I have a local wedding venue requesting 4 of my images for a TV commercial, website use as well as "other advertising."
I just wanted to gather some opinions and experiences surrounding this. If it were just a simple "I'd like to throw a watermarked image on my website" I wouldn't be asking this, but because it is TV ad, I am a little apprehensive.
So, here's the question...
Do I have a Limited RIght to Use release drawn up and charge a fee?
Or do I just give them a few low res files and call it a day? I know that part comes down to personal opinion and I'd like to hear your thoughts. I love this venue, I enjoy taking pictures there and to top it off, I am getting married there next year. I don't want to burn any bridges, but I don't want to put myself in a position that allows my work to be taken advantage of.
I am certainly not going to ask the venue to give me a reception for free and I will add them to my preferred vendor list and throw their logo all over my site.
On another note, the couple is fine with it and I have a release from them. They also know that I would/could be charging the venue to use the images.
Do you think they're looking for a handout or they're prepared to pay a fee? If they're looking for a handout then it's certainly possible they'll just approach someone else instead of using your images. Definitely a situation to consider where you stand to benefit most from all this.
Really you should be able to charge a fee and still have a great relationship with them, but it really comes down to knowing who you're dealing with in my opinion. If they're doing a TV ad though, I'd think they're a well-enough-established business to be able to afford a fee and to expect it.
Four images isn't putting yourself in a position to be taken [unfair] advantage of. When it comes to vendors, wedding photos are a currency with a modest shelf life. There's virtually no resale value for most wedding photos. The value you can extract is mainly goodwill.
No harm asking what they typically expect to pay for TV rights -- they might come back with a standard rate, which would probably be fine. But if they say "er, nothing?" there's not much harm in saying, "well, I'm okay having my favorite wedding venue owe me one, so, sure."
As mentioned ^^, most wedding images have a fairly short shelf life. However, since it is a TV ad, the potential viewership is significantly larger.
If it were me, I'd respond that I'd be more than happy to furnish full-res images for their TV commercial with a carefully worded release (which hopefully has already been looked over by your attorney), in exchange for "images courtesy of Kegan Shattuck Photography" appearing in plain sight in their commercial. That's pretty standard quid pro quo. They might push back on that, but if you're a skilled negotiator, you shouldn't have any problem making it happen.
I'd also try to swing some sort of "preferred vendor" arrangement in exchange for your referrals and the potential use of your future images shot at their venue...
There is a venue in my city that uses my images in all their marketing materials. I never charged them a fee simply because I am at the top of their referral list. I have booked several weddings because of them. I have also sent them brides who have booked their venue. It's a win-win.
When you worry about making a few bux, you lose making a big chunk of $$
That's your ticket to having your photos show up on TV for FREE dude.
FREE!
Make sure each photo used has a "image courtesy of Kegan Shattock Photography" in a way that can be read easily by viewer. Add that in the contract, send them over.
Guys, you'll get nothing out of a caption in a TV ad and it would look terrible in a commercial anyways. The benefit to be gained is from them recommending you to their brides, not having your name seen in small text in a commercial. Let's be real.
TTLKurtis wrote:
Guys, you'll get nothing out of a caption in a TV ad and it would look terrible in a commercial anyways. The benefit to be gained is from them recommending you to their brides, not having your name seen in small text in a commercial. Let's be real.
Thank guys and gals. I am actually not looking to profit from these people. I am just looking to cover my a$$ and protect myself from them over using my photos. I take a limited number of weddings a year, so even if the TV commercial gave me 5 additional weddings a year, it wouldn't matter as I may have to turn them away.
I guess the conclusion is that I will have something written up and if they want to thank me by knocking off a few bucks from my wedding in May, well then that's fine with me. Thanks again
TTLKurtis wrote:
Guys, you'll get nothing out of a caption in a TV ad and it would look terrible in a commercial anyways. The benefit to be gained is from them recommending you to their brides, not having your name seen in small text in a commercial. Let's be real.
yup.
a situation like this is all about goodwill and having a venue like you even more (and possibly making a little bit from it as well)
