Selling copyright ?

[colinrayner]

I recently did a portrait session for a family. They were pleased and ordered a number of prints. They're now asking about the possibility of having all the images on a CD - full resolution.
What's the general situation with this ? Obviously I don't want to give them everything, otherwise I won't make anything on future reprints. What about a financial arrangement for handing over the lot ?

Any advice appreciated.

Colin.

 

[Big Mike]

Selling digital files (and the right to make prints/copies) is becoming (has become) very popular. It's a digital world and clients want a digital product.

The common advice is to estimate how much profit you would expect to make on reprint orders and charge that much for the files.

A lot of photographers build the price into the initial fee and then include the files as part of the package.

Some photographers don't sell prints at all, just the files. Of course, there is a downside to this...and that is that you don't have control over the final product. They might print your images on their home printer, on cheap copy paper and then display the terrible looking photo.
I have often give clients a set of 4x6 prints, along with their files, so that they know the photos will look good if printed at a good lab.

 

[tirediron]

I recently did a portrait session for a family. They were pleased and ordered a number of prints. They're now asking about the possibility of having all the images on a CD - full resolution.
What's the general situation with this ? Obviously I don't want to give them everything, otherwise I won't make anything on future reprints. What about a financial arrangement for handing over the lot ?

Any advice appreciated.

Colin.

Generally when doing family portraits, the right of the client to have/make as many prints as he/she/they want is part of the price. You, as the photographer, retain the copyright, but unless you're a print-lab as well, reprints aren't an area in which you should expect to make money.

 

[williehogan]

Things have changed since digital has come about. People want digital files. Ten years ago prints would be fine but today just go ahead and sell them a dvd and be done with it. NEVER sell copyright though. Give them a limited use license. Make sure to price the dvd the price that you would expect to make off of prints if it were ten years ago then you won't be losing money.