john_mcneely

Art, I am not a pro, but not an amateur either. I have done photography for money on the side and at times was paid pretty well. It is a photo that I took a little over one year ago before graduating with a degree in Photography.

I have no idea about the details of the commercial, except that it is likely that it is only for ongoing local repeats. I was contacted by the owner of the store, and he said they were going to make a commercial and he wanted to use one of my photos.

I see repeated still photo usage for numerous (cheesy) local & national commercials all the time. However the photo he wants from me is not cheesy at all. It is a very stunning interior shot. In looking at TV commercials they sometimes pan within a still photo (I think), to add depth. I am not sure what they are going to do. If you could give me a reasonable high/low price for something like that it would be helpful.

Thanks for any additional input.

I recently offered a price of $175 per photo to a local store. The

pictures were of the interior of the jewelry store. The intended

use was for postcards, website, etc...and a TV commercial was never

mentioned. Anyways, they never contacted me back after months, so I

figured they weren't interested and let the matter go.

Now I just got a call and they want one photo for a TV commercial in

this town of 60,000. I would think the commercial would be shown

only locally, but I am not sure.

Would you think the use of a photo for a TV commercial should be

more than my original quote? How should I handle this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Stephen,

take another look at all girls on the magazines as you go through the line in the grocery store. Notice anything? Well..unfortunately they all look the SAME! How boring is that?

I think photoshop has reached its peak and people are getting tired of looking at clear skin, no blemishes, no lines, and basically they don't even look real.

Leave her freckles in the picture since that is what will really make a unique, interesting, and great photo, unlike all the photoshop garbage on the shelf.

Bonnie,

In one of my classes everyone had this fancy schmancy equipment and I managed with a fully manual Pentax with a $39.99 Vivitar flash attachment. Everyone was always amazed at my excellent fill flash results.

Just keep the very simple basics in mind of what you are actually doing. You are just adding a little extra light, but not as much as the ambient light.

I dimmed down my flash by putting a piece of white silk over it with a rubberband. I calculated that each additional fold was about 1 stop.

Good luck.

Beautiful photo.

I have always preferred natural light and I can usually detect otherwise.

Flash is not natural and does not behave like natural light, and never will.

Well....I just went and picked up the proofs. He had them locked in a desk and was still saying he wants to buy some. He said he can't do anything till after the 4th of July because a co-corker is gone and he wants to consult them. He admantly stated that he really still wants to buy some.

I still took the proofs and said that I just didn't want them flying around, and to call me. He was extremely nice and now I feel like a bit of a fool. But...I think you guys are right and I should have the proofs. Will he call me??!??!?! I have no idea at this point.

On May 21st I showed a local specialty store some proofs taken of

their store (inside and outside) and employees. The originals are

color slides. The owner and staff were extremely excited and he

wanted me to contact him early the following week. At the time I

didn't have any prices ready.

I called him early the next week and we set a time to meet on May

28th. On May 28th he was extremely busy with customers but still

expressed loads of interest in buying some prints. I gave him

prices and he said he will likely make a purchase the following

week. He wanted to keep the proofs to look over, so I gave him the

proofs.

I didn't hear from him for two weeks, then called him on June 11.

He was extremely nice and said he was out of town for a show. I

told him if he wasn't interested I would need to pick up the proofs.

He said that he was still VERY interested in buying some photos. I

told him to take his time (mistake on my part) and call me when he

decides.

That was over a week ago and he still hasn't called me. So far it

has been over 4 weeks since we first met over the photos. How long

should I wait? Should I write him a letter? I don't want to put

too much pressure on him but he has expressed interested in making a

purchase two times and nothing has happened. Also, I don't feel

comfortable that he has 20 proofs. Business savvy people feel free

to give me advice here.

Gary,

I think the most important thing here is that you "love photography."

That says more than money. Recently an engineer posted in here and was miserable with his job although he had tons of money. So...obviously money (and status) isn't the most important thing. HAVE FUN. You're on the right track.

Gary,

Keep your job, but reduce your hours if possible. Go flex, or part-time. Then do some photography on the side for fun to keep your sanity and see if it is something you want to do permanently.

