Advice Required about selling a photo

[raztazor]

I have recently published a photo called "Portrait of Hands" http://www.andrewor.com/2005/02/portrait-with-hands.html and have been approached with regards to selling it. The potential buyer is asking "Is it available and how much would it cost?"

Does anyone have any advice as to how I show handle this? I am of course keen to sell it! Also, what do you think I should charge for it?

[robertwgross]

You need to establish whether you are selling one photo print, and of what size, or whether you are selling or licensing rights to the image file, perhaps for some commercial purpose. If it is the latter, then you need to establish the exact purpose and whether it is single-time right or continuing-period right. Maybe they want to purchase the entire exclusive right to the image file, but that would be unusual.

---Bob Gross---

[raztazor]

Bob, Thanks. The buyer is a company and they are looking for image to 'use'. I expect they intend to use the image commerically. I will sell it as a royalty free digital file and retain copyright. That way they use it as many times as they want. Also I will consider offering to sell exclusive rights for a much higher price.

I think I just need to figure out a price and find a sample licence to use.

[w10d]

Bob, Thanks. The buyer is a company and they are looking for image to 'use'. I expect they intend to use the image commerically. I will sell it as a royalty free digital file and retain copyright. That way they use it as many times as they want. Also I will consider offering to sell exclusive rights for a much higher price.

I think I just need to figure out a price and find a sample licence to use.

Be wary of RF, the company are most likely willing to pay a reasonable rate for the usage they want, giving them RF means they'll be able to use it for any purpose & for as long as they want. Believe me, I've had several jobs this year where a client has decided to buy exra rights usage after the job was commissioned: Magazine covers used in store - shop window graphics turned into magazine ads, etc. The money from that has equalled & even tripled the original fee. In general RF has been bad news for photographers & is going to cause them a lot of harm in the long term.

Please don't take this the wrong way, because it is a really good image, but, it won't be that hard to find a hand shot in this style in a library, and even as RF. So, they really want YOUR image: Have faith in it & get a decent fee for it's use.

[raztazor]

w10D, thanks for the pro advice here. I had no idea that RF was frowned upon by some professionals. I will definitely take this advice onboard and see what I can manage to achieve.

[w10d]

I could go on at length about RF, even though it hasn't had a direct impact on my income.... but I'll just pass on a story from another photographer, he was working on a shoot with an Art Director from an Ad Agency. The subject of RF came up & the AD said "I can't believe how stupid photographers have been, why have they done it to themselves? I can't even commission photogrpahers to shoot lifestyle anymore - my clients know about the quality of RF material these days & insist I find RF for them."

Anyway,good luck.

[IndyJeff]

Anything sold Royalty Free should just be given away, not sold. Basically that is what your doing anyway so why bring money into the picture.

Think of it this way, they use the image in an ad. That image becomes synonomus [sic?] with their product and becomes part of their packaging label. Now they begin to market nationally and internationally. The ad is everywhere, billboards, sides of buses, taxi cab signs, bus stop waiting benches, TV I mean everywhere. Too bad you sold it RF for $300 when the billboards alone would have brount in 10 times that much.

So by going RF you lost out on the packaging, billboards, TV, bus & cab signage. We are talking probably about as much money as most of us make in a year, off 1 photo!!!!!

There was a thread on SS not long ago about extra sales. One guy posted that is extra sales was something in the $40,000 range last year. Think RF is a selling point? You bet your life it is. One the buyer would love to hear.