Pricing Advice (Urgent)

[576316]

Hi guys, I'm a bit stumped and I need urgent help from people who have possibly dealt with this sort of thing before - unlike me.

I've had a request from someone to buy a full res file of one of my photos because she wants to print it for private use. I have no idea how much to charge for this sort of thing or what the general rate is for selling an image file. Somebody recommend I charge £75 for a single use of the file, does this sound reasonable? Also, do I insist that my digital signature is included on the file or does buying the file mean they buy a clean version?

Also, do I need to create some sort of legal document outlining what the buyer can and cannot do with the file?

Would be very useful to hear from someone who does this and knows the general practice when it comes to selling an image file.

 

[adrian.oconnor]

Hi guys, I'm a bit stumped and I need urgent help from people who have possibly dealt with this sort of thing before - unlike me.

I've had a request from someone to buy a full res file of one of my photos because she wants to print it for private use. I have no idea how much to charge for this sort of thing or what the general rate is for selling an image file. Somebody recommend I charge £75 for a single use of the file, does this sound reasonable? Also, do I insist that my digital signature is included on the file or does buying the file mean they buy a clean version?

Also, do I need to create some sort of legal document outlining what the buyer can and cannot do with the file?

Would be very useful to hear from someone who does this and knows the general practice when it comes to selling an image file.

I once asked a photographer if I could buy a file to print myself. Just like you, she hadn't been asked before either, so she wasn't sure what to do. I suggested we swapped out the biggest print from her package (I think the package was about £200, and the biggest print was about 16"x12", which had a paper value of about £40 on her price list, and in return she would give me the raw file from the CF card by email or on CD. This was 5 years ago, so prices may not be current.

She wasn't at all sure at first but did agree to do it. I had it printed on silk card and framed, and it looked awesome. She actually tried to send me the edited file (she'd brightened it up, tweaked the highlights and softened it ever so slightly), but I insisted on the raw, unedited file (which from memory was actually jpeg), and it turned out to not need any touching up at all.

Not sure if that helps or not, but I think we were both happy in the end.

Don't fret about the signature or rights or anything like that -- just agree on a price that you both think is fair and be happy that you've made a very happy customer. She'll hopefully spread the word when people ask where she got such a great photo.

 

[576316]

I once asked a photographer if I could buy a file to print myself. Just like you, she hadn't been asked before either, so she wasn't sure what to do. I suggested we swapped out the biggest print from her package (I think the package was about £200, and the biggest print was about 16"x12", which had a paper value of about £40 on her price list, and in return she would give me the raw file from the CF card by email or on CD. This was 5 years ago, so prices may not be current.

She wasn't at all sure at first but did agree to do it. I had it printed on silk card and framed, and it looked awesome. She actually tried to send me the edited file (she'd brightened it up, tweaked the highlights and softened it ever so slightly), but I insisted on the raw, unedited file (which from memory was actually jpeg), and it turned out to not need any touching up at all.

Not sure if that helps or not, but I think we were both happy in the end.

Don't fret about the signature or rights or anything like that -- just agree on a price that you both think is fair and be happy that you've made a very happy customer. She'll hopefully spread the word when people ask where she got such a great photo.

Thank you for your help. I'm going to suggest a price and we'll go from there. Including a very short terms of sale document just to cover my back. Even though it's my first sale, I want to make sure I'm covered should anything go wrong.