Posted by Tammy Mellert on November 16, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Hello! I need some advice and opinion on an upcoming shoot I have. A friend of mine is a personal trainer and has written a book on being fit. She has asked me to shoot the cover image and come workout images to go inside. She has informed me that the contract she signed with the publisher requires that she has copyright of the images from the shoot. I know this is not nature based but a book shoot is a book shoot in my opinion. It is only the subject matter that changes.
Has anyone ever done this type of thing before? What do I charge for the copyright? Do I still need to charge an hourly rate for the shoot? I am the one who has to come up with the contract for this shoot and I am so confused on how to charge her for the shoot. I will make no money on the sale of this book and I am concerned about being ripped off. Also does this type of shoot have a shoot by shoot contract or can you have a contract that covers multiple shoots in one?
Please let me know if anyone can give me just a little advice on this. I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you
Tammy Mellert
TJ Reflections Photography
P.S. I have been reading some articles by photographers that state when they did the photography for a book cover that the contract came from the publisher to take the pictures.......this is giving me a complete migraine since I feel like I am being screwed!!
Hello Tammy,
This is a typical work for hire ploy commonly used these days. Friend or not,you should be compensated for the shooting as well as the usage. You can find typical usage fees at fotoquote or other sites via search.
I would also highly recommend John Harrington's book "Best Business Practices for Photographers" second edition and his blog, http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/
Hope this helps
Neil
Posted by Tammy Mellert on November 16, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Thank you for getting back to me on this. I put together an independant contractor agreement along with my price and sent it off to her just now. Wish me luck and thanks again for the advice.
I'm betting that if she checks with the publisher, a licensing agreement for use of the photo would suffice just fine. Purchasing copyrights is downright expensive, while licensing agreements specifying usage limits are probably much more in line with the book budget.
As for shooting fees, yeah, I would expect that. We charge an hourly rate for the shoot PLUS a licensing fee adjusted for the particular usage and term of service. Fotoquote will give you a range of fair market prices for most applications such as yours, along with guidance for you to use in negotiations.
I'm betting no matter what you sent, the publisher will come back to you saying it's too much. Don't consider it a rejection, rather look at it as the first counter offer in negotiations.
While waiting for that, buy yourself a copy of fotoquote. It's without a doubt the best single investment for anyone selling photos. We're continually surprised by it. Our offhand estimates of "the going rate" for a usage always come out way low, compared to the fair market prices around country presented in fotoquote. By using their numbers and negotiating advice, we always get more for our photos. In fact, our first usage of the program yielded a $7,500 2-year photo license when we had guessed the going rate was only about 20% of that. And yes, we got shooting fees on top of that.
Shows you what guessing will get you!!!!! Knowing fair market price for your photos is priceless, or in our case, 5X more valuable than we thought!
Discussion
3 repliesHas anyone ever done this type of thing before? What do I charge for the copyright? Do I still need to charge an hourly rate for the shoot? I am the one who has to come up with the contract for this shoot and I am so confused on how to charge her for the shoot. I will make no money on the sale of this book and I am concerned about being ripped off. Also does this type of shoot have a shoot by shoot contract or can you have a contract that covers multiple shoots in one?
Please let me know if anyone can give me just a little advice on this. I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you
Tammy Mellert
TJ Reflections Photography
P.S. I have been reading some articles by photographers that state when they did the photography for a book cover that the contract came from the publisher to take the pictures.......this is giving me a complete migraine since I feel like I am being screwed!!
This is a typical work for hire ploy commonly used these days. Friend or not,you should be compensated for the shooting as well as the usage. You can find typical usage fees at fotoquote or other sites via search.
I would also highly recommend John Harrington's book "Best Business Practices for Photographers" second edition and his blog, http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/
Hope this helps
Neil
Tammy
As for shooting fees, yeah, I would expect that. We charge an hourly rate for the shoot PLUS a licensing fee adjusted for the particular usage and term of service. Fotoquote will give you a range of fair market prices for most applications such as yours, along with guidance for you to use in negotiations.
I'm betting no matter what you sent, the publisher will come back to you saying it's too much. Don't consider it a rejection, rather look at it as the first counter offer in negotiations.
While waiting for that, buy yourself a copy of fotoquote. It's without a doubt the best single investment for anyone selling photos. We're continually surprised by it. Our offhand estimates of "the going rate" for a usage always come out way low, compared to the fair market prices around country presented in fotoquote. By using their numbers and negotiating advice, we always get more for our photos. In fact, our first usage of the program yielded a $7,500 2-year photo license when we had guessed the going rate was only about 20% of that. And yes, we got shooting fees on top of that.
Shows you what guessing will get you!!!!! Knowing fair market price for your photos is priceless, or in our case, 5X more valuable than we thought!