I Need Advice - BIG Time!

[HighPlainsDox]

Today, I got an inquiry about one of my photos - by the graphic designer of a major publisher. He wants to use it on the cover of one or more of their books.

I've never sold any photo to anybody before, and never even considered it seriously. I have a 6.4 meg .tif of the photo he wants, as well as the 35mm negative - and I do not want to part with the negative.

I need some direction with legalities and what my stance should be. I'm dumber than a sled track with this stuff. This is not a done deal, but a serious inquiry by this guy. I checked him out, and it's for real. All the contact info he left me is legit.

Help me out here, guys. The very thought of this makes my heart go pitter-patter.

TIA....
-Dox

[AndrewSA]

the price should depend on the usage. Also, before you get into all that you might want to ask the digital specs they need. A 6.4 meg file is not very big file for some printing purposes. If they need it for a web based application, you might be okay with the current file.
As far as giving them a quote, a general basis for negotiation could be to just register at gettyimages.com and pick any photograph that in NOT royalty free and click on the calculate price. It will ask you to select things such as how long will the image be used for, what kind of advertising, territories viewed, etc. These are all things that determine price to licensing images for advertising.

[Elsaspet]

My suggestion is that you hook up with someone who does this for a living, such as DPBailey (David Bailey). He'll take a commission, but he'll do all the fighting for you too, and he'll know what the fair price value is. Go to the pros on this one, or you might get hammered.

[suzyjazz]

I can't offer any advice, but I want to offer my congratulations!

[Russell]

Swinglight is right. That file seems too small - especially for a Tif file. You may want to tote the negative over to Hertner's and have them make a color corrected scan and put it on a CD. I always make scans around 5000 pixels on the longest side and then resize to the dimensions the client requests. Then you can keep the CD as the original scan and send out copies based on the size they need.

As far as price, you need to ask a few questions:

1. What is the press run (how many copies will they initially print)?

2. Make sure the contract stipulates one-time rights, if not, ask why.

3. Find out if they plan to issue re-prints of each book.

That's for starters.

By no means should you give the photo away just to see it in print. If they think it has value enough to adorn the cover of one of their books, then by all means, charge.

For example, the cover of a 2000 print run book (according to PhotoQuote) should fetch between $315 and $630 for a one-time, non exclusive rights for EACH book the image appears on. Any time they reprint, they should pay a licensing fee again. For reprints, I always try to negotiate at least 50% of the original license.

Negotiating is tough and can be intimidating. Many times I'll simply ask the other party how much they want to pay. If they balk, hit them with the highest number and negotiate your price down. It is infinitely easier to negotiate down than to try to go up.

I don't want to step on your toes by asking this but I'd be happy to look at the contract if you'd like. If you'd feel more comfortable keeping the client anonymous, simply make a copy, black out the relevant contact info, and fire it to me.

Contact me at russell@russellgraves.com if you'd like.

Good luck and stand strong on the negotiations!

-Russell

[HighPlainsDox]

Originally Posted by suzyjazz

I can't offer any advice, but I want to offer my congratulations!

Thank you, Suzy. Even if it falls through, it is absolutely AWESOME that one of the big dogs has taken notice of my photos! I'm stunned. That alone means alot to me.

[HighPlainsDox]

Originally Posted by Russell

Swinglight is right. That file seems too small - especially for a Tif file. You may want to tote the negative over to Hertner's and have them make a color corrected scan and put it on a CD. I always make scans around 5000 pixels on the longest side and then rezise to the dimensions the client requests. Then you cna keep the CD as the original scan and send out copies based on the size they need.

Thanks, Russell. I've heard that I can also have negatives copied. Is this anything I should consider?

[Russell]

You can have negatives copied but I think I would opt for a scan. Does the client know that the original is a negative?

Not that it is necessarily a deal breaker but publishers typically want transparencies.

If the issue hasn't came up as to the original media, then I'd just tell them that you'll deliver a digital copy. Hertner's can scan the original, convert it to a color image instead of a negative, and then color correct it. I am not sure of what kind of scanners they use but they should be able to remove any scratches or dust from the original pretty easy. I have a Nikon Coolscan 8000 with Digital Ice 3 and it does wonders on less than perfect originals.

Hope that helps.

-Russell

[HighPlainsDox]

Originally Posted by Elsaspet

My suggestion is that you hook up with someone who does this for a living, such as DPBailey (David Bailey). He'll take a commission, but he'll do all the fighting for you too, and he'll know what the fair price value is. Go to the pros on this one, or you might get hammered.

That's exactly why I'm asking questions. Thanks.

[HighPlainsDox]

Originally Posted by Russell

You can have negatives copied but I think I would opt for a scan. Does the client know that the original is a negative?

I would think so. The photo he saw was in my PBase galleries. I make no bones that I shoot 35mm film. I will keep that in mind. My thoughts are that the negative is the only real proof that it's my work.

Hertner's can scan the original, convert it to a color image instead of a negative, and then color correct it. I am not sure of what kind of scanners they use but they should be able to remove any scratches or dust from the original pretty easy.

Hope that helps.

It helps alot...thanks!

[Russell]

Originally Posted by HighPlainsDox

My thoughts are that the negative is the only real proof that it's my work.

The proof shouldn't be much of an issue. I license around 500 images a year and never get asked for proof that I took an image.

[AndrewSA]

Russell,
side note, do you like using fotoquote? I'm thinking about getting it, I've just been using the stock photo sites for a base for usage. How much is the fotoquote software?

Originally Posted by Russell

For example, the cover of a 2000 print run book (according to PhotoQuote) should fetch between $315 and $630 for a one-time, non exclusive rights for EACH book the image appears on. Any time they reprint, they should pay a licensing fee again. For reprints, I always try to negotiate at least 50% of the original license.
-Russell

[HighPlainsDox]

Originally Posted by Russell

The proof shouldn't be much of an issue. I license around 500 images a year and never get asked for proof that I took an image.

I was thinking more of down the road, if a question ever came up that it was/wasn't mine. If someone had a copy of the negative, it would be their word against mine.

[Russell]

That's why it's best to keep the original negative and send out a scan. But I'd be surprised if anyone ever questioned the originality of the image.

Thanks,

Russell

[Russell]

Originally Posted by swinglight

, do you like using fotoquote?

I do like FotoQuote. It's great for giving me a starting point for a ton of different uses.

The price is $139.95 and I feel like it's paid for itself over and again. Check out www.fotoquote.com for more info.

By the way, I checked out your website - great stuff!

Thanks,

Russell