How to price a CD of the unfinished images

I am doing a favor for a friend. I am photographing 12 models for his website. It will take about 4 hours and I am doing the photography for free, and just charging him 15 dolllars for each finished, edited image he wants to use on his website. He wants 2 images of each girl, so the total cost would be about 360 dollars. Not a lot of money, but as I said it's a favor. So now he says he wants ALL the images, unfinished and the finished ones I retouch that he selects. I am wondering how I should price this, or should I just give it to him. I am just afraid if he likes the unfinished images enough he may just say skip the retouching and give me those.

Not to comment on pricing as your prices are low enough that you probably need to decide that for yourself. But why are you considering releasing unfinished work at all?

Well it's not unfinished. I typically provide a viewing gallery of the images, color corrected, sharpened, minor retouching. But the finals will have a full retouch...creative editing, skin smoothing,etc. So it's not unfinished, I go an extra step with the finals he selects and wants to purchase.

Sounds more like a - Slaver instead of a Favor deal as it continues.

Doing favors for friends who intend to make money off of your effort, always end up biting the hand that helps out.

Well, he has a budget, I agreed to do it,and I kind of want to do it, I am dead this month and it will be good port work with 12 different models. He would probably look elsewhere it cost much more. I just don't know how to handle the unfinished images

USER876 wrote in post #11624486
Well, he has a budget, I agreed to do it,and I kind of want to do it, I am dead this month and it will be good port work with 12 different models. He would probably look elsewhere it cost much more. I just don't know how to handle the unfinished images

I still dont understand the issue. You've agreed to a certain number of images to meet his budget. Why are you offering more images, for even less money than the agreed amount?

If people always get what they want, there's no reason for them to by more.

By him wanting all the other files, at the already agreed price, he has just, undervalued your work, or your friendship, possible both.

Friends like that, one can never afford to keep!

Releasing unfinished images will be a reflection on your work by everyone who sees them. Not everyone is going to know they're not your best work.

I am not. He told me he assumed he would get the unfinished images as well. So I am trying to come with a fair way to package them to him (for both of us)

USER876 wrote in post #11624566
I am not. He told me he assumed he would get the unfinished images as well. So I am trying to come with a fair way to package them to him (for both of us)

What he assumed, really is his issue. I can see where you would want to accommodate him, but not by releasing less than your best work for laughable prices.

Seriously... I understand his point of veiw, that he would get all the images to peruse and see if he might want to use more later or do whatever with, but you put at risk your entire reputation if you release images that are not finished.

You need to make him understand this point of view. Perhaps suggest a compromise where he can come over and look through the stuff sometime, and then make requests for any other shots that he likes the looks of, and you can then finish those as well.

The only other fair alternative is to simply charge him $15 for every shot he wants, finished or not.

You already have your answer as to amount for charge, by your own price.
If you will be worth your salt on any table, you will never let unfinished work into circulation.

The unfinished images you give him will already by your words, have been developed ( ie, color corrected, minor retouching... )

In the short run your looking for someone here to say go for it, but your not going to find any who full time photog, say give it away.
Your retouched files you are giving them are already cheep enough. Now he want more for less, so he can retouch them and again make money off of your effort.

The deeper the hole gets, the less light you will see, while they are dinning on the veranda.

USER876 wrote in post #11624566
I am not. He told me he assumed he would get the unfinished images as well. So I am trying to come with a fair way to package them to him (for both of us)

Can you not just package all the other unused images in on the disc at a lower resolution? so they couldn't be used for anything else.. That way if he wants others he has to come back to you with the filenames and you can edit and charge for them.

If you're original agreement is to give him 2 images of each person, why are you going to change the terms then? If he wants to change the terms, then he should pay full price, and not get a discount (like he is), IMO.

I find it kind of strange that the photographer would choose the final images without any input from the client.

Normally I'd go through all the images from the shoot, toss the clearly bad shots in the trash, lightly edit all the rest and produce a thumbnail disk for proofing, with the images watermarked. Then the client can review everything and choose the specific files they wish to use. I wouldn't charge anything for the proofing disk.

That way you are only doing the more complete finishing on the files they have chosen. At the same time, by doing this you aren't providing them with a bunch of unretouched RAWs that they might do whatever they wish with.