sandpiper wrote in post #11508218
Well, what did you agree with the client?
You can embed your details in the exif if you wish, but not visibly watermark the image for publication. As for selling to other publications, that isn't normally done with such commercial work, although could be discussed with the client.
Unless you specifically sign over the copyright, that will remain with you,
however extra fees would normally only come from selling further usage rights to the client. If your initial contract states that he has usage rights for those two publications, then any further publication later would be negotiated again for an extra fee. If you didn't spell out what the usage licence was for, then they may assume they have the right to use it as they wish and you will have a hard time proving otherwise if you don't have it written in the contract.
We can't help you with who can do what with the images, that comes down to what is in the contract between you and your client.
All this is correct... Except the bolded part may or may not be true. A photographer I know shot an assignment for an airplane manufacturer/lessor. It was the most expensive shoot he'd ever done. It cost the client well into six figures to get the shot, and that didn't count taking a dozen aircraft out of service for two days (at $2500 an hour apiece), to use in the shot.
You would think this would be a one time thing and that the photographer might as well sign over all rights to the client, since they would have limited use. However he later sold the image several times as stock, to other clients, after Photoshopping the logos out of the image.
OP, look into licensing contracts. Your client will probably want some exclusivity for a while, and might want to put a restriction on that the image can't be sold to known competitors for their use, or similar.
By licensing only what the client needs, you help them keep their costs down. Selling full rights (transfer of copyright), should be ultra expensive. A lot of photographers who haven't done their homework literally give away their rights, just because they can't predict further usage of the image in the future. But it's often the unexpected future usage that's most worthwhle... so hang onto your rights, license your client the usage and protections they need right now, so they only have to pay for that, and perhaps give them a right to reuse at a discount in the near future, if they wish. It sounds as if this is a prototype item, which they probably have a lot invested in and no income from, so they are likely on a tight budget with it.
I always embed the terms of licensing in the EXIF, too. If providind a CD/DVD, it can be a good idea to make up a simple README.txt file with the details of licensing, too, and put that on the disk with the image(s). If you wish, a PDF of the original license and job contract might be put on the disk, too.
Normally for commercial photography you would only watermark the proofs, during the selection process. This is so that unfinished images are not accidentally used, as much as it is to protect them from theft.
Once the images are finalized for their purposes, do not watermark or sign them in any way. Nor is a "photo credit" normally given for this type of use, unless it's a photo for a press release that will appear in magazines, newspapers or online publications. If they are dangling a "photo credit" as part of your reward and compensation, forget about it... Only you and your mother are likely to even notice and read a credit... and you can't pay the mortgage or fill your car's gas tank with a pile of photo credits.
