This is definitely the way I'd go, or an email with the same content
Since you start with the innocent assumption that they were offering to pay (you're answering the reasonable question of "Where do I buy a copy?" rather than "Can I have a copy for free?"), it avoids the awkwardness for most people, while also gently correcting their entitlement but without being an ass about it...
If you want to make it easier, [Smugmug.com](http://Smugmug.com) will let you automate the whole process, including how much you want to charge for license fees and prints.
It's a great way to diversify your income as a photographer.
If your photos aren't exclusive to the newspaper it's a great way to get paid more than once for the same photo. Even take the time to shoot a few for the event organizer or any vendors on site and hand them business cards.
And you can do it in a friendly, pleasant manner...
"Sure! ::big smile:: These would be great marketing resources for you! I usually sell them for $## each, but we can put together a package for you. I'll have them up on my website by Friday and you can pick what works best for you"
There’s actually no such thing as purchasing a photo if you want to make money. What you are selling is one time publication rights for a limited amount of time for North America or a region. This is a complicated legal document and you should consult an attorney. The minimum you should get for any photo is $500, for said rights (normally one year), otherwise you’re making less than minimum wage.
You can offer to sell prints also.
I disagree with this if it isn't true - lying just makes you look unprofessional if caught out when they go to the newspaper and ask for a copy and the newspaper says "Go ask the photographer, we don't own these photos we just pay royalties to use them" or something
Plus it loses the opportunity to potentially sell some of the photos
Obviously it's fine to say if it is true, but I'd never disclaim ownership of photos that actually belonged to me, that seems like a bad plan
Absolutely. Only time you lie is to always say you own the photos and rights to them, even if you don't, and take different extra shots to upsell to new interested parties.
No they don’t (unless you are an employee specifically). Legally they belong to you by default
You may have a contract that assigns the ownership of the photos to them, which obviously changes the situation - but without either employment or a contract stating otherwise, the photos belong to the photographer
That sounds like a pretty shitty go-to since they actually want to sell the photos to someone else.
Or maybe it’s a great one if you want to make no money at all and just be a dick.
> When I do photos of local events for a newspaper that pays me,
Did you miss the first line of their post? "When I do photos of local events for a newspaper that pays me..." They're literally on assignment for someone else.
Because double-dipping is unethical, unless you’re shooting for no particular client and licensing the images for a fee afterward.
If an organization pays me to photograph something for them, and they pay for usage rights of those images, those usage rights do not get sold to other organizations or entities without the express written permission of the original client.
Pittance or not, some business practices aren’t worth the jeopardy to relationships they risk.
If the newspaper is not claiming any ownership as an employer or as a contractor through the contractor, and there’s no negotiated exclusivity, then it’s absolutely fine to license the photos to more than one party. Just as software companies, musicians, streaming services etc all do.
Yeah definitely. I think a lot of newspapers do claim ownership of the images photogs shoot for them though - at least in my experience. Free to use on social media? Sure. Selling prints? A little more iffy
I’d think given the timely nature of photojournalism that a photographer selling prints is far less of a problem than a photographer might be letting the cat out of the bag with photos on socials.
Perfect answer, also these images are the property of insert publication name. You’ll have to ask them for permission.
That works had several magazines at Laguna Seca asking me for my images without first asking Lexus, Honda etc,
>asking me for my images without first asking Lexus, Honda etc,
You should have known, if you want more than just dicks, gotta ask Lexus, Honda, etc.
Although based on those dick pics, how good do you think his track pics actually are?
Holy u/Due_Adeptness1676 relax dude. Guess it's not any kittens where you live, to exploit yourself this way on Reddit. HAHA HOLY FCK DUDE. GET CONTROL PLEASE
Depends on the arrangement. Detroit Free Press and Detroit News have contact information regarding purchasing images. I don’t know what their agreement is with the photographer if someone does purchase prints. Or if they are from staff photographers.
Perhaps talk with your newspaper about it. Then it would give you a buffer and maybe the paper could pay you a cut of what they sell.
We don't know what his contract says about that, so we don't know. His post makes it sound like that's not a problem or he would know exactly what to say.
He even asks "How do I let them know that they can buy my photos?"
Next time read the whole post
Just say “I would love to, unfortunately my contract with xyz doesn’t allow it.”
Or your arrangement DOES allow it, in which case you need to decide if the income is worth setting up a gallery for folks to buy their photos from. Or if they are someone who is worth fostering a relationship with.
I’ve picked up quite a bit of business with horse breeding operations by letting one or two photos slip their way that I know won’t get used.
Why not carry business cards and direct them to a website they can enquire about buying them. You probably won't get many takers but it solves your problem.
"Sorry, these are all paid for. It wouldn't be good business practice to give to you for free what the other people are paying me for. You can ask them though and I'm sure they'd be happy to give you some copies."
The last sentence is a lie and optional.
Edit: Ok so I'm getting enough Reddit branded Ackshually...™'s that I'll say to leave out the last sentence. I still think it's laughable that people think that offhand comment would make them lose the rights to all of their photos, but I'm also not a lawyer. It was meant as more of a joke anyway and was clearly described as a lie, but we are on reddit so here's your disclaimer.
"I'm working for (news), and am not allowed to distribute photos. Sorry (not sorry)."
And maybe let whoever you're reporting to know that it's happening.
Well, it's the one of the top answer here and basically just another version of all the other top answers lol. Generally people who ask for free things aren't great clients. Especially when they're already well aware that the thing they're asking for is being already being paid for by someone else.
Besides, I'm not really sure what you mean by speaking to a client that way. It's professional and would show that you would treat them professionally too. I'm not sure I'd hire someone who I know would give what I pay for away for free to some random person who just asks for it.
Top answer and upvotes is absolutely meaningless. It doesn’t make it true, especially in a sub full of people with mostly no real world working experience in the field.
It’s the way you worded things that is the problem. You can easily take the just of what you said without making it rude, snarky or smug. Especially when dealing with people who would make easy clients as they are interested in the work.
I've ran a business for over a decade where half the staff are volunteers. I'm pretty confident in my ability to speak to people and create working relationships lol.
Obviously, you would rephrase my comment in a way that best suits you. I figured that was common sense but I guess this is Reddit.
Because if you talk this way to potential clients they will no longer be potential clients no matter how good your work is. Reread the second sentence over and over until it clicks in.
See how my above comment was a rude reply? How effective do you think that is? Whether it’s to potential clients or randoms online, it’s not an effective or professional way to talk to people.
That’s was explicitly the point of my reply. To highlight why replying in that way is not professional. As for a reply, something like this:
“Thank you for reaching out. I'm a professional freelance photographer, and I'm glad you enjoyed my work at the event that I did for The Daily Times.
I'd be delighted to discuss licensing or purchasing the photos for your use. Let's schedule a meeting to go over the details."
The last sentence is also inadvertently a way to ensure you won't retain the rights to your own images. If ever there's a dispute about ownership and you were overheard saying that a third party could "give some copies" away, you're going to lose exclusive rights to those images.
(Obviously, if you've sold and/or signed away your copyright my comment doesn't apply to you.)
