How much to charge?

[strummin365]

This is the e-mail I received:

"Could you give me your half day rate for shooting a variety of outdoor scenes (mostly) in Morro Bay. The Ad agency I work with would need to own the rights to the photos.It would be this Fri and/or Saturday."

I generally just do outdoor portrait sessions, I'm not usually contracted for this type of work but it sounds like a fun opportunity? Any idea how to help me approach this issue?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Gavjenks]

There is nowhere near enough info here. Mostly stuff you should already be familiar with from portraits. I would write back and ask for some more details, which will affect rates.
* Does he want them edited, too? If so, how soon will they be needed? Obviously you need to charge more for that, especially if it needs to be done quickly.
* How widely will they be used? Or is that to be left open-ended? National ad campaigns you need to charge more for than a borchure in an office somewhere. Open-ended implies assumed broader usage.
* What sort of thing will they be used for? Photos that need ad copy on the side need to be composed differently in the camera than photos standing by themselves. And do they need mostly landscape? portrait? panorama orientation? etc. And the more restrictions, the harder it is to transport yourself around but still get everything they need.

In general, seems like awfully short notice for having no working relationship with them (do you?) and not being a specialist in landscapes.

 

[strummin365]

All valid points here!

For some more background information, I specialize in outdoor photography as well as landscapes; I just haven't quite figured out how to market and sell any of my landscape shots yet! The woman I am speaking with is a videographer and knows I only have 5 clients. I just did a shoot with her the other day when I met her for the first time. The shoot went well and I got her some quality images, so she is referring this job to me. Thanks for the questions and please feel free to respond if you can think of anything else that may help!

Also, there's also the notion that it appears I am selling the rights of photos I have taken and will no longer have rights to them. How do I factor this into cost? Part of me wants to charge the agency $150 an hour for the 4 hour shoot, add $100 in for travel fees and then I'm stuck on what else to charge for (if anything). I'd certainly like to charge them for the rights of the photos and more if editing is necessary.

Chris

 

[vintagesnaps]

This doesn't seem like it's being handled in that much of a professional way, they want a photographer for this weekend?? I have to wonder if they had a photographer who cancelled on them or something. She's seen your photos and they apparently are the quality they want but I'm guessing she also wants to find someone who will work really cheap. Try American Society of Media Photographers or other professional photographers organizations to look up pricing guidelines; commercial work seems to usually be priced fairly high.

 

[strummin365]

The latest response:

"It would be very similar to what is on the Pismo Web site. They also do print - brochures, poster, magazine ads and article. I shot a few stills they used here on the web site at the same time I shot the video below.
No real due date. I only did a minimum of editing. If they have a high quality file to work with they may do more editing. What is your highest quality? Can you shoot RAW?


They got burned on not owning the rights and ended up having to pay a few times for the same images when they got sold to Getty Images. "

I'm not concerned about the short notice, as I have nothing going on. Should I be? I don't really want to turn down a job, but I will if I have to.

I guess the bottom line is: How much more would I charge if the client wants exclusive rights to the image? Let's say the original cost was $25/image.

 

[wyogirl]

I would not give up my copyright. What the ad agency actually needs is called a license agreement in which you agree that they can use a photo in a certain manner. NEVER sell your copyright.

 

[tirediron]

Exclusivity, in perpetuity? $1000/image sounds like a good starting point.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Not for anything less than an arm and a leg anyway! Usually what would be charged would be pretty high for that; often photographers price it high because they'd prefer to keep their original files and copyright. And if this ad agency got burnt I guess they should have read the terms with Getty more carefully or need to hire a lawyer to review their contracts.

I don't even find the response all that clear or professional sounding. It seems like they may want to use the photos for a number of different uses and be able to edit your work. You probably need to look up info. on licensing and contracts too. I'm more familiar with editorial than commercial use but usually a contract would be for specified usage and then if they want to extend that there would be additional cost for further use. If nothing else I'd suggest making sure everything is in writing and that you understand what you're signing.

 

[pixmedic]

 

[vipgraphx]

While I own a printing and graphic design business my rates are $40 an hour for graphics and installation.

I think you need to come up with a rate per hour with rights, rate per hour without rights. Rates per hour with rights and processing time.

Fees such as travel should be included in your rates. Also you need to think about all billable hours such as phone conversations and what not and you should right a log down.

This is one way to go about it. Another way is charging per job full or half day. Which ask your self what you are worth. $150 an hour seems steep to me but and if I was going to pay for that I would expect processing and rights to the photos.

 

[Gavjenks]

The reason why short notice is bad (and a red flag) is not because you might have something going on this weekend. It's because there isn't enough time to work out all of the stuff being discussed here calmly.

 

[KmH]

. The Ad agency I work with would need to own the rights to the photos

They lost me right there.

They don't need to own all the rights to the photos, they just need to pay you for an appropriate use license that defines the rights they need to rent from you.

They want commercial work done and that is an entirely different business model than shooting portraits.

Basically they are wanting to take major financial advantage of you.

My 1/2 day rate was $1600 and did not include my creative fee nor use licensing.

You might find this article helpful: Case Study: Producing A Successful Estimate | DigitalPhotoPro.com
And you can visit www.asmp.org and on the left click on Business Resources.

 

[Steve5D]

I shot The Temptations once. The guy who hired me wanted the CF card with all of the unedited images. I told him I don't do that. He said "Everyone has a price". I said "You're right, and mine is $5,000.00".

He asked "Will you take a check?"

Sometimes it's pretty surprising what people will pay for. There's money in Morro Bay. Get some of it. Quote them some ridiculously outlandish fee. If they scoff at that, either negotiate or walk.

But they can't say "No" if you don't give them the chance...

 

[KmH]

My fee for the copyright to one photo started at $50,000 - the potential income from a photo for the time I and my heirs would normally own the copyright, the rest of my life + 70 years.

That's one of the ways people like Elvis and others can still make millions of $$$$$$$ after they die.
Top 10 Highest Earning Dead Celebrities of the World | Click Top 10

 

[orljustin]

My fee for the copyright to one photo started at $50,000 - the potential income from a photo for the time I and my heirs would normally own the copyright, the rest of my life + 70 years.

That's one of the ways people like Elvis and others can still make millions of $$$$$$$ after they die.
Top 10 Highest Earning Dead Celebrities of the World | Click Top 10

Make sure you let us know how long it takes that image to earn you $50k.