licensing a photo - DPChallenge Forums

Pentax DA 16-45mm f/4.0 ED AL AF

01/14/2011 09:53:29 AM · #1

i have been asked at my job to use one of my photos for an advertisement.

since I'm not in business do i just let them use it, and let my ego be stroked or do i license it for this use? my concern is if i let them use it they may want to use it again and i dont want to give them free reign.

if i do decide to license it, how much do i charge?

alohadave

Pentax K-5

01/14/2011 10:15:03 AM · #2

First, decide if you want them to use it.

Then, decide if you want to charge them money for it. Either way, it's your choice. You can't hurt to ask what their budget for photography/graphics is and give them a quote that fits in that budget.

Then, decide on the usage that you will allow. Even if you don't charge them for usage, you still control the licensing and usage. If you only want them to use the picture for a specific campaign, spell it out in a contract. Find out from them the length of the advertising campaign, and what they will use the picture in (billboards, magazines, post cards, etc) and allow the usage for those specific media for a specified amount of time, and put all of that in the contract (the contract doesn't need to be complicated, make it simple, and to the point, and don't overcomplicate it).

If you give them a file without hammering out the details beforehand, it will be much harder to control the situation later if they do something with the picture that you didn't want done with it.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

01/14/2011 10:36:52 AM · #3

ditto what dave said.

a few more questions that can have an impact
* did you take the photo on company time?
* how did they become aware of the image?
* is it a work-related image or something in your portfolio that they like?
* have you provided them any images for any type of use before?

by all means, ask them what they normally pay for stuff like this. and do use one of the online stock usage calculators to come up with a reasonable price for the uses they propose. you might be able to use this to pick up some extra income from your employer...

...about 25 years ago i had a sales job and every month they gave out sales leader plaques. since i was the only person with a decent camera and a hotshoe flash, i got the job of shooting the grip-and-grins. i also got the home office to pay me enough for those 10-15 8x10s to cover my hobby of shooting about 15 rolls of film a month! it wasn't even a drop in the bucket to them, but it meant the world to me.

01/14/2011 10:38:44 AM · #4

generally speaking, this picture is for a magazine ad only. what is the going rate for that kind of use?

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

01/14/2011 10:50:50 AM · #5

No, I didn't take it on company time
The image is related to my line of work and i was showing it off so my boss saw it.
I have never given them an image to use before.
the company usually hires a professional photographer to take a large amount of "stock" photography and they like my image better than those, so i have no idea what they would charge for a single image.

im not trying to hold out for a ton of money im only hoping to be reasonably compensated. I would also love to see the image in a print add but i don't want to sell myself short.

does anyone have a contract i could cut and paste from?

Message edited by author 2011-01-14 10:51:32.

alanfreed

Nikon D6

01/14/2011 11:20:50 AM · #6

I've found this to be a handy reference.

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

01/14/2011 01:49:58 PM · #7

i gave my price. unfortunately in my waffling, marketing came up with another photo to use in my place and i think it looks better :(

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

01/14/2011 03:19:49 PM · #8

Originally posted by mike_311:

i gave my price. unfortunately in my waffling, marketing came up with another photo to use in my place and i think it looks better :(

bummer. but, if you're interested, talk to marketing and find out what they want and what they spend. it might be something you can do in your off time where you can make a little, save them a little, have some fun, and get some recognition.

Artifacts