Pricing Question

[smoke665]

Since it's getting to be that time of the year, if a client (not commercial) had already paid you a significant amount for services and photo package, would you charge them for a 4x6 image file that could be used to order photo Christmas cards from someone else, and if so how much would be reasonable? Or, would you provide them an option for providing the cards? Again what would be a reasonable price?

 

[vintagesnaps]

What was in the initial contract for usage? Unless this was included you'll need to license/contract further usage, and unless you want to license the client to go get cards printed (someplace cheap that will make your photos look like crap??) then you'd need to provide the finished cards and charge for it (cost of printing, cardstock, your time, etc.).

 

[tirediron]

I would try and provide the finished product as well, if you can. Even if you do it "at cost" as a customer loyalty measure, it's better to have control. If not, I would probably steeply discount the price of the file. My regular price on a digital file is $65; in this case I would probably do it for $20-30. In my experience, situations like this, with loyal customers are worth discounting, ESPECIALLY for Christmas. Chances are the word of mouth you will get from them will be worth far more than the full cost of the file.

 

[Advanced Photo]

Check with Shutterfly for their cost and then Mark it up five or 10% you can use their service for the printing and you can repackage and deliver them yourself.

 

[smoke665]

I would try and provide the finished product as well, if you can. Even if you do it "at cost" as a customer loyalty measure, it's better to have control. If not, I would probably steeply discount the price of the file. My regular price on a digital file is $65; in this case I would probably do it for $20-30. In my experience, situations like this, with loyal customers are worth discounting, ESPECIALLY for Christmas. Chances are the word of mouth you will get from them will be worth far more than the full cost of the file.

This is about what I thought. This ism't for me, but for an acquaintance that asked me about it, so a lot of the details are missing. He did say that the photographer told him it would be $300 for the image file, after just spending $750. I also suggested he contact the photographer for a price on the cards.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Does he want the original Raw file? that's gonna cost him. Even if he just wants a higher res print quality file, it's gonna cost him somewhat, possibly... lol I mean, I would expect for an original file that a client would send an armored truck of cash to my house! not really, but wanting 'originals' of anything, is going to cost. Depends on what he's requesting from the photographer.

 

[smoke665]

Does he want the original Raw file?

I think all he wanted was a 4x6 image file and a release so that he could use that file to have Christmas Cards made. He's not a real technical person so I doubt that he asked for the original raw file.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Probably will depend then on what was initially contracted and what the photographer charges for further use.

Edit - I think for a photographer, once a file is provided to someone, there's probably no controlling what someone will do with the photo, that's why it gets costly. Not that your friend wants to do more than get Christmas cards made up, but a photographer may not know a client a that well to be sure how much or in what ways the photo might end up being used.

 

[KmH]

Since it's getting to be that time of the year, if a client (not commercial) had already paid you a significant amount for services and photo package, would you charge them for a 4x6 image file that could be used to order photo Christmas cards from someone else, and if so how much would be reasonable? Or, would you provide them an option for providing the cards? Again what would be a reasonable price?

A digital photograph file is only limited to being printed as a certain print size (4" x 6" in your case) by the print resolution (pixels per inch - ppi) used to make the print.
While you may assign a print resolution (pixels per inch - ppi), whoever you give the file to can easily change the ppi and make a much bigger print.

Put another way, the only way you can have any hope of limiting the size of a print is to set the image resolution (pixel dimensions).
Setting the image resolution to 1800 x 1200 would limit the print size to 4" x 6" if the ppi was set to 300 ppi by whoever is making, having, a print made.
Whoever has an 1800 x 1200 pixel print made though could change the PPI, to say 100 ppi, and have an 18" x 12" print made.

Which is why, from a business perspective, it is not a good business practice to give clients digital image files.