What to do?

[clos]

I am currently going through the transformation from amateur photographer to charging for prints. I have a few question I am hoping this board can help me.

My wifes side of the family have a few profesional artists (painting and print making) in the clan and always advise me to ever give my work away for free.

I took some pictures at a cousin dinner to celebrate my cousin getting married. I took a portrait of the gests including the "happy couple".

I have not shown the picture to anyone but after seeing another picture I took of her family the mother of my cousins fiance wants to know if I have a picture of the "happy couple" that she could add to her album.

Here are my questions:

1. Should I charge her for the prints? My guess is yes.

2. I feel uncomfortable selling the picture to anyone but the subject (at least for portraits), is this ethical, proper?

3. Should I get permission from the "happy couple"?

4. Should I just say "No".

Any additional gotchas, advice or familiar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

-Clos

[Tom W]

I am currently going through the transformation from amateur photographer to charging for prints. I have a few question I am hoping this board can help me.

My wifes side of the family have a few profesional artists (painting and print making) in the clan and always advise me to ever give my work away for free.

I took some pictures at a cousin dinner to celebrate my cousin getting married. I took a portrait of the gests including the "happy couple".

I have not shown the picture to anyone but after seeing another picture I took of her family the mother of my cousins fiance wants to know if I have a picture of the "happy couple" that she could add to her album.

Here are my questions:

1. Should I charge her for the prints? My guess is yes.

2. I feel uncomfortable selling the picture to anyone but the subject (at least for portraits), is this ethical, proper?

3. Should I get permission from the "happy couple"?

4. Should I just say "No".

Any additional gotchas, advice or familiar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

-Clos

In most cases, unless agreed to in advance, its hard to charge a relative for anything. Give her a small photo. They're cheap.

Granted, she's a distant relative, but blood is thicker than money.

If she wants an enlargement, then charge her, since enlargements aren't cheap.

[Vegas Poboy]

I would agree with Tom if no formal agreement was made on services and a fee keep the love and learn from the lesson. Try to keep it simple when charging family even with the reprints.
But try to come up with a set of prices for the next family member who wants a photographer.
Just to tell you how bad it can get my sister paid for me to travel from Vegas to Minn... to do her wedding. I did it and paid for the processing and enlargements & even sent them out to other family members & I was told I invaded her privacy by doing that. So that was a big rip in the family for a couple of years. So be careful when working with family.

[clos]

No arangement was made but keep in mind this is the first communication.

My philosophy is double fold with family...if you give your work away for free your work will be labeled as having no value...just another snapshot from another family member. If I want to be taken seriously I need to act the part...especialy with newer distant family members.

Hmmm, I think I answered question number one but....

2. I feel uncomfortable selling the picture to anyone but the subject (at least for portraits), is this ethical, proper?

3. Should I get permission from the "happy couple"?

4. Should I just say "No".

Help please.

-Clos

[rick barclay]

This is for the mother of your cousin's fiance.

I wouldn't consider her a close enough of a relative to give her prints
that will cost me money to produce.

I would explain to her the costs of producing the prints and ask her to
reimburse me for those costs, which should be much lower than those
for which a professional photographer would charge.

[Pekka]

As always when giving something you must ask yourself "do I want to give and share this with person x?". The answer to that, from your conscience, is the answer to your questions. Giving should be effortless and should get both you and the receiving end a good feeling about it.

I give away lots of photos and services for free, but only for people I care for, or people who I feel good about. If I sense that I'm being "used" or my good will is taken advantage of I will either stop or charge double next time.

[Man-Fai Wong]

I'm just an amateur, but I can forsee running into the same kinds of situations.

I'd agree w/ Tom and Pekka on this -- I think they essentially said the same things in different ways. How exactly you want your relationship w/ your cousin's future mother-in-law is really up to you -- and that can certainly have an effect on your own relationship w/ your cousin, if nothing else, so at the very least be cordial, if firm.

I'd add that generally if you feel all that uncomfortable about something, then you probably shouldn't do it. In this case, I think you simply should talk to the couple first before agreeing to anything (whether free or not) w/ your cousin's future mother-in-law. Who knows? Like Vegas pointed out, you really don't know how the couple will feel about it if you don't ask them first -- even aside from the ethics involved.

As to ethics (and legality issues), I'm not sure, but I would think that you need permission/release from the subjects if you're gonna distribute photos of them taken in private functions/settings. That's my understanding from discussions I've seen in the past.

Actually, since you want to turn pro and want this whole experience to reflect that fact (ie. how your relatives view your work), you should probably use your discussion w/ the couple to help establish yourself as a professional person. Don't just think in terms of the $$$ for the prints. Work out a release form, even if it's a simple one, and let them know where you're coming from. It might just be a great opp for you to impress upon your relatives about your aspirations and work both through your words and your professionalism in handling this. And all sides may benefit greatly in future experiences, including having more work opps through word-of-mouth.

Regards,

_Man_

[Yance]

Make sure you separate your professional photography from your photography for fun. Obviously when you take a camera to a family event you are not thinking of making money selling prints. That would be seriously crass. You either have a choice of not taking the camera or giving away snapshots. I don't think that you took a studio kit to the dinner to make a formal portrait, it was more of a casual snapshot? In the future if you have to take a camera, don't take your pro SLR. Just take a simple point and shoot. Occasionally if a relative asks for an enlargement, then make one but just charge them cost and tell them that.

I can't imagine the subjects would get upset that you gave a copy of the pic to the future mother in law but in that case you should give a copy to the couple too. This is more of a Miss Manners question than photography related IMHO. Small reprints are cheap so a few cents aren't going to make you broke, just don't be afraid to nicely draw the line when everyone in the family wants a copy. The best way to handle it without being hostile is give a noncommital promise to get a copy to an asker when you "have the time". After waiting long enough most people will forget or give up on asking for future prints.