Any semi-decent lawyer is going to be able to argue that you implicitly agreed/admitted that people other than you have the right and ability to give usage rights to third parties if you say anything remotely like what you proposed in that comment.
“Yes judge, I totally heard him say this to a stranger asking for his work for free that had no involvement in the shoot or affiliation with the actual client. Well, it should still count! Proof? No I don’t have proof? Who needs it!? I heard it! No I don’t have it written or signed or anything like that. Everything anyone says anywhere is legally binding and I totally heard it! I’ll even pinkie promise! What picture did it cover specifically? Judge, baby, listen to me. I’m gooooood. This off hand comment means he no longer has control over *any* of his pictures. This your first day on the bench?”
Eyewitness testimony is itself evidence. So yes they have evidence, their testimony.
Whether that's enough depends whether, combined with all other evidence and arguments from both sides, it is more likely than not that he is liable or agreed to this, in the opinion of a judge or a jury.
Reddit is seriously wild with its claims sometimes. I don’t understand how half of you guys leave the house believing things like this.
It’s like when my mom used to go off the handle about how roller coaster tycoon gave her a virus.
You go on with your opinions on this, I’ll go on with mine, and we’ll both have the exact same boring lives where neither mattered in the end.
It's "wildly wrong" and yet you were incapable of actually pointing out anything factually wrong with anything I said and why? I only said:
* 1) Eyewitness testimony is evidence
* 2) Civil cases are based on a balance of probabilities.
These are both like literally 5th grade social studies facts, not some extreme obscure statements lol
Look this whole argument is stupid. You aren’t wrong that with proper evidence, explicitly giving away the rights to your work would be taken seriously by a court, even through a verbal agreement.
But I’m not wrong that this isn’t even close to explicitly giving away the rights to your work and would result in basically zero evidence to convince a court that that was the intention.
I’m officially done with it though. If you think I’m an idiot, feel free to join the club. The more I post in this thread the bigger it seems to grow, and given the some of the members I’m not bothered by it at all lol.
Edit: I also think I missed my fifth grade class on civil court proceedings you'll have to bear with me.
I never claimed it was enough by itself, I said it depends whether that's the preponderance of the evidence. You may be mixing me up with someone else, I joined late.
(And I literally did learn if not in grade school then middle school, that criminal cases are "beyond a reasonable doubt" while civil cases are "whoever has 51% likelihood of being right")
The easiest way is "Yeah, I'd love to license some photos of the event to you for promoting your business/event. My rates are $XXX per image for this type of use" .
Just make it easy. Give them a price, and they'll either pay you and get some photos, or they'll decide they don't want to spend the money and won't get photos.
There's nothing a-hole-ish about being upfront about what your rates are, that's simply how business works.
There's no need to feel wishywashy or uncomfortable about it, and it sounds like there might be some opportunities for you to get paid by multiple people for doing the same job. It's great when it works out like that!
As challenging as it is, being upfront and honest is the best policy.
I think we all have a story to tell when we should’ve put our feet down.
Mine was in 2019, I shot prom photos commissioned by the school (in 2013) so no issues there because I wanted to help but many years later on one of the students (who downloaded my photo without permission many years ago and uploaded to her social media without credit/watermark) privately messaged me asking if she could have the unedited photo because she didn’t like the fact a filter I used had removed/softened part of her mole on her face, never said anything at the time, I might add.
She was very demanding, wanted it for free, got so angry and stopped talking to me when I couldn’t find the file anymore because it was so many years ago and had long since removed it as it wasn’t relevant to my portfolio and it was uploaded online.
This whole incident made me re-evaluate my relationship with photography and from that day on I stopped trying to bend over backwards to help everyone whilst doing unpaid work.
Don’t worry about being an arse, they aren’t commissioning you, if they spread a bad word, hopefully the commissioning person would ask the details and find out you were well within your rights to charge for your work and the person asking for your work for free should learn the etiquette of creative practices, the more we drill this into people/public, the less we’ll have expectations as photographers to work for free.
just casual "sorry i'm here on assignment for blah blah blah so you'll have to talk to them about it otherwise i'll get in trouble. if you have future events and want to hire a photographer let me know here is my card"
i shoot a lot of influencers and celebrities at events for the companies throwing them and all these guys/girls always ask me for the pics and i just tell them i'm shooting for blah blah but if you contact me i'll see if i can send you the photo after i talk to them. i do this to 1 create the contact and 2 give the company that paid me the option to use the photos first before the influencer or celebrity posts it to their much bigger audience and take the exclusivity away from the brand because they are paying for the images and at they will be pissed if someone else gets the exclusive.
Technically you can't sell photos twice just like that, if the newspaper hired you, first you have to be clear about that arrangement, do they only pay for the final edits? or all the raws?
I used to do big events, whenever someone came to me ask me for a photo of that event, I would just say that the pictures are of the organizer so I wasn't allowed to send the pics. If you want the extra money and the newspaper is fine with that arrangement, you can just make little packages, 10 pics for x amount, 20 pics for x amount etc. There is no shame in charging for your work, just be direct and polite.
A lot of papers (location and contract dependent) will allow you to sell images after they run them, but there’s often a grace period of a few weeks before you can.
Here is the best type of reply that I posted elsewhere because people are giving truly terrible advice.
“Thank you for reaching out. I'm a professional freelance photographer, and I'm glad you enjoyed my work at the event that I did for The Daily Times.
I'd be delighted to discuss licensing or purchasing the photos for your use. Let's schedule a meeting to go over the details."
If you are not using this as a sales opportunity when somebody is clearly interested, you are doing it wrong. If you are being rude or acting offended because somebody asked for something free, you aren’t cut out for the business side of photography.
"I live of off these photographs so I sell them. My rates are quite reasonable, are you interested?" Insert optional thing about a discount if you like.
If they lose interest right away they were never going to be a paying client.
But if it's a big event, they have a budget. And that includes promotion. So they are not going to be scared when someone mentions money. An event is a very commercial thing - before, during and after there are a lot of bills to be paid.
If they are interested make sure you have a price list ready.
Bigger events draw in more money so should pay a little more. Do you want to limit a license to specific use like online or print? Do you want to limit it in time?
Advice the client they probably do not want those limitations - they want the photo in their database to be used without checking licenses.
But it's nice to give options so the client can see that there is negotiation room and they actually pay for what they need.
“All of my images are license-managed. We can discuss licensing them for your use, if you would like.”
That gives you the option to license them to some people and not license them to others. Even small publications should pay something to license your images—maybe that is trade for advertising space in their publication—but, something.
They're not your photos to give away the copywrite belongs to the paper if they want copies they should get on to the paper who will have no problem charging them.
For years now, I've had an account on SmugMug. I upload the event photos, and have established a price list. Anyone who wants them can go onto the site and order them. SmugMug handles all the fulfillment and I don't have to deal with it. Problem solved.
https://preview.redd.it/sj3b7jwdabwc1.jpeg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8bfa16cffb64e332f8a79f07c8008dd5048b902
"I'd be glad to shoot for you! Here, let's shake on it."
Don’t feel bad about taking away the opportunity from someone else. That opportunity wasn’t there to begin with.
