Third Person resale of photos

[shayne_laverdi_re]

Hi Guys

 

I did a Job for a bartending school in Montreal. This job was for

the website (and owner) of the school. It was shot during the

graduating party where the students showcase themselves. I have

really good shots of the students and I feel that they will be

asking for copies. Now My question is what measures should I take

when performing the transaction (IE: handing the cd with pics for

money) with the owner to prevent him from just handing free copies

to the students. Should I have him sign something saying that I

still own the rights to the photos? Is that too much asked? Please

help me with this issue. Thanks

 

One last Question.

 

I Produced roughly 150 quality pictures. It took me about 4 hours to

shoot them. I then spent about 2 hours doing minor colour correction

and cropping. I charged $180 for the whole package. Is that a decent

price for an aspiring pro photographer?

 

Thanks a lot

[karl_magsig]

What I normally do in situations like this is to first talk with my client, let them know how to get reprints or copies of the CD. Make sure they understand the copyright issue. Then, ask them to sign an agreement if you feel it neccesary. I'm lucky in that, I live in a small town, where MOST people are honest about this sort of thing, so I normally skip the signed agreement. Then, I also put my name and logo on all photos sold. I use a rubber stamp or lable on the back of each photo and digitally include the information on each photo included on a CD.

 

Use your own discretion with this, but at least make sure your client understands the copyright issue.

 

As for your second question, I don't think you charged nearly enough. I get $75.00 per hour for commercial jobs like this, just for shooting. Then I generally charge $45 to $50 per CD and a per-image price for my prints as well. If they buy a lot, I'll give them a price break, but you don't want to sell yourself short.

 

One of the hardest things for me getting started has been pricing my work. It's not an easy thing to do. You don't want to set your prices so high you chase away prospective clients, but then again, you don't want to price them so low that you don't make money. There is also the whole "Perceived value" issue.

 

Your best bet is probably going to be to check out your local competition. Make sure your prices are not too much lower than theirs and, if you are just getting started, no higher than theirs either.

 

Hope that helps.

[shayne_laverdi_re]

Thank you very much for that helpful info

 

That really opened my eyes.

 

Take care and good luck

[shayne_laverdi_re]

Me Again

 

Where and how should I check my local competition. I don't want to call my competition outright and ask them. I have tried to figure out prices but with no success

 

Please let me know

 

Ok Take care

 

Shayne