When medical, accidents, etc. occur in life it is really nice to have a secure job to fall back on. At the same time it is really nice to do something you are passionate about. Mix the two.

This is a good tip.

Find a powerful gasoline lawnmower, at least 25hp.

Ok, start up the mover and lean it over sideways. Place the cannister carefully under the blade. Gently lower the mower.

When you hear a grinding...WHA LA! Sometimes the film gets a little shredded but it always works like a charm!

That's a tough one.

I don't have an answer for you, but I agree that weather is a MAJOR factor for outdoor photography. Droughts, high pressure systems (hold in smog & pollutants), haziness, storms, etc., can ruin photographic opportunities for weeks, months...even longer! But, on the flip side.. the ever-changing weather is what keeps it interesting and a fun challenge.

Gene,

Sorry about the misunderstanding. I copied this next section off of the Internet. Hope it will help you understand more about incident meters and gray cards. :)

"The hemisphere, or lumisphere on the incident meter as some call it, is designed as an 18% gray object and thus provides a reading EQUIVALENT to that which you would get if you took a reflected reading off a theoretically perfectly integrated scene, or a Kodak 18% gray card."

"The beauty of the incident metering approach is that you needn't carry a large gray card around with you on location, and you don't have to worry that your subject matter ? whether because of its color or reflectance characteristics, will give an erroneous reading."

Normally I wouldn't make a follow-up remark, but because you tore into me before getting your facts straight, I think you deserve to be corrected.

Your incident meter IS a gray card.

If you meter off of a very dark shadowy area with detail back towards the camera and expose for what the meter says, you will get a very dark shadowy area with detail on the picture. It should work fine.

You might have to trek back and forth from your subject to where you will take the picture, but it would be more accurate than a reflective meter (that wants to make everything you point at 18% gray).

Good luck,

JOHN

I agree with "face to face."

I recently needed a model release for a picture I took a year ago. I showed up with the form and the subject signed it with no problem.

It also appears far more credible when you are in person.

-john

My best interior shots are all done with natural light. Just take a meter reading and then leave the lens open. Bracket a little also.

Windows can be nasty, so try to point away from them.

Good luck.

JOHN

I live in a town of 60,000. A local jeweler likes some color slides

I took and wants to use 1 (maybe more) for postcards. His shop gets

a lot of summer tourism traffic. He does a lot of custom jewelry.

If anyone can give me an acceptable range for selling a photo for a

postcard I would appreciate it. I could limit the contract for five

years.

If he decides he wants 5 of them...would I lower the price?

Thanks for any information,

JOHN

How much would you charge for having a color photo of yours put into

a brochure? The size would be about 3.5" x 2.2".

The company may print out 200-500 of them.

Also, what would you charge if they wanted to use about five photos

and they were all yours? Even one on the cover.

Thanks for any replies,

JOHN

Don is right.

I am only asking how much to charge for the photography. I am going to just add the printing costs to the total.

Does anyone have any idea how much color photography in brochures is worth? This really is great photography, and some was done in a studio with a macro lens.

The color photos will only be about 3.5" x 2.2" inches or so, but if someone uses about 5 photos like that and prints out 1000 brochures...what would the photography be worth?

I'd like to add that I will put my name down on the bottom of the brochure so at least im getting some advertising out of it.

Thanks,

JOHN

I am meeting with someone tomorrow who owns a small shop in town.

He is interested in a 8 1/2 x 9" brochure I put together for his

shop. I imported photos from color transparencies using Adobe

Photoshop.

The brochure consists only of text and my own color photos that I

took in his shop. He can choose from over 20 photos. They will be

about 3 1/2 inches by 2 inches in the brochure. About four will fit

inside and one on the front. The brochure will be a bi-fold.

My question is how much should I charge per photo? I have no idea

how many brochures he will want. Would the price per photo go up or

down depending on how many he wants printed?

Putting the brochure together with text was a no-brainer, so it is

obvious to me the photography is what I am charging for. But how

much?

I plan to have a printing shop do the printing, cutting, folding,

and those charges to the fee.

Any help is really appreciated.

Thanks