Picking up where another photographer dropped the ball

A good friend of mine, who married 4 year ago, has approached me for help. It seems that, following his wedding, he got into an argument with the wedding photographer. The ultimate resolution was that my friend wound up with the negatives and professionally prepared scans, but no prints or edits.

He has asked that I step in and supply the post.

I haven't a clue what to charge for this. The fact that he is a friend is immaterial. He will pay "full fare" -- but I have not idea what to charge.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Agree an hourly rate for pp, then give him an estimate of the hours you think it will take to go through the scans.
As for prints, either point him in the direction of a pro lab armed with a cd of edited files, or put an album together for them, again after setting a budget.
Must have been some bust up for the hired 'tog to walk away...

bildeb0rg wrote in post #5963108
Agree an hourly rate for pp, then give him an estimate of the hours you think it will take to go through the scans.
As for prints, either point him in the direction of a pro lab armed with a cd of edited files, or put an album together for them, again after setting a budget.
Must have been some bust up for the hired 'tog to walk away...

Well, the shooter they hired way overpromised and underdelivered. The shots are gonna take a ton of work -- at least in my estimation.

You need a release/license from the original photographer to make reprints from their negs and scans. Otherwise it's a copyright infringement.

Your friend might have this permission in writing already. Be sure to check before you do anything. If he doesn't have it, he should contact the photographer and get it. He has leverage, since they failed to deliver as promised (I am assuming under the terms of a written contract).

I charge $37.50 an hour for that sort of post-processing work (that's based on half my hourly shooting rate).

What I'd do is a "rough edit" of the images to make small prints from, that can be proofed to your friend so they can select the specific ones they'd like to have enlarged and printed. That would be the most efficient way of handling it, I think.

amfoto1 wrote in post #5964240
You need a release/license from the original photographer to make reprints from their negs and scans. Otherwise it's a copyright infringement.

Your friend might have this permission in writing already. Be sure to check before you do anything. If he doesn't have it, he should contact the photographer and get it. He has leverage, since they failed to deliver as promised (I am assuming under the terms of a written contract).

I charge $37.50 an hour for that sort of post-processing work (that's based on half my hourly shooting rate).

What I'd do is a "rough edit" of the images to make small prints from, that can be proofed to your friend so they can select the specific ones they'd like to have enlarged and printed. That would be the most efficient way of handling it, I think.

They have the release.

That sounds fair. I might set it at a flat rate of $150, since this will be something of a learn by doing affair, and they shouldn't have to pay for my education.

mattograph wrote in post #5964273
They have the release.

That sounds fair. I might set it at a flat rate of $150, since this will be something of a learn by doing affair, and they shouldn't have to pay for my education.

I'd be careful with that. Granted, if they are really good friends it may be moot. I'd still suggest an hourly rate, and then you can just charge them a fair rate of what you feel was work vs your learning curve. Maybe a flat fee to scan everything in to make proofs. As stated, that will give you a far better gauge to run off

randomlinh wrote in post #5965132
I'd be careful with that. Granted, if they are really good friends it may be moot. I'd still suggest an hourly rate, and then you can just charge them a fair rate of what you feel was work vs your learning curve. Maybe a flat fee to scan everything in to make proofs. As stated, that will give you a far better gauge to run off

Good point. Maybe I will charge full boat, and then offer a good will discount at the end, depending on how things go.

The scans were all done professionally (local color lab), and are first rate quality.

I just have to do the sorts, quick edits, presentations, and go to print for them.

Compromise, look through the scans, find 5 average images, and PP them. Use this as the estimated time for the balance. As you learn your time will come down and if they are paying you hourly your price reduces. If you feel like you could have done the work in less time when you are done, offer a volume discount.

bwolford wrote in post #5965558
Compromise, look through the scans, find 5 average images, and PP them. Use this as the estimated time for the balance. As you learn your time will come down and if they are paying you hourly your price reduces. If you feel like you could have done the work in less time when you are done, offer a volume discount.

Good idea. Thanks!