How much to charge for photos?

[whatami]

My wife and I got married a couple of months ago in Las Vegas. We had the reception at a restaurant off the strip. The rest. is trying to get more of this type of business and has offered to buy some of our reception photos (the photographer we used sold the masters and CD to us, so our understanding is that they are ours to do with as we wish, although I have sent him an e-mail to make sure). Many of them show the whole room, or nice pics of the food (something you might see on a menu), shots of the guy singing… etc.

So my question is: Does anyone know what the going rate per photo might be? $10, $20, $50??? They haven’t offered anything and I think they’re waiting for us to name a price. I don’t want to rob them, but at the same time I’d like to get something… after all, we had to pay for the photographer.

[Santo_Rugger]

Find out how much you paid per photo. Double it.

[whatami]

@Pygmy Rugger

Find out how much you paid per photo. Double it.

Well, the guy took almost 480 photos in 2.5 hours. That’s what a lot of them do now with digital… just keep snapping. Then they throw it on a disk and give it to us. I’m not saying he didn’t earn it, just that per photo, it was something like $.60. That seems awfully cheap.

Maybe I’ll just ask them to comp us a dinner and drinks next time we’re down there… The wings they had kicked ass.

[LiveOnAPlane]

@whatami

…

Maybe I’ll just ask them to comp us a dinner and drinks next time we’re down there… The wings they had kicked ass.

Just personally speaking, I would definitely go with this. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Oh, yeah. If they are gonna put the pics in a brochure or something, I’d also ask for some of those free. Could be a nice conversation piece 40 or so years from now!

Seriously, best wishes for a looooooonnnnng and very happy marriage!!!

[Telemark]

I charge 40-50 for a single shot, I may cut a deal if someone buys more. But I take the photos myself.

Most photographers DON’T give you the right to sell the photos they took. Unless they specifically told you that in writing, I would expect that you cannot sell them to the restaurant. The photographer reserves the copyright for himself, especially for commercial use.

[Santo_Rugger]

@whatami

Well, the guy took almost 480 photos in 2.5 hours. That’s what a lot of them do now with digital… just keep snapping. Then they throw it on a disk and give it to us. I’m not saying he didn’t earn it, just that per photo, it was something like $.60. That seems awfully cheap.

Maybe I’ll just ask them to comp us a dinner and drinks next time we’re down there… The wings they had kicked ass.

In that case, instead of dividing by 480, divide by how many of the pictures you actually printed out for your album.

Or, get yourself some kick ass wings!

[Rhythmdvl]

I forwarded this thread to Mrs. Dvl to get her thoughts. In addition to being a professional graphic designer (freelance), she writes a column on stock photography. Here’s what she had to say:

@Mrs.Dvl

Let’s start with some background: 1) Getty Images and Corbis license photos to their customers—non-exclusively—at rates starting at $150 and well into thousands of dollars. Lower-cost images ($5 each) are also available, but none of the commercial alternatives open to the restaurant will be specific to this business. 2) If the restaurant were to hire their own photog, they’d pay a minimum of $5,000 or so—again, there are choices, but a pro food shoot would cost about what you paid your guy.

So, in all, settling for wings equals missing an economic opportunity. I am not suggesting you hose them, but $50–100 per pic is more than fair in terms of market price. I would not go below $50, unless the restaurant wants more than 10 shots.

And good for you on contacting the photographer. Just because he gave you the master doesn’t mean he relinquished ownership. In fact, it’s highly probable that he holds the intellectual property rights to the images—unless you have an agreement stating he transferred the copyright to you. The photographer may well get back to you saying “wait a second.”

Lastly, if the photog says “my pictures,” remember that this only applies to images without you and your wife in them. If you are in the shots the restaurant wants, you can ask for money even though you don’t own the images—it is what’s commonly referred to as a model release/endorsement fee. In simple terms, the restaurant legally can’t use your likeness to promote its business without your permission.

