I'm new to selling my photos and I have someone who is interested in buying a source file from me. I don't even know where to begin as far as pricing something like this. It is a panorama of a local lime stone quarry. (it is about 6"x30" at 300dpi).
Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to rip the person off, or rip my self off (or lose out on the sale altogether because of a high price).
I don't give clients raw files or negatives . They either get a tiff , jpeg or a scan file . As far as how much try using a stock agency price calculator and go from there .
Are you selling the image, or licensing the image?
Have they indicated what they plan to do with it?
Once you release a full-resolution digital image, your future sales are typically lost. That's why the best option is to license it for a specific use, and/or number/size of prints.
e.g. I just licensed one of my images to a magainze, for a single use, in a specific issue. Any future use requires written permission, and potentially an additional fee. If they violate that agreement, they can speak to my lawyer. I make more on these license deals than I do selling a print of the image, and I've retained my ability to sell additional copies through my web site or when I participate in art shows.
Think about how much you would have earned on sales if this one purchase eliminated all future sales/earnings (how much would you potentially lose?)...I would probably multiply that figure by two to make it worth my while.
That's the thing Forrest. I'm not a professional, I'm an engineer who does photography as a hobby and I don't have a lawyer. I assume you need a lawyer to draft up the agreements and such.
The only time I sell something is if some one sees them and asks to buy it. (This is the first time I actively tried to sell a photo). In all honesty unless you own this building this isn't something I think most people would buy, so I would guess future sales would be $0.
Licensing does indeed seem like the way to go, but again I don't even know where to start with all the agreements and such.
Thanks for the help, I'll do more looking into this when I get home from work today.
jsc230 wrote:
That's the thing Forrest. I'm not a professional, I'm an engineer who does photography as a hobby and I don't have a lawyer. I assume you need a lawyer to draft up the agreements and such.
You don't NEED a lawyer to draft a simple agreement between two parties, though I'm sure they could throw some fancy jargon in there and charge you more than you would license the photo for. When you potentially NEED the lawyer is if they violate the agreement and you're taking them to court, which again could cost more than the licensing fee...so it's your call what to do IF they violate your agreement. Look on the internet (Google) for some templates of agreements and re-word accordingly. Just spell out the 'single use' and limit the 'number of prints' they're allowed to make. Doesn't have to be a ten page document...a simple paragraph or two will suffice.
Just because you're not a full-time pro (I'm not either) doesn't mean you shouldn't be compensated for your time and equipment.
Are they wanting to print it for their office wall? Use it in a brochure or advertisement? It's not clear why they want/need the digital image. They may not understand how large the image really is and may simply want to use it for wallpaper on their computer...you can re-size/crop to those dimensions and that would limit how large they could print it.
