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05/10/2007 12:25:42 AM · #1 |
I recently contacted the organizers of a local street festival regarding their event photography. They were keen on the idea and requested a rates sheet. After doing some research, I quoted two packages.
Package One: six hours of shooting up to 300 images on CD and a non transferable license. $650
The second was $115/hr (min 2 hrs) with each jpeg order around $20 for 1-50 images, $18 50-100 images etc.
I was hoping the client would go for package one as that was pretty straight forward. The client needed to discuss with the other traders in the street that were contributing to the festival regarding their thoughts. I followed up with phone calls regarding their wishes for me to photograph the event. I kept on getting the "we're still waiting on the other traders and their decision" So the day before, still no answer. As I was to be attending the event anyway, I had my camera and wanted to take shots for myself to get some practice in. The organiser saw me, gave me a staff pass and told me to 'ad hoc' and just capture some images throughout the day. (I was planning on doing this anyway, but did not convey this to the client)
Anyway, after shooting for 8 hrs, and gettin around 1000 pics, I found it very rewarding and tiring and also found it good practice photographing this event.
My plan is to sell the images individually to the different traders along the street to make a bit of money out of the exercise.
This morning I was contacted by the client asking me to send some of the photo's to a local business publication, and to copy him some of the images as well.
I was very surprise at this but had a feeling something like this might happen. I'm guessing he thinks that photo's are free and he shouldn't have to pay for them because I've already taken them
My question is: how much should I charge for them to have some photo's in this publication, and what licensing clauses should I state?
Keep in mind that I've only been doing band, music and portrait photography for around three months now and am not an experienced event photographer.
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05/10/2007 12:55:21 AM · #2 |
Send them a pre-invoice that must be signed and faxed back before you transfer any images. Since there is no written or verbal contract, they could say anything.
Might want to bump this in the AM. 'tis a quiet night.
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05/10/2007 06:25:58 AM · #3 |
david, this is almost exactly the same position i was in 3 years ago when my first dslr (a 300d) was barely a month old!
i went to a street festival and shot the daylights out of it, just for practice. while there, a woman approached me and we had the following conversation:
she: who are you shooting for?
me: myself.
she: for what?
me: practice. who are you?
she: i'm in charge. could you show me your photos sometime?
the next day, i took a cd of about 200+ images to her house. she has comped me a booth at this event the past two years. those images are still on her website (while i would like to get her some fresh stuff, some of it is rather timeless. you can see them here). from that booth, i've sold prints and found new clients (including a wedding). i also put those images in an online portfolio that was responsible for me getting picked up as a freelancer for a daily newspaper.
long story short, i looked at that initial investment of time as an opportunity to sow seeds, not to reap a harvest. today, i am a fulltime freelance photographer, and that one day of shooting played a large part in my getting started. in the long run, to me, riches are a matter of relationships, not nickles and dimes.
your situation is a bit different in that you're a little bit further along than i was, and you had already approached the organizer. i might suggest picking 2 images that you think best tell the story of the day, sizing them to 200dpi, 10" on the longest side, saved as jpg10. however, before saving, be sure to fill in the complete file info (especially the copyright notice--that's a good place to imbed licensing info, such as "This image is Copyrighted © David Williams 2007, all rights reserved. [publication name here] is hereby granted a license to publish this image one-time free of charge. This license is non-transferable, and any additional publications will be subject to fees. Any additional usage prohibited without prior written authorization." you might need to run this by someone familiar with your local laws.  judi does a fair amount of publication work, maybe you could pm her). anyways, pick and process 2 and send them directly to the publication (find out specifically who, first, though). then size the same images down to a 72dpi 4x6 saved for web at about 100kb and email those to the organizer with a note telling him that you supplied the publication with those images, but that you need to sit down and come to terms over the remaining images.
as for that negotiation, go through your images and separate them out between general shots and vendor specific shots. know how many vendors you shot and how many vendors were there. you can make a nice argument that it only works out to $xx per vendor. you might even consider putting together a quick-and-dirty portfolio gallery to show them what they could be getting. a lot of times, people think the images are just something anyone could get. it takes time and effort to weed out clients who can't tell the difference. when faced with dealing with people who either can't tell or don't want to pay, it's best to move on.
hope this helps, good luck, and let us know how it turns out.
cheers,
skip |
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05/10/2007 11:24:06 AM · #4 |
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05/10/2007 11:28:05 AM · #5 |
| Thanks to Skip and the OP for the very useful information herein. |
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05/10/2007 11:51:43 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by Skip:
me: practice. who are you? |
This line has had me laughing all day. For some reason I picture you crouched in some awkward position waiting for that perfect shot to materialize and some woman standing over you asking all kinds of questions.
Anyway, great insight into the way the world works. You took a gamble and a dive on being paid for your time, but it appears to have worked out masterfully.
-drew |
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05/13/2007 10:53:40 PM · #7 |
Thanks skip. You words of wisdom are extremely helpful.
I'll let you know how it goes.
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05/14/2007 08:00:07 PM · #8 |
Hi there!
I've shoot some events in the past. not all of them in the same conditions. Some (at the beggining) just to be noticed and to have some credits. Sometimes for the organization, sometimes for a magazine.
It's usual that they pay me for the "event" and not by the hour or by picture count. They like this "package" deal where they now they've got it covered and they don't want to rush things up to cut on the expenses.
Anyway if I think I'm beein underpaid (and with the magazines you're always are) I try to know what will be the best time to get the pictures and I try not to take much time to shoot.
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05/14/2007 09:18:42 PM · #9 |
Listen to  Skip, he KNOWS what he's talking about and has given me great pointers thusfar.
As far as my own personal experience goes (and I'm still pretty new to the game), I have also shot events "just for myself as practice" and later been asked for some of my photos. Depending on "who" the asking party is (individual or publication representative), I weigh my options. If it's an individual, I'll deliver a low-res "sample" image to them and request a payment arrangement for additional hi-res files. If it's a publication/event representative, I usually opt for minimal fees, photo credit, AND free advertising. This usually results in a "thank you" from individuals and a "small payment" from publication representatives, but almost always results in ADDITIONAL BUSINESS (with prearranged agreements on pricing). Plus, many publications will willingly opt for "free" ad space in lieu of payment.
Since I'm just starting out too, I agree that it's a wise idea to sow seeds. (And I make sure that I complete the detailed file info (esp. copyright) that is attached to every digital image prior to delivery.) If it's a publication that is giving me free advertising in exchange for one-time use of the photo, I also make sure I follow-up and deliver my advertisement to match their specifications. (You can't beat free advertising - plus you're getting photo credit underneath the image, so that's more advertising there!)
Finally, I think those efforts are starting to pay off! Just today, I received a call from the Tourism Director for Botetourt County who saw my "free" ad (and my "comped" photos) in the latest Chamber of Commerce business magazine and he wants to meet with me to discuss purchasing my photos of Botetourt County for marketing purposes. As my name continues to get out there and I become more well-known, I am getting more and more "real" assignments and "real" payment arrangements. Word gets around fast once you create a few breaks for yourself.
Yes, it's a trade-off and can be a difficult tightrope to walk, but I owe most of my success to advice I have received on this site and new friends like Skip who give us "newbies" a headstart on the competition.
Good luck!
Jimmy
Message edited by author 2007-05-14 21:23:34. |
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