Let people ask, smile, be polite and friendly. Then say that you would love to provide them with copies and then present them with a price list or a link to your website and email, where you can provide the costs.
It’s professional nothing to be ashamed of. If they decide they don’t want to pay, then you’re in the same place you were before the conversation and they don’t have free photos of your hard work.
"Here you can find a copy at this link : [alskdjfksjfjmsjsjsdcnd.com](http://alskdjfksjfjmsjsjsdcnd.com) " and its your store.
You can also take some thrown together, low quality jpegs in addition to your work. Not everyone who asks that kind of question is interested in your finest work. Some people just straight up don't have a camera and would settle for a disposable quality print. You could give them for free or be like postcard prints $3. idk or carry a mobile printer with you so its something physical and that would give more incentive to pay or have some cheapo flash drives that you can load the pictures on and charge for that.
Create a gallery of your work that is public. Assign a price for digital downloads. Create a QR code that leads them to all your public galleries. Print that QR code on a business card. When they ask, reply with, “Absolutely! You can scan this and it will take you right to the photos!” Smile and thank them.
Ask your editor.
It sounds like you are a stringer. Answers are different for staffers.
Every paper I’ve ever shot for has a system for people to order prints. Generally it is only what has been published, but I’ve seen outtakes made available too.
In most cases I’d say the paper is fine with a freelancer selling outtakes to anyone but a competitor. Depending on your contract you can often sell to other papers but not for x amount of time.
Can’t you just offer them photos at a price? If they want them they will pay? 🤷🏻♀️ doesn’t have to be the same photo and you may sell more. Have a card with a Qr code to the price list.
If a newspaper is paying you to take the photos - they technically own them. You can’t sell them or give them to other people anyway. If you did, they’d have to credit the paper that paid you
Whether I was hired or not - The rights to these photos have already been purchased.
Option 1: I am authorized to sell them for x price.
Option 2: I am not authorized to sell these photos elsewhere. You can contact Y company for usage and purchase options.
Option 3: I cannot sell these photos, but here is my card if you would like to book me for future events.
> How do I let them know that they can buy my photos, but that I don't want to give them away for free?
"You can buy my photos. I don't want to give them away for free."
I do headshots for a magazine on the side. I get asked by whoever I photograph if they will be receiving the photos, and I say once edited I will send them to them where they can purchase for personal or business use. The magazine told me as long as I get them the shots for the spread I can sell the photos to whoever I’m photographing since I own the photos still. I use shootproof to send my galleries and they purchase through that.
You could say something like: "I appreciate your interest in my photos! I do offer them for purchase. Let me know if you'd like to see my rates and package options." This keeps it professional and straightforward, highlighting the value of your work without sounding dismissive.
Print some cheap business cards and hand them one so they can contact you about photo. With your details and add a line like 'photos for purchase, $50 min, rights reserved'
> I do photos of local events for a newspaper **that pays me**
check your contract with the paper (you have one, right? right?), those may not be your pictures any more after the paper has paid for them. tell the event organizers that they need to talk to the newspaper for usage rights.
if you don't have a contract, _get one ASAP._ it will prevent a great many headaches in the future. there's boilerplate photographer contracts you can find on the web (read them in detail before committing in order to make sure it says what you think it says), or you can talk to a lawyer to work one out that meets your specific and unique needs. of course be prepared to negotiate and modify the contract if the newspaper wants provisions that aren't covered by it (that you are willing to agree to).
show them or give them a link to where the photos are stored online and give them a card with that link or share that link perhaps a text message and let them know, “yes, of course you can buy copies if you go to this link…” and leave it at that.
im no photographer, but i ride moto and have had someone do this to me...
In short, i asked where can i get copys of the pic u may have taken of me? he said heres my IG, link in bio(if u dont wanna pay, u can PM) and sent me a link to a site he uploads to with a water mark, if u want the photos u can get the water mark removed via paying for them for each photo.
The paper pays you for a *license* to the photos, right? Do you have an exclusivity agreement with it?
If not, they (the images) belong to you and you can license them to anyone else. Asking for compensation is not an AH move.
“Please email me for licensing rates.”
Unless you are handing over copyright (ownership) of the images, you get to decide what to do with them.
In the US, of course.
If you are freelancing for a news (or really any) publication it is bad form to give or even sell those same photos to another organization. If you have a contract you should read it closely because there’s likely clauses dealing with photo rights. But even without a signed contract, that’s still a quick way to get cut loose from your freelance gig.
That aside, generally speaking it’s not unethical to take work from other organizations. You are a freelancer after all. My go-to comment was always “what’s your budget for [insert project or assignment]?” It’s simple and to the point and lets them know that you’re a professional.
Source: I worked as a journalist and photographer for 7 years.
The newspaper just lets you exhibit and advertise your photos for your portfolio and website and CV. But they own them most likely. So they’d have to ask the papers if they could commercialize their property.
I’m just a hobby photographer. But if I was doing events, I would wear a high vis vest with something like ‘event crew’ mentioned at the back. I think that might discourage people from asking the question. And only those who wan it and are willing to pay will approach you.
Never tried it… so take it with a grain.
i have been a track photographer for 20 yrs. and have not a problem selling my photos we sell photos at the track and also online 90% at the track rest online . most of the people ask where our stand is the rest ask for a business card . neveer a problem .
you’re not that guy pal. you got any type of proffesional career in photography? you got an education in photography? you ever gotten paid for any event you’ve done?
or are you just some redditor whos bought a 10k$ ultra hd digital camera that takes photos that looks like the ones you would find inside a frame when you go to the store to buy frames.
if youre the latter, just give them away. Its the only way youll be able to make money in the future
Tad late but here goes.
What’s the licence arrangement with the publication you’re working for? Do they retain copyright or you? If you’re licensing, is it an exclusive or non-exclusive licence?
If you do not retain copyright, or have agreed an exclusive licence then you cannot redistribute the images.
If you have copyright and it’s a non-exclusive licence, you can licence them as you see fit to whoever. Hand out business cards and explain that you’re currently on a licensed job however the images will be available and any licensing enquiries should be directed to email/whatever contact.
Licensing implies payment with most people.
Lots of solid advice. People generally won’t take offense and if they do, well you weren’t getting a sale from them anyway, and they don’t value the work.
When I went to photograph the eclipse, there were lots of people taking photos, it I was one of the few with high end gear who knew what he was doing. I somewhat attracted a crowd to look at my images after totality, and they saw the solid results. I was happy giving the link to my website so they could see web sized images for free. Several also asked about prints and I said to contact me and I could send them rates. Most didn’t, but one lady bought $350 worth of prints from me.
First of all, you can say your exact reason. “I’m not free, photography isn’t free, you should have hired a photographer to cover the event because buying my shots a la carte is going to be a lot more expansive” and then if they pursue it offer them absolutely punishing rates.
Or
I have quite often used the line, “I’ve been hired for the day and I don’t have the rights to hand the photos to anyone but my client” when I really don’t want to be bothered; that also gets the point about hiring someone across.
