I have someone interested in a photo of mine. How much should I charge for the image, and is it easy to keep all the rights to the photo?
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stock photo price and rights?
- Thread starter epicwelshman
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Way more information needed!
Someone interested in one of your shots.....for what purpose? Do they want exclusive rights?
When you say you want to keep all rights, what exactly do you mean? That you want to be able to sell it again and again? If so, then you can only sell it royalty free.
http://photographersindex.com/stockprice.htm
That's a rough guide to start from.
Things to consider....
Is the shot outstanding...a one off....unique? If it is, then it's worth much more, and you should try to lock them into exclusive usage and charge a lot for it.
If it's fairly run of the mill, and if they could find a similar shot through any online stock agency, then play a little different. You may need to settle for less money, but then think about opting for royalty free, in which case you could sell the image again and again.
Pricing images is a bit of a black art, which is why I let a stock agency handle mine!
Someone interested in one of your shots.....for what purpose? Do they want exclusive rights?
When you say you want to keep all rights, what exactly do you mean? That you want to be able to sell it again and again? If so, then you can only sell it royalty free.
http://photographersindex.com/stockprice.htm
That's a rough guide to start from.
Things to consider....
Is the shot outstanding...a one off....unique? If it is, then it's worth much more, and you should try to lock them into exclusive usage and charge a lot for it.
If it's fairly run of the mill, and if they could find a similar shot through any online stock agency, then play a little different. You may need to settle for less money, but then think about opting for royalty free, in which case you could sell the image again and again.
Pricing images is a bit of a black art, which is why I let a stock agency handle mine!
Ok, I have some more info. sorry for any confusion.
The shot is very nice, imho, but not necessarily a "once in a lifetime" shot. The group interested is a non-profit group who work with disadvantaged children and homeless people. I've decided to let them use the photo for free (charitable donation and all that... I wouldn't get a huge amount of money anyway). However, I of course would like to retain all rights to the image to sell and exhibit in the future. So, is there any kind of standard contract I could use / could someone give me help with the wording of the agreement? Thanks!
The shot is very nice, imho, but not necessarily a "once in a lifetime" shot. The group interested is a non-profit group who work with disadvantaged children and homeless people. I've decided to let them use the photo for free (charitable donation and all that... I wouldn't get a huge amount of money anyway). However, I of course would like to retain all rights to the image to sell and exhibit in the future. So, is there any kind of standard contract I could use / could someone give me help with the wording of the agreement? Thanks!
You can google for photo copyright forms. You should also look at some stock sights and read their forms just to get an idea. If you do not sign over the rights of the photo then those rights stay with you. You should explain that to the client and make sure they don't think they can do anything they want with it. There is a huge difference in editorial vs. news and usage rights depending on the type of publication. Don't be so quick to give things away unless you really want to help the folks who requested the photos. You are also helping to establish your name and getting some tear sheets so sometimes a freebie is a good thing.
Thanks for the link. I've been negotiating a cover shot for the local Chamber of Commerce directory. This will come in handy.
Since you are giving away usage rights, you need to be very very careful how you word your contract, and be very specific about what they can and can't use the image for.
Remember, if you just allow them to use the image whenever they like, then you won't be able to sell it exclusively elsewhere.
Make sure the contract states where the image will be reproduced, what print run it will be and the length of time they are allowed to use the image. Don't restrict your future use of the image too much. Someone else may be interested in it tomorrow, and you're giving it away free today...
Mike.