Negotiating an Image License, an Example

Digging around on A Photo Editor today I came across this example of an image license negotiation with a book publisher. Jess Dudley, a producer at Wonderful Machine, helped one of their photographers negotiate terms and prices.

It's a good nuts-and-bolts example of building and negotiating a license. If you're not licensing your images, you're leaving a ton of cash on the table.

Read. Learn. Reap the benefits!

Read the article here.

The Bottom Line

Photographer's Rights

I get this question every time I run my Business of Photography seminar at Vancouver Photo Workshops, and this article sums up the answer quite nicely.

A Few Tips for the Young Upstart...

What the hell is better on a rainy Wednesday afternoon than surfing photo biz sites and blogs? Through my virtual travels I came across this 6 part blog entry by Gregory Benson. It's a quick read of 'skim the surface' type tips regarding do's and don'ts of the business of photography. Good tidbits for new photographers and maybe a reminder or two for the more seasoned veteran. Sharing is caring...

Have a look. What else are you going to do... go outside?

Gettin' the Word Out

I wrapped another session of the Business of Photography seminar at Vancouver Photo Workshops last weekend. While the turnout wasn't huge, the attendees made up for it with their enthusiasm about the marketing, copyright and image licensing how-to material being presented, good on 'em.

Saturday afternoon was jam-packed with excitement as guest speakers Robert Karpa (of Venturi + Karpa fame) and Lisa Reddekopp (our insurance guru from Coast Capital) took over the big chair for their respective presentations; Robert on his approach to social media marketing and Lisa on, you guessed it, the ins and outs of insurance! Thanks again to both for their time & knowledge contribution.

As the seminar wound down I was presented with a Thank You card from the attendees, containing hand-written notes of appreciation from each attendee as well as a Starbuck's coffee card! I was a little touched, truth be told! What a great gesture, first time that's happened since the inception of this course over a year ago. Damn big of all of them!

Time to practice what I've been preaching. New promo imminent!

Stay tuned, it's gonna get interesting...

Professional Responsibilities

Recently I was asked to quote a project for a local restaurant; interiors & cuisine images for use on their website. I submitted my numbers and was informed that I was a bit higher than they're expecting to pay. No big deal, I responded that I was willing to negotiate. Their response (after a followup email from me a week later as to whether they still wanted/needed photography) was "There is a student photographer who works here who will shoot it for free.".

Now, I'm of a mind that we as photographers are ALL responsible for educating our clients. The email I drafted & sent:


Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, free is difficult to pass up, but free has underlying costs that can run pretty deep.

Having been to XXXX and experienced the room (it's great, as is the food!), I hope your student photographer has a firm grasp on balancing different light temperatures and perspective control, not to mention preparing files for web and print. Top that off with consistently carrying the same image feel through from the interiors to the cuisine images. Prospective customers may wonder about the restaurant's attention to detail with food in the kitchen if they're viewing substandard photography on the website. It's quite a gamble, sinking all that money into something, then trusting the restaurant's primary web and print representation to a student. Don't get me wrong, I love a great deal too. We all do. Bear in mind you get what you pay for and the first taste is with the eyes... even on line.

Best of luck,
Dan



I posted this question (would you respond) to a few photographers in this market and received 'just leave it alone' suggestions. My response to that:



Thanks for the reply, appreciate your time & opinion.

I'm of a mind that all professional photographers must take it upon themselves to educate clients on the value of photography. Apathy just promotes acceptance of substandard work. Often, the client just doesn't know any better.

If the client is just cheap then they'll get exactly the photography they deserve. If they're naive however, and a letter gives them pause to think about the value of photography to them and their business, that's a step in the right direction... understanding the value of photography and the advantage to contracting a professional, no?

Best,
Dan

I'd also sent this to photographers in other markets. The responses from them were in the "Excellent response! Send it now!" vein. Imagine that.

It drives me crazy when photographers say things like, "That won't work here (local market)" or  "That's not the way it's done" or "It's standard to wait 90 days...". The reason this is the case is because we as photographers LET IT HAPPEN.

Be the change you'd like to see.