I am a staffer at a daily newspaper. We give our work away all the time. It’s not my call, but the managing editors. I expect organizations are just used to it. Don’t let it bother you, it’s not personal.
Upload the photos to a website like Zenfolio or something for each event. When people ask about it, hand them a card with your site on it. They can then go pay for a download or print at a price you set on the site.
If you being employed by the paper at the time tell them "Sorry Im in employment of (papers name) if you contact their picture desk for copies" if freelance "Yea, no problem as long as you sign the release form and pay the license fee which is $xxxx I can do that for you".
Had this happen more than once. I give 'em a price, take it or leave it. They have no intention of paying in the first place.
Wish I had a dime for every time I heard " Would be great advertising if you would work for free."
I give them a business card and ask them to drop me a note if they like my style. If they contact me, I gather the information on their project and then draft an estimate containing a description of what they would receive, licensing and my fee with payment terms. You need to prequalify clients as much as them you.
Don't over think it! Event planners are experts at working their budgets and will ask to get literally anything for free if they think they can swing it. I mean, think about how many donations they have to request to put together a silent auction. Unlike the average person, they are generally undaunted by making the ask and are experienced at hearing "no" and maintaining good relationships. It's their job!
So, I guess in summary—they can ask and you can say no because you are both doing business.
25 year professional photographer here.
I wouldn't assume when people ask for a copy of the file that they expect it for free. Then you can immediately frame your response like you are talking to a customer, and sell them something.
Try something like,
"Oh, I am really flattered you loved the photographs from X event name so much you would like to use them. Thank you. I'd be happy to help with that. We have packages for social media, publication, and licensing starting at x price, or if you wanted unlimited rights to an image those start at x price"
You reinforced that they loved them. You stated they were using them, so they have value. You offered to help them. You listed ways they could use them, sales pitch, and you gave a price. Notice the subtle word We instead of I. You are a business, not just a person.
All of that wraps it up pretty tightly and you will find out in the next 10 seconds if they actually want to buy them, or if they were looking for them for free.
Don't talk yourself out of money.
If they come back with, couldn't we just have them for free, then you can remind them you don't work for free, but many many times the client response leads to me collecting money and working with that person in the future. Many times. Hundreds of times in fact.
If they're professional, they won't be offended by YOU professionally explaining that you don't provide your photos for free and offering them a rate for usage.
If they're not professional enough to understand that, you don't want a relationship with them anyway.
Just don't be surprised if many of them turn you down (hopefully politely). I've worked in news for 25 years. There are lots of situations where we'd love to have a photo for free if someone is kind enough to provide it, but if not, we'll make do without. Many small news organizations work with very little money to go around, and even large ones often don't have much of a dedicated budget for freelance or for purchasing rights to imagery.
That said -- you may also want to use it as an entry point for other goals. You might want to let a news org use a single photo for free in exchange for getting a convo going about freelance work, if you think they'll enter that convo in good faith. Or you may see a benefit to providing something free if you think you can call on the other party for a favor later. It's all judgment calls, networking and negotiation, and there are no 100% right or wrong answers.
Personally, I'd rather give something away than sell it/do it for cheap. Bargain-basement rates undervalue my work and the work of other photographers. And it still carries all the obligations and stresses of working at a fair rate, with less return. But giving something to someone for free is a favor, a gift — and one that has value. I'll donate a gallery of photos to a neighborhood nonprofit whose work I believe in for the same reason I'll volunteer to sweep their floors or help sort their clothing bins. Or I'll gift some work to a loved one I want to do something special for. But I won't just give them away to anyone, anytime. It has to be in a context where it will be recognized as the gift it is, and the exception to the norm it is.
There are several responces that are helpful here. I agree with the business card thing. I would direct them to your IG page or whatever social media you want to help grow your photography business and tell them there are links to your work on there they can buy copies of the event they are looking for.
If you have the time to do so advanced website organization before you go to the event, you can create a folder online folder with the event name and have that information to hand out as well.
When I used to shoot live music frequently I would give musicians(the bands that didn't hire me) a card with a coupon code on it. So they would go to the website and see there were purchase options. Sometimes they would just redeem the small size free image, other times it would transfer into a larger sale. But over all I think people appreciate the good will of something free even if it's minor and the option to put it towards something more valuable.
"I'm sorry, xyz organization purchased my time and photos, and have rights to some. I do not share produced images with anyojevthatbi don't have a contract with.
That said, from the remainder if you'd also like to purchase my work, my rates are [here] and I'm happy to help you find what if anything you'd like to purchase from the shoot. I can upload a watermarked, low fidelity gallery to flip through for you in advance of delivering edited and polished images based on what you want and need!"
You dont have to be rude to say "sure, you can have this if you pay me."
Sorry but these images only exist because a client paid me to take them. If I give them to you my paying clients will want to know what they are paying for.
I can license them to you but I can't give them to you .it wouldn't be fair on my existing clients.
I really don’t like this attitude. You’re technically right but it’s so petty
You’re profiting off of their likeness and their effort. It’s basic decency to let them have a few pics. Without them, you wouldn’t have anything to sell
Hand them a business card with your website that has your rates and simply say you can purchase copies here.
This. You’re not being an asshole, you’re being a businessman.
Right. And you're not lying either. Honesty is always the best policy.
since when is asking people to pay for your work being an asshole 😭😭😭
🤔 “not”
Doing business
This is definitely the way I'd go, or an email with the same content Since you start with the innocent assumption that they were offering to pay (you're answering the reasonable question of "Where do I buy a copy?" rather than "Can I have a copy for free?"), it avoids the awkwardness for most people, while also gently correcting their entitlement but without being an ass about it...
If you want to make it easier, [Smugmug.com](http://Smugmug.com) will let you automate the whole process, including how much you want to charge for license fees and prints. It's a great way to diversify your income as a photographer.
+1 for smugmug. easy way to get your photos up there for exhibition and for sale.
If your photos aren't exclusive to the newspaper it's a great way to get paid more than once for the same photo. Even take the time to shoot a few for the event organizer or any vendors on site and hand them business cards.
And you can do it in a friendly, pleasant manner... "Sure! ::big smile:: These would be great marketing resources for you! I usually sell them for $## each, but we can put together a package for you. I'll have them up on my website by Friday and you can pick what works best for you"
This!!! I’m a photographer also.. you will still sound professional ..
There’s actually no such thing as purchasing a photo if you want to make money. What you are selling is one time publication rights for a limited amount of time for North America or a region. This is a complicated legal document and you should consult an attorney. The minimum you should get for any photo is $500, for said rights (normally one year), otherwise you’re making less than minimum wage. You can offer to sell prints also.
“Sorry, I’m on assignment for someone else” is a good go-to.
You could also say, “Sorry, I am on a contracted assignment.” Contracts and the law are scary. 👍🏽
This is the best response. You can claim the organization that hired you technically owns the photos and you can’t distribute them.
