Selling images

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petemc

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Pete
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I took some shots of a band last week and their manager has contacted me asking "What sort of arrangement" we can come to about the images. I'm assuming he wants to buy them, or at least thinks he'll have to pay for them. The band hasn't signed with anyone yet, but I'm told they are in talks with Columbia Records. I'm not sure how to respond, or what to charge. I don't want to scare the guy off as I'm trying to build up my network of contacts at the moment. Any ideas? :)
 
Don't charge them too much and try and retain copyright on the images - if the manager insists otherwise, your fee should relect that.
They may well become famous, but try not to let that influence you to charge them the earth.
If you maintain a good relationship with the band and manager, you'll be more likely to score repeat jobs and long-term income.

Don't just charge them for expenses as they'll expect that arrangement to continue forever.
 
You need to know what the photographs are going to be used for as this will dictate the price. If they are for an album cover then it will be more than if they are to be used for a press release
 
Arkady said:
Don't charge them too much and try and retain copyright on the images - if the manager insists otherwise, your fee should relect that.
They may well become famous, but try not to let that influence you to charge them the earth.
If you maintain a good relationship with the band and manager, you'll be more likely to score repeat jobs and long-term income.

Don't just charge them for expenses as they'll expect that arrangement to continue forever.
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Yer I really don't want to scare them off. Hopefully it will lead to bigger and better things. I've been suggested to charge £10 - £20 per shot, which seems fair enough. Theres only 8 shots I think.

Gary Bagshawe said:
You need to know what the photographs are going to be used for as this will dictate the price. If they are for an album cover then it will be more than if they are to be used for a press release
Click to expand...

They're for their website.
 
i would say about £15 per image for the web, you retain copyright and expect a visible credit on the site, also, if they want to use the images anywhere else, that will be a seperate deal.

Well done on the job Pete...
 
I concur with EosD - £15 for web images and about £25 for hard copies in this instance. Make sure your name is on the image somewhere - ghost it in the bottom corner somewhere.
 
Arkady said:
I concur with EosD - £15 for web images and about £25 for hard copies in this instance. Make sure your name is on the image somewhere - ghost it in the bottom corner somewhere.
Click to expand...

Out of interest, what is the easiest way of doing this? I've got PS Elements and was trying get translucent fonts, but can't seem to find them :?:
 
create a layer with the writing on and adjust the opacity to suit...
 
EosD said:
i would say about £15 per image for the web, you retain copyright and expect a visible credit on the site, also, if they want to use the images anywhere else, that will be a seperate deal.

Well done on the job Pete...
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Thanks mate :)

Arkady said:
I concur with EosD - £15 for web images and about £25 for hard copies in this instance. Make sure your name is on the image somewhere - ghost it in the bottom corner somewhere.
Click to expand...

I've emailed the guy back and said I normally charge £15 and have copyright text on the images. Waiting for a reply :)
 
Sounds like you have everything under control. Arkady gave some good advice in his first post. Never overprice yourself or you'll never sell images nor will you get asked to take more. But always stand your ground (being sensible) as Arkady says once you have done it once they will expect you to be an easy target next time. Though if you don't mind being an easy target and are really doing it for the love then go for it, but just remember the manager of the band will almost certainly not be doing it for the love of it and he'll never be going out of pocket.

Also if you are retaining copyright you will want some kind of receipt stating the usage (or you can put usage onto the invoice you send them) this way if they want to use your images for things like album covers then they are obliged to go back to you and ask permission. Thus giving you the chance to discuss more money if you want to. If this isn't done it could be awkward getting anything from them if they choose to go ahead and use your images without permission. Be nice about it though if you intend to try for more work with them.
 
All of the above is good sound advice, as soon as this band gets even a small name for themselves and a production manager you are going to be taking fewer and fewer photographs of them so make sure that they understand that copyright for your images are yours and do not sell it to them. When they hit the big time you will have to sign a form saying that you will only use any new images for "Whatever purpose" and I can tell you now you wont make any money from it then unless you become their official photographer.
 
Ok he's come back to me asking for a better deal for 4 shots and a link to my site on theirs. I'm going to say £10/shot. I think £5/shot would be too little.
 
sounds ok, give it a go!
 
Bit of a tight bugger aint he! Knocking a third off the cost of every image is a big discount, maybe just knocking a tenner off the overall cost would be slightly better and will make you less of a push over but still willing to help. Spose if you have taken images without any expectations to sell then anything is a plus, the fact that you can point to them and say i did those is often enough for most.
 
lolyton said:
Bit of a tight bugger aint he! Knocking a third off the cost of every image is a big discount, maybe just knocking a tenner off the overall cost would be slightly better and will make you less of a push over but still willing to help. Spose if you have taken images without any expectations to sell then anything is a plus, the fact that you can point to them and say i did those is often enough for most.
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Ah that sounds like a good idea, but I've already replied :(
 
I know it's too late now Pete, but a good thing to say in that situation is "£15 is what you would get for a pic in a local paper for one week, and they're getting worldwide coverage for a lot longer". In fact, I'd be tempted to point out to him that, as the manager of a band, he should understand the value of creative, copyrighted work.
 
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