bureau of Land Management has also charged filmmakers and commercial photographers since 2000, though it does not charge a fee if no models or props are used.

A task force has been formed to establish a uniform policy for photography on federal lands and will take public comment beginning later this summer.