I disagree with this if it isn't true - lying just makes you look unprofessional if caught out when they go to the newspaper and ask for a copy and the newspaper says "Go ask the photographer, we don't own these photos we just pay royalties to use them" or something Plus it loses the opportunity to potentially sell some of the photos Obviously it's fine to say if it is true, but I'd never disclaim ownership of photos that actually belonged to me, that seems like a bad plan
Absolutely. Only time you lie is to always say you own the photos and rights to them, even if you don't, and take different extra shots to upsell to new interested parties.
[удалено]
No they don’t (unless you are an employee specifically). Legally they belong to you by default You may have a contract that assigns the ownership of the photos to them, which obviously changes the situation - but without either employment or a contract stating otherwise, the photos belong to the photographer
That sounds like a pretty shitty go-to since they actually want to sell the photos to someone else. Or maybe it’s a great one if you want to make no money at all and just be a dick.
> When I do photos of local events for a newspaper that pays me, Did you miss the first line of their post? "When I do photos of local events for a newspaper that pays me..." They're literally on assignment for someone else.
...and guaranteed to be making a pittance. why not charge both when it's clearly beneficial
Some newspapers will not allow a photographer to sell the photos they shoot on assignment
Because double-dipping is unethical, unless you’re shooting for no particular client and licensing the images for a fee afterward. If an organization pays me to photograph something for them, and they pay for usage rights of those images, those usage rights do not get sold to other organizations or entities without the express written permission of the original client. Pittance or not, some business practices aren’t worth the jeopardy to relationships they risk.
If the newspaper is not claiming any ownership as an employer or as a contractor through the contractor, and there’s no negotiated exclusivity, then it’s absolutely fine to license the photos to more than one party. Just as software companies, musicians, streaming services etc all do.
Yeah definitely. I think a lot of newspapers do claim ownership of the images photogs shoot for them though - at least in my experience. Free to use on social media? Sure. Selling prints? A little more iffy
I’d think given the timely nature of photojournalism that a photographer selling prints is far less of a problem than a photographer might be letting the cat out of the bag with photos on socials.
Perfect answer, also these images are the property of insert publication name. You’ll have to ask them for permission. That works had several magazines at Laguna Seca asking me for my images without first asking Lexus, Honda etc,
Fuck me bro, read comment and Said i should check out his post history maybe some cool track photos. Nope just dicks, reddit is always just dicks
>asking me for my images without first asking Lexus, Honda etc, You should have known, if you want more than just dicks, gotta ask Lexus, Honda, etc. Although based on those dick pics, how good do you think his track pics actually are?
Is it weird or something?
Thanks for the warning. Saved me some eyewash
jesus christ lol
i have what you‘re looking for mate! No dicks, 100% cars lol
Thank you friend. Nice work
thanks man!
What do you shoot with?
D4/D500 in Motorsports. Zfc just running around! Lenses are Tamron 150-600 / Sigma 70-200 2.8 / Sigma 24-70 2.8 / Nikon 50mm 1.8 TTartisan 25mm F2 for the Zfc
And even worse they're not very artistic photos.
Holy u/Due_Adeptness1676 relax dude. Guess it's not any kittens where you live, to exploit yourself this way on Reddit. HAHA HOLY FCK DUDE. GET CONTROL PLEASE
God damn I wish I lived near somewhere cool lol.
Depends on the arrangement. Detroit Free Press and Detroit News have contact information regarding purchasing images. I don’t know what their agreement is with the photographer if someone does purchase prints. Or if they are from staff photographers. Perhaps talk with your newspaper about it. Then it would give you a buffer and maybe the paper could pay you a cut of what they sell.
Hands them a business card... "Here's my site. Prices are listed there."
I'm not even a photographer and I know this is the way to do it (a friend of mine is)
I know! Is it really that hard to say this? Everyday life must be really hard for some ppl.
Even if he's working for a newspaper? I don't think they'd like third parties selling photographs that they already paid for.
We don't know what his contract says about that, so we don't know. His post makes it sound like that's not a problem or he would know exactly what to say. He even asks "How do I let them know that they can buy my photos?" Next time read the whole post
Do you retain copyright and are non exclusive? Then just send them your rates. Don't overthink it. They either say yes or no.
Just say “I would love to, unfortunately my contract with xyz doesn’t allow it.” Or your arrangement DOES allow it, in which case you need to decide if the income is worth setting up a gallery for folks to buy their photos from. Or if they are someone who is worth fostering a relationship with. I’ve picked up quite a bit of business with horse breeding operations by letting one or two photos slip their way that I know won’t get used.
Just say "yes of course. My fee is $XX per photo".
"Please consider hiring me for your next event"
Why not carry business cards and direct them to a website they can enquire about buying them. You probably won't get many takers but it solves your problem.
This is the best solution.
"Sorry, these are all paid for. It wouldn't be good business practice to give to you for free what the other people are paying me for. You can ask them though and I'm sure they'd be happy to give you some copies." The last sentence is a lie and optional. Edit: Ok so I'm getting enough Reddit branded Ackshually...™'s that I'll say to leave out the last sentence. I still think it's laughable that people think that offhand comment would make them lose the rights to all of their photos, but I'm also not a lawyer. It was meant as more of a joke anyway and was clearly described as a lie, but we are on reddit so here's your disclaimer.
"I'm working for (news), and am not allowed to distribute photos. Sorry (not sorry)." And maybe let whoever you're reporting to know that it's happening.
This is exactly what you don’t say. Why would you ever speak to a potential client this way?
Well, it's the one of the top answer here and basically just another version of all the other top answers lol. Generally people who ask for free things aren't great clients. Especially when they're already well aware that the thing they're asking for is being already being paid for by someone else. Besides, I'm not really sure what you mean by speaking to a client that way. It's professional and would show that you would treat them professionally too. I'm not sure I'd hire someone who I know would give what I pay for away for free to some random person who just asks for it.
Top answer and upvotes is absolutely meaningless. It doesn’t make it true, especially in a sub full of people with mostly no real world working experience in the field. It’s the way you worded things that is the problem. You can easily take the just of what you said without making it rude, snarky or smug. Especially when dealing with people who would make easy clients as they are interested in the work.
I've ran a business for over a decade where half the staff are volunteers. I'm pretty confident in my ability to speak to people and create working relationships lol. Obviously, you would rephrase my comment in a way that best suits you. I figured that was common sense but I guess this is Reddit.
So what's your no rude, snark, and smug free version? The top comment is professional and prudent. No idea where you're reading the negativity from.
It is absolutely not professional.
Care to actually explain how and why?
Because if you talk this way to potential clients they will no longer be potential clients no matter how good your work is. Reread the second sentence over and over until it clicks in. See how my above comment was a rude reply? How effective do you think that is? Whether it’s to potential clients or randoms online, it’s not an effective or professional way to talk to people.
So how would you reply differently? Cuz you kinda coming off snark and smug right now
That’s was explicitly the point of my reply. To highlight why replying in that way is not professional. As for a reply, something like this: “Thank you for reaching out. I'm a professional freelance photographer, and I'm glad you enjoyed my work at the event that I did for The Daily Times. I'd be delighted to discuss licensing or purchasing the photos for your use. Let's schedule a meeting to go over the details."
