Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hi tpmg community. I need your advice.

I was contacted on flickr, that a known company (rather not say who) in the gta, wants to buy a photo of mine. I've never sold any photo's before. So is there anything i need to know, or beware of? Do i need to make a contract, or would that be the responsibility of the other party?

I think they only want one photo, but i'll show them my whole set. How much should i charge them for the right to use my photo?

I'm not going to post the photo, but fyi, its a landscape photo.

Anyways, advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

First of all, congrats.

It all depends on how the image is going to be used ie:

-Type of media ie web, billboard, calendar, newsprint, magazine, TV, catalog etc?
-Circulation ie domestic, international?
-Do they want to buy the image outright from you or lease it?
-If leasing, what is the duration of use ie one week, a year, longer?
-Edited or RAW image?

More than likely they will require you to send them an invoice with the full disclaimer defining the use of the image(s) on your company's letterhead before they cut you a cheque. Get them to send you back a signed copy of the disclaimer.

I make a contract that I get agreement with, usually just by email, although I'm not sure how binding it is it is a start. I then include a copy of the restrictions/rights along with an invoice. The restrictions/rights that says what the image is for and limited to be used in. If it's just Web then it's a certain price, if it's going to be printed it's more, if it's going to be reproduced further it's even more and if they want exclusive rights to it that's a much higher price. Unless the image is bought outright I always state that "the photographer retains the right to use the image as he desires in perpetuity."

And congrats! It's very flattering when it first happens, enjoy the feeling.

Hi, thanks for the replies, ions, and Carlton. Some one suggested using getty images. I'm not good with words, especially putting them down on paper. So making a contract on my part is hard for me.

I'm not too concerned about the money aspect. If i make few dollars here and there, i'm ok with that.

What do you think of using getty images?

I refused Getty's terms. They lock your images up so you can't sell them elsewhere even if they haven't managed to sell them. In addition, Getty would pay me so much less that all I have to do is sell one image myself and I've made the same amount, or likely more, than what they would make me. If it's only very casual for you and you can't be bothered Getty does manage it all for you. It's a casual thing for me but I can be a stickler about my stuff and don't mind doing it for the bit of money it makes me.

Yeah, most likely casual, as i don't see myself making any crazy amounts of money off my photo's. I'll do more research on getty.

Thanks again.

It's pretty easy to do it yourself after you have done the first time it's even easier to do it the second time.

Start out asking the potential client a few question:

What is it going to be used in? Is it for web or print use? How big and at what resolution do they want it? Is it for one time use or for repeated re-use?
Price it considering the answers and the intended use. Then send them back a quote that includes a license for the intended use.

Hoping that it's ok to include this on this thread as it's related.

What do you folks feel is appropriate in terms of financial magnitude (next to nothing, couple hundred bucks, few hundred, etc) for licensing an image to be used on the back of a business card for an employee of a business? We're obviously talking print and I'm guessing a run of 1,000 - 5,000 business cards. I had such a request come in, and of course the person requesting to use the image wants it for free, but I'm planning on responding with an offer that includes compensation.

fotoQuote Pro 6 is a great tool for these types of things. I would google "free fotoQuote alternatives" to see if anything pops up.