There are two things you need to deal with, Lorie: 1) this situation, and 2) avoiding this situation. I'll handle them in reverse.
Avoid this situation. How? By communicating this up front. This way your client isn't assuming that they'll own the work and you won't be assuming that they know that you own the work. If/when they don't understand, share with them your standard usage license (if you don't have one, you need to get one, preferably drafted by an attorney that has experience with intellectual property agreements;  GeneralE has a whole bunch of links that may help you get going, if you can't afford an attorney). If they balk, or put up a fight, it's best to suggest they move on to someone else. When you let a client undermine your business principles, you are really undermining your business.
At the moment, I only have one client that owns the work I do for them - the Associated Press. Everyone else pays me for the shoot and pays me for the usage. Before I shoot, we discuss how they intend to use the images; that allows me to put together a price for the shoot and initial usage, with the understanding (in writing) that if they want to do anything different in the future, they'll need to come back to me to see if there are any additional licensing requirements and/or fees. I keep it simple and make sure we all stay on the same page. It's not always easy, but it's always necessary, especially if you don't want people taking advantage of you.
This situation. Just as there are no real standards for pricing the sale of a copyright, there are no real good reasons for doing so - except if someone is going to pay you an absolute ton of money. For example, Apple routinely licenses images for stuff like screensavers; they'll pay five THOUSAND dollars, just for a five-year, non-exclusive, world-wide license. Just for a license. Not the copyright.
So, in the vein of keeping it simple, find out how your client wants to use the image. Use any one of the many online stock calculators (like this one) and come up with a usage price. More than likely, it's going to be much more than what you had already quoted her. Tell her you're willing to stick with the original price you quoted her.
If she wants to be pesky, then you have to decide if it's worth it to go around in circles with her. If you are willing to commit to avoiding this type of situation in the future, then maybe just take whatever you can get from her and let it go.
The bottom line: If you are going to conduct business with your camera, treat your business like a business. Don't just play at it. A large part of business, especially in terms of sales and closing deals, is educating your clients about what you do, how you do it, and why they should do it with you. It's a lot more involved than owning a camera that can get something in focus (and I'm not saying that is what you're doing; I'm just saying spend as much time on your business as you do shooting so that you won't get into these situations).
Message edited by author 2011-02-19 17:31:24. |