Note that she’s not a regular reader of the boards, so insert the proper IANAL, TINLA, etc., where necessary and appropriate.

[whatami]

@Rhythmdvl

I forwarded this thread to Mrs. Dvl to get her thoughts. In addition to being a professional graphic designer (freelance), she writes a column on stock photography. Here’s what she had to say:

Note that she’s not a regular reader of the boards, so insert the proper IANAL, TINLA, etc., where necessary and appropriate.

Thanks everyone for the great answers. We did get to the photographer and here is part of his response…

They are yours to do what you wish with. If you want to give me credit I certainly won’t object. As for how much to charge, you are on your own. Let them mention a figure. Ask them how much they usually pay for images & go from there. Let me know how it goes.

So he doesn’t have a problem with it, but would certainly like to get his name out there it looks like (the wife has, and continues to do that on theknot.com, a board filled with people getting married).
In addition, there are some great shots of the rest. both with and without us, as well as shots of the sign at night, with a couple (very beautiful if I say so myself) underneath it…

So I suppose we may go ahead and offer $50 a picture and go from there, and I’m thinking if I get that much, of either splitting it with the photog, or sending him a gift card or something. He was a really nice guy, and did some great pictures.

[pulykamell]

Wow. I have never heard of a wedding photographer allowing you to sell his photos. That’s crazy. But if that’s how they want to run their business…

Personally, while everybody does it differently, with vendors I, as a courtesy, will give them a couple of photos and they, as a courtesy, will keep my card around and that sort of stuff. Unless I know it’s going into some proper promotional materials, I don’t charge. Some photographers do. The people who usually ask me for this sort of stuff are not big-name vendors, but rather small business folk like me. A little good will goes a long way in this industry.

There’s really way too many variable for me to give you a fair value for those photos. It really depends on how they want to use it. Is it just for their own records? Will it be used on a website? For how long? Will it be used in a brochure? How many copies? Printed ads in magazines? Etc., etc., etc… Photographers generally do not sell photographs but rather the usage rights to them. For something like this, a fair price may be anything up to several thousand dollars.

[pulykamell]

Lastly, if the photog says “my pictures,” remember that this only applies to images without you and your wife in them. If you are in the shots the restaurant wants, you can ask for money even though you don’t own the images—it is what’s commonly referred to as a model release/endorsement fee. In simple terms, the restaurant legally can’t use your likeness to promote its business without your permission.

Which is exactly why most wedding photographers do have a model release in their contract.

[chappachula]

ummm…may I make a suggestion?
Maybe use this situation to create great family memories, and not just a business deal?
Tell the restaurant that in exchange for use of your photos, you want a committment (in writing) to let you and your family eat for free, (say, once or twice a year) for as long as the restaurant continues to exist.

It could become a family tradition…
Every year, every anniversary, you have a great way to relive your wedding day. It could be nice and romantic for the first couple years…then it’ll get boring…then fun with the kids for a couple years…then it may get nice and romantic again, just when you need it .

yeah, I know, it’s a sappy idea suitable for a cheap soap opera.
But it could be fun, too.

[whatami]

@pulykamell

Wow. I have never heard of a wedding photographer allowing you to sell his photos. That’s crazy. But if that’s how they want to run their business…

Well, I thought we got a fantastic deal on the pics. I think we paid $350 for 2 1/2 hours of pics, we got the master CD, and the guy was really great. We didn’t do any “pose” pictures, as those were done at the casino (with a different photographer. It was $300 to bring in an outside vendor). I think the guy may be doing it as a side business or something, plus I tipped him another $150. If they accept, I still plan to get to him with something if they buy from us.

Originally, we had planned to (with approval of the photographer) give the pics to the restaurant group sales person next time we were in LV in exchange for some dinner etc. In addition, the wife has been pushing the rest. on her message board. They were really great.

When she e-mailed to say we had some pics the rest. asked how much it would be per picture, as the person we’d been working with was no longer there. So that’s how I ended up asking here.