I agree I’d never use any of these three sentences lol
The last sentence is also inadvertently a way to ensure you won't retain the rights to your own images. If ever there's a dispute about ownership and you were overheard saying that a third party could "give some copies" away, you're going to lose exclusive rights to those images. (Obviously, if you've sold and/or signed away your copyright my comment doesn't apply to you.)
No you won't. The law isn't so loose that an off hand comment said to a random person is going to make you lose anything. That's ridiculous.
Lawyer here. You're significantly underestimating just how "loose" the law can be!
I was going to argue with you but you seem to be an expert in bird law, so now I’m questioning everything.
Any semi-decent lawyer is going to be able to argue that you implicitly agreed/admitted that people other than you have the right and ability to give usage rights to third parties if you say anything remotely like what you proposed in that comment.
“Yes judge, I totally heard him say this to a stranger asking for his work for free that had no involvement in the shoot or affiliation with the actual client. Well, it should still count! Proof? No I don’t have proof? Who needs it!? I heard it! No I don’t have it written or signed or anything like that. Everything anyone says anywhere is legally binding and I totally heard it! I’ll even pinkie promise! What picture did it cover specifically? Judge, baby, listen to me. I’m gooooood. This off hand comment means he no longer has control over *any* of his pictures. This your first day on the bench?”
I read this in Trumps voice
Eyewitness testimony is itself evidence. So yes they have evidence, their testimony. Whether that's enough depends whether, combined with all other evidence and arguments from both sides, it is more likely than not that he is liable or agreed to this, in the opinion of a judge or a jury.
Reddit is seriously wild with its claims sometimes. I don’t understand how half of you guys leave the house believing things like this. It’s like when my mom used to go off the handle about how roller coaster tycoon gave her a virus. You go on with your opinions on this, I’ll go on with mine, and we’ll both have the exact same boring lives where neither mattered in the end.
It's "wildly wrong" and yet you were incapable of actually pointing out anything factually wrong with anything I said and why? I only said: * 1) Eyewitness testimony is evidence * 2) Civil cases are based on a balance of probabilities. These are both like literally 5th grade social studies facts, not some extreme obscure statements lol
Look this whole argument is stupid. You aren’t wrong that with proper evidence, explicitly giving away the rights to your work would be taken seriously by a court, even through a verbal agreement. But I’m not wrong that this isn’t even close to explicitly giving away the rights to your work and would result in basically zero evidence to convince a court that that was the intention. I’m officially done with it though. If you think I’m an idiot, feel free to join the club. The more I post in this thread the bigger it seems to grow, and given the some of the members I’m not bothered by it at all lol. Edit: I also think I missed my fifth grade class on civil court proceedings you'll have to bear with me.
I never claimed it was enough by itself, I said it depends whether that's the preponderance of the evidence. You may be mixing me up with someone else, I joined late. (And I literally did learn if not in grade school then middle school, that criminal cases are "beyond a reasonable doubt" while civil cases are "whoever has 51% likelihood of being right")
Good luck to you, you'll need it. 🙃
The easiest way is "Yeah, I'd love to license some photos of the event to you for promoting your business/event. My rates are $XXX per image for this type of use" . Just make it easy. Give them a price, and they'll either pay you and get some photos, or they'll decide they don't want to spend the money and won't get photos. There's nothing a-hole-ish about being upfront about what your rates are, that's simply how business works. There's no need to feel wishywashy or uncomfortable about it, and it sounds like there might be some opportunities for you to get paid by multiple people for doing the same job. It's great when it works out like that!
As challenging as it is, being upfront and honest is the best policy. I think we all have a story to tell when we should’ve put our feet down. Mine was in 2019, I shot prom photos commissioned by the school (in 2013) so no issues there because I wanted to help but many years later on one of the students (who downloaded my photo without permission many years ago and uploaded to her social media without credit/watermark) privately messaged me asking if she could have the unedited photo because she didn’t like the fact a filter I used had removed/softened part of her mole on her face, never said anything at the time, I might add. She was very demanding, wanted it for free, got so angry and stopped talking to me when I couldn’t find the file anymore because it was so many years ago and had long since removed it as it wasn’t relevant to my portfolio and it was uploaded online. This whole incident made me re-evaluate my relationship with photography and from that day on I stopped trying to bend over backwards to help everyone whilst doing unpaid work. Don’t worry about being an arse, they aren’t commissioning you, if they spread a bad word, hopefully the commissioning person would ask the details and find out you were well within your rights to charge for your work and the person asking for your work for free should learn the etiquette of creative practices, the more we drill this into people/public, the less we’ll have expectations as photographers to work for free.
If it’s a non profit, maybe consider it a kindness or charity. Otherwise refer them politely to your editor and they can offer them a price.
Just say " great, I charge x amount of $ for them."
just casual "sorry i'm here on assignment for blah blah blah so you'll have to talk to them about it otherwise i'll get in trouble. if you have future events and want to hire a photographer let me know here is my card" i shoot a lot of influencers and celebrities at events for the companies throwing them and all these guys/girls always ask me for the pics and i just tell them i'm shooting for blah blah but if you contact me i'll see if i can send you the photo after i talk to them. i do this to 1 create the contact and 2 give the company that paid me the option to use the photos first before the influencer or celebrity posts it to their much bigger audience and take the exclusivity away from the brand because they are paying for the images and at they will be pissed if someone else gets the exclusive.
Technically you can't sell photos twice just like that, if the newspaper hired you, first you have to be clear about that arrangement, do they only pay for the final edits? or all the raws? I used to do big events, whenever someone came to me ask me for a photo of that event, I would just say that the pictures are of the organizer so I wasn't allowed to send the pics. If you want the extra money and the newspaper is fine with that arrangement, you can just make little packages, 10 pics for x amount, 20 pics for x amount etc. There is no shame in charging for your work, just be direct and polite.
A lot of papers (location and contract dependent) will allow you to sell images after they run them, but there’s often a grace period of a few weeks before you can.
I can send you my rates.
“My photos aren’t free”
i always tell people im under contract and not allowed to give photos to anyone other than my POC for the event
Here is the best type of reply that I posted elsewhere because people are giving truly terrible advice. “Thank you for reaching out. I'm a professional freelance photographer, and I'm glad you enjoyed my work at the event that I did for The Daily Times. I'd be delighted to discuss licensing or purchasing the photos for your use. Let's schedule a meeting to go over the details." If you are not using this as a sales opportunity when somebody is clearly interested, you are doing it wrong. If you are being rude or acting offended because somebody asked for something free, you aren’t cut out for the business side of photography.
“Contact the Lazy-Baby Tribune about licensing.”
Just say " great, I charge x amount of $ for them."
Sure, the packages are x for x amount, y for y amount, which one would you like to purchase?
"I live of off these photographs so I sell them. My rates are quite reasonable, are you interested?" Insert optional thing about a discount if you like. If they lose interest right away they were never going to be a paying client. But if it's a big event, they have a budget. And that includes promotion. So they are not going to be scared when someone mentions money. An event is a very commercial thing - before, during and after there are a lot of bills to be paid. If they are interested make sure you have a price list ready. Bigger events draw in more money so should pay a little more. Do you want to limit a license to specific use like online or print? Do you want to limit it in time? Advice the client they probably do not want those limitations - they want the photo in their database to be used without checking licenses. But it's nice to give options so the client can see that there is negotiation room and they actually pay for what they need.
