Digital file value?

[Majeed Badizadegan]

I have an internet buyer who contacted me interested in buying one of my landscape shots. He wants the digital file, not print. He wants at least 2048px, if not bigger.

I'm just curious what others charge for something like this? Ive been wrestling with the notion of giving away a file, especially a large one. I've heard of some who would never give up a digital file, while others, like Trey Ratcliff, posts full size shots to his blog.

I've seen local photographers charge huge amounts for a digital file. On 500px, a 2048px download is 4 or 5 bucks.

I'd just like to hear some discussion on the topic to gauge this better.

 

[o hey tyler]

What is he planning to do​ with the digital file?

 

[SCraig]

Personally I don't worry about it. I give away files frequently after public events that I shoot. I don't give up my RAW files, but I will provide a large JPG at no charge if someone asks for it.

Edit ... Tyler's post reminded me, that I do only provide them for personal, non-commercial use.

 

[Mully]

You better spell out usage.... Once the image is gone no telling what they will do with it. I would want a written email or letter if intent.

 

[Light Guru]

Personally I don't worry about it. I give away files frequently after public events that I shoot. I don't give up my RAW files, but I will provide a large JPG at no charge if someone asks for it.

I would feel the same if the image was a portrait, but thats not the kind of image the original post is asking about.

I have an internet buyer who contacted me interested in buying one of my landscape shots. He wants the digital file, not print. He wants at least 2048px, if not bigger.

I've seen local photographers charge huge amounts for a digital file. On 500px, a 2048px download is 4 or 5 bucks.

It is safe to say that the person wanting to buy the image wants to make several large prints of the image and is looking to do it cheeper when what it would cost if he bought prints from you.

Here is what I would do charge the guy 10x or more what you would charge him for a 40" print.

 

[skieur]

I might go cheap at $1,200.

 

[Ilovemycam]

I asked to buy a digital file from a pro and she would not sell. Would sell only prints.

I offered free prints or digital files to some prospects, they didn't want them for free.

Guess it just depends on how much they like the picture.

 

[KmH]

There is no way to guage it better.

Charge what the traffic will bear. But if you treat/promote your images as a commodity, don't expect to be able to sell them for more than $4 or $5.

Buying a high quality landscape image is a luxury purchase. I recommend you charge accordingly.

So some where between $5 and $50,000.

 

[manaheim]

^ helpful.

I would possibly be willing to sell the file, but I would only do it with a specific license indicating what they could do with the file, and I would charge according to their intent. If they intended to make a single print for themselves, I'd probably sell it at 1.5x-2x the price of the largest print I usually sell.

If they intended to do anything more, I'd veer more towards what I would sell an exclusive license for, which would range depending on the quality of the image and how attached I was to it. For example, many of my "art prints", I would basically be inclined to NEVER give a digital image out for... for those I'd charge HUGE money ($10K? $50K?) if I even sold it. For anything less emotionally charged, like a picture of a building or something that I took for a commercial project, I'd probably just do a standard exclusive license at like $2000-5000.

There are sort of a lot of "ifs" in there, but the key is your image is going to be in the hands of someone that will be able to reproduce the work. You have to work with them to clearly determine and document what they are allowed to do, have them sign an agreement to that effect, and price the image accordingly.

 

[manaheim]

btw, if it wasn't obvious... you're not selling bits, you're selling a piece of artwork or a commercial asset. At WORST you're selling stock photography, but even that will cost more than $4-5.

 

[dmunsie]

Like others have said, if this is an exclusive sale where they are going to become the owner, I would charge big bucks. If it's just a non exclusive where they want to do a few prints, etc, then get it in writing and price it accordingly. I'm not even selling photos yet, but I guarantee I'm not selling anything cheap. Once you go down the cheap route, I'm guessing it's almost impossible to reverse strategy.

 

[amolitor]

Is this a business for you? If it's not a business, then you may be more comfortable simply giving it away. If you charge something, you may later feel that you left money on the table and you should have charged enough to buy the new whatever-it-is gizmo. If this isn't a business, you probably have no meaningful way to calculate a value for your cost to produce the image, so that angle's right out. At that point it's really trying to sort out what a) other people charge for similar work (which we've established is between $0 and $1,000,000) or b) what the market will bear (which you have to negotiate to find out).

There's a certain amount of 'well, I charge $X and if you do not, then you're undercutting me and you are an evil person' which simply ducks around the reality that large swathes of photographic product are free or incredibly cheap these days.

 

[o hey tyler]

Is this a business for you? If it's not a business, then you may be more comfortable simply giving it away.

Wow.

Someone wants to buy a digital file from you, and you'd just give it away?

I would suggest no one do this ever. Even an amateur landscape photographer. If someone asks to buy your work, it is a commodity, and should be valued as such. Giving away a file and potentially unlimited usage rights is by far the dumbest thing you could do. Might as well bend over and grab your ankles.

 

[amolitor]

Why wouldn't I give it away? If it's not a business for me how, exactly, am I going to suffer a loss here by giving it away?

 

[Buckster]

Depends entirely on their intended use for the digital file.

Find out exactly what what that intent is, write it definitively into a contract, include both relevant copyright usage clearly spelled out and price, then charge accordingly when they've signed the agreement.