Sorry for not being able to research this topic fully but in this case I am asking for a bit of quick advice. I've been shooting as an amateur for many years and a state agency just requested permission to use one of my photographs (a photo of a state capital building) as a long term/permanent photo on their website. My main question is: should I charge a fee for use of the photograph (?), or, since it is my first "published" photograph and it is going to a government agency should I simply allow the state agency permission to use the photo in trade for showing my name as a credit somewhere on their website?

Shooting for side money here & there isn't out of the question but I'm not in the position yet to devote time to semi-professional or professional photo work. Having someone request this photo for use on a state web site is pretty much a compliment to me and I'm not after a lot of money but I still want to follow the basic trade rules of photography (might as well start out correctly). Other question:

Even though this is my first offer to use a photo, should I absolutely charge a small fee ($5, etc.) to use the photo vs. simply giving the state agency permission to use the photo for free? The only advantage I see, aside from getting paid, is that I can say from this point forward that: I've been paid money for my photography. I've seen that semi-professional photographers seem to charge an average of $75 - $80 for use and/or full rights to purchase a photograph. If the state agency wants permanent, full rights for my photo and wants the original file, I am thinking about charging at least $50.

Any advice or tips is greatly appreciated. Just wondering what basic rules everyone else followed when you first began selling your photographs for money.

Thank you - RPQ