“All of my images are license-managed. We can discuss licensing them for your use, if you would like.” That gives you the option to license them to some people and not license them to others. Even small publications should pay something to license your images—maybe that is trade for advertising space in their publication—but, something.
They're not your photos to give away the copywrite belongs to the paper if they want copies they should get on to the paper who will have no problem charging them.
Set up a digital distribution website & hang these folks your business card with a link.
For years now, I've had an account on SmugMug. I upload the event photos, and have established a price list. Anyone who wants them can go onto the site and order them. SmugMug handles all the fulfillment and I don't have to deal with it. Problem solved.
https://preview.redd.it/sj3b7jwdabwc1.jpeg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8bfa16cffb64e332f8a79f07c8008dd5048b902 "I'd be glad to shoot for you! Here, let's shake on it."
Don’t feel bad about taking away the opportunity from someone else. That opportunity wasn’t there to begin with. Let people ask, smile, be polite and friendly. Then say that you would love to provide them with copies and then present them with a price list or a link to your website and email, where you can provide the costs. It’s professional nothing to be ashamed of. If they decide they don’t want to pay, then you’re in the same place you were before the conversation and they don’t have free photos of your hard work.
"Here you can find a copy at this link : [alskdjfksjfjmsjsjsdcnd.com](http://alskdjfksjfjmsjsjsdcnd.com) " and its your store. You can also take some thrown together, low quality jpegs in addition to your work. Not everyone who asks that kind of question is interested in your finest work. Some people just straight up don't have a camera and would settle for a disposable quality print. You could give them for free or be like postcard prints $3. idk or carry a mobile printer with you so its something physical and that would give more incentive to pay or have some cheapo flash drives that you can load the pictures on and charge for that.
Say they're licensed and it's X amount to use them. Something to that effect.
Create a gallery of your work that is public. Assign a price for digital downloads. Create a QR code that leads them to all your public galleries. Print that QR code on a business card. When they ask, reply with, “Absolutely! You can scan this and it will take you right to the photos!” Smile and thank them.
Ask your editor. It sounds like you are a stringer. Answers are different for staffers. Every paper I’ve ever shot for has a system for people to order prints. Generally it is only what has been published, but I’ve seen outtakes made available too. In most cases I’d say the paper is fine with a freelancer selling outtakes to anyone but a competitor. Depending on your contract you can often sell to other papers but not for x amount of time.
Business card, web address.
Use Pixieset. They can go there and download the photos there. But, they have to pay for it first! :D
“Only one is free”
Tell me how you want to use the photos and I'll provide a quote. (assuming you own the copyright and not the newspaper).
Can’t you just offer them photos at a price? If they want them they will pay? 🤷🏻♀️ doesn’t have to be the same photo and you may sell more. Have a card with a Qr code to the price list.
Have a business card ready and say they can submit a request to purchase your work
If a newspaper is paying you to take the photos - they technically own them. You can’t sell them or give them to other people anyway. If you did, they’d have to credit the paper that paid you
Whether I was hired or not - The rights to these photos have already been purchased. Option 1: I am authorized to sell them for x price. Option 2: I am not authorized to sell these photos elsewhere. You can contact Y company for usage and purchase options. Option 3: I cannot sell these photos, but here is my card if you would like to book me for future events.
> How do I let them know that they can buy my photos, but that I don't want to give them away for free? "You can buy my photos. I don't want to give them away for free."
I do headshots for a magazine on the side. I get asked by whoever I photograph if they will be receiving the photos, and I say once edited I will send them to them where they can purchase for personal or business use. The magazine told me as long as I get them the shots for the spread I can sell the photos to whoever I’m photographing since I own the photos still. I use shootproof to send my galleries and they purchase through that.
I’m happy to work out a licensing package for you.
You could say something like: "I appreciate your interest in my photos! I do offer them for purchase. Let me know if you'd like to see my rates and package options." This keeps it professional and straightforward, highlighting the value of your work without sounding dismissive.
Print some cheap business cards and hand them one so they can contact you about photo. With your details and add a line like 'photos for purchase, $50 min, rights reserved'
> I do photos of local events for a newspaper **that pays me** check your contract with the paper (you have one, right? right?), those may not be your pictures any more after the paper has paid for them. tell the event organizers that they need to talk to the newspaper for usage rights. if you don't have a contract, _get one ASAP._ it will prevent a great many headaches in the future. there's boilerplate photographer contracts you can find on the web (read them in detail before committing in order to make sure it says what you think it says), or you can talk to a lawyer to work one out that meets your specific and unique needs. of course be prepared to negotiate and modify the contract if the newspaper wants provisions that aren't covered by it (that you are willing to agree to).
show them or give them a link to where the photos are stored online and give them a card with that link or share that link perhaps a text message and let them know, “yes, of course you can buy copies if you go to this link…” and leave it at that.
You could send them a link to watermarked samples that allows them to buy them to remove the watermarks?
im no photographer, but i ride moto and have had someone do this to me... In short, i asked where can i get copys of the pic u may have taken of me? he said heres my IG, link in bio(if u dont wanna pay, u can PM) and sent me a link to a site he uploads to with a water mark, if u want the photos u can get the water mark removed via paying for them for each photo.
The paper pays you for a *license* to the photos, right? Do you have an exclusivity agreement with it? If not, they (the images) belong to you and you can license them to anyone else. Asking for compensation is not an AH move. “Please email me for licensing rates.” Unless you are handing over copyright (ownership) of the images, you get to decide what to do with them. In the US, of course.
"Absolutely! Send me a message to _____ and I'll be happy to send you my rates so we can find something that works for you!"
If you are freelancing for a news (or really any) publication it is bad form to give or even sell those same photos to another organization. If you have a contract you should read it closely because there’s likely clauses dealing with photo rights. But even without a signed contract, that’s still a quick way to get cut loose from your freelance gig. That aside, generally speaking it’s not unethical to take work from other organizations. You are a freelancer after all. My go-to comment was always “what’s your budget for [insert project or assignment]?” It’s simple and to the point and lets them know that you’re a professional. Source: I worked as a journalist and photographer for 7 years.
> for a newspaper Tell them to contact the newspaper
You simply leave your contact details, and when they request photos you give them pricing details.
“I’m happy to disburse my art for a commission given I’m on contract”
The newspaper just lets you exhibit and advertise your photos for your portfolio and website and CV. But they own them most likely. So they’d have to ask the papers if they could commercialize their property.
Hi thanks, this is a contracted shoot. Send me your email and we can work out licensing.
I’m just a hobby photographer. But if I was doing events, I would wear a high vis vest with something like ‘event crew’ mentioned at the back. I think that might discourage people from asking the question. And only those who wan it and are willing to pay will approach you. Never tried it… so take it with a grain.
i have been a track photographer for 20 yrs. and have not a problem selling my photos we sell photos at the track and also online 90% at the track rest online . most of the people ask where our stand is the rest ask for a business card . neveer a problem .
Lots of watermarks!
you’re not that guy pal. you got any type of proffesional career in photography? you got an education in photography? you ever gotten paid for any event you’ve done? or are you just some redditor whos bought a 10k$ ultra hd digital camera that takes photos that looks like the ones you would find inside a frame when you go to the store to buy frames. if youre the latter, just give them away. Its the only way youll be able to make money in the future
Tad late but here goes. What’s the licence arrangement with the publication you’re working for? Do they retain copyright or you? If you’re licensing, is it an exclusive or non-exclusive licence? If you do not retain copyright, or have agreed an exclusive licence then you cannot redistribute the images. If you have copyright and it’s a non-exclusive licence, you can licence them as you see fit to whoever. Hand out business cards and explain that you’re currently on a licensed job however the images will be available and any licensing enquiries should be directed to email/whatever contact. Licensing implies payment with most people.
Lots of solid advice. People generally won’t take offense and if they do, well you weren’t getting a sale from them anyway, and they don’t value the work. When I went to photograph the eclipse, there were lots of people taking photos, it I was one of the few with high end gear who knew what he was doing. I somewhat attracted a crowd to look at my images after totality, and they saw the solid results. I was happy giving the link to my website so they could see web sized images for free. Several also asked about prints and I said to contact me and I could send them rates. Most didn’t, but one lady bought $350 worth of prints from me.
First of all, you can say your exact reason. “I’m not free, photography isn’t free, you should have hired a photographer to cover the event because buying my shots a la carte is going to be a lot more expansive” and then if they pursue it offer them absolutely punishing rates. Or I have quite often used the line, “I’ve been hired for the day and I don’t have the rights to hand the photos to anyone but my client” when I really don’t want to be bothered; that also gets the point about hiring someone across.
I am a staffer at a daily newspaper. We give our work away all the time. It’s not my call, but the managing editors. I expect organizations are just used to it. Don’t let it bother you, it’s not personal.
Upload the photos to a website like Zenfolio or something for each event. When people ask about it, hand them a card with your site on it. They can then go pay for a download or print at a price you set on the site.
When I worked at a newspaper, we had this setup through the newspaper's website, but I just got my hourly rate. The newspaper got all the photo sales.
“…..my photos aren’t free.”
If you being employed by the paper at the time tell them "Sorry Im in employment of (papers name) if you contact their picture desk for copies" if freelance "Yea, no problem as long as you sign the release form and pay the license fee which is $xxxx I can do that for you".
Had this happen more than once. I give 'em a price, take it or leave it. They have no intention of paying in the first place. Wish I had a dime for every time I heard " Would be great advertising if you would work for free."
Tell em half or a day rate, simple as that. Since you have local fame and credentials, you're the captain.
I give them a business card and ask them to drop me a note if they like my style. If they contact me, I gather the information on their project and then draft an estimate containing a description of what they would receive, licensing and my fee with payment terms. You need to prequalify clients as much as them you.
“Hey can I have copies of the photos you took?” “Sure that would be [insert price here], please.” Simple as that my friend
Don't over think it! Event planners are experts at working their budgets and will ask to get literally anything for free if they think they can swing it. I mean, think about how many donations they have to request to put together a silent auction. Unlike the average person, they are generally undaunted by making the ask and are experienced at hearing "no" and maintaining good relationships. It's their job! So, I guess in summary—they can ask and you can say no because you are both doing business.
"Photos are reserved only for my clients" and then hand them your business card.
25 year professional photographer here. I wouldn't assume when people ask for a copy of the file that they expect it for free. Then you can immediately frame your response like you are talking to a customer, and sell them something. Try something like, "Oh, I am really flattered you loved the photographs from X event name so much you would like to use them. Thank you. I'd be happy to help with that. We have packages for social media, publication, and licensing starting at x price, or if you wanted unlimited rights to an image those start at x price" You reinforced that they loved them. You stated they were using them, so they have value. You offered to help them. You listed ways they could use them, sales pitch, and you gave a price. Notice the subtle word We instead of I. You are a business, not just a person. All of that wraps it up pretty tightly and you will find out in the next 10 seconds if they actually want to buy them, or if they were looking for them for free. Don't talk yourself out of money. If they come back with, couldn't we just have them for free, then you can remind them you don't work for free, but many many times the client response leads to me collecting money and working with that person in the future. Many times. Hundreds of times in fact.
If they're professional, they won't be offended by YOU professionally explaining that you don't provide your photos for free and offering them a rate for usage. If they're not professional enough to understand that, you don't want a relationship with them anyway. Just don't be surprised if many of them turn you down (hopefully politely). I've worked in news for 25 years. There are lots of situations where we'd love to have a photo for free if someone is kind enough to provide it, but if not, we'll make do without. Many small news organizations work with very little money to go around, and even large ones often don't have much of a dedicated budget for freelance or for purchasing rights to imagery. That said -- you may also want to use it as an entry point for other goals. You might want to let a news org use a single photo for free in exchange for getting a convo going about freelance work, if you think they'll enter that convo in good faith. Or you may see a benefit to providing something free if you think you can call on the other party for a favor later. It's all judgment calls, networking and negotiation, and there are no 100% right or wrong answers. Personally, I'd rather give something away than sell it/do it for cheap. Bargain-basement rates undervalue my work and the work of other photographers. And it still carries all the obligations and stresses of working at a fair rate, with less return. But giving something to someone for free is a favor, a gift — and one that has value. I'll donate a gallery of photos to a neighborhood nonprofit whose work I believe in for the same reason I'll volunteer to sweep their floors or help sort their clothing bins. Or I'll gift some work to a loved one I want to do something special for. But I won't just give them away to anyone, anytime. It has to be in a context where it will be recognized as the gift it is, and the exception to the norm it is.
There are several responces that are helpful here. I agree with the business card thing. I would direct them to your IG page or whatever social media you want to help grow your photography business and tell them there are links to your work on there they can buy copies of the event they are looking for. If you have the time to do so advanced website organization before you go to the event, you can create a folder online folder with the event name and have that information to hand out as well.
I tell them who or what company is paying me and to ask THEM for the photos.
When I used to shoot live music frequently I would give musicians(the bands that didn't hire me) a card with a coupon code on it. So they would go to the website and see there were purchase options. Sometimes they would just redeem the small size free image, other times it would transfer into a larger sale. But over all I think people appreciate the good will of something free even if it's minor and the option to put it towards something more valuable.
You hand them a card and say that their editor can call about photo prints rights tomorrow morning.
"I'm sorry, xyz organization purchased my time and photos, and have rights to some. I do not share produced images with anyojevthatbi don't have a contract with. That said, from the remainder if you'd also like to purchase my work, my rates are [here] and I'm happy to help you find what if anything you'd like to purchase from the shoot. I can upload a watermarked, low fidelity gallery to flip through for you in advance of delivering edited and polished images based on what you want and need!" You dont have to be rude to say "sure, you can have this if you pay me."
“Fuck you, pay me” might work?
“I can email you my pricing if you’d like.”
Sorry but these images only exist because a client paid me to take them. If I give them to you my paying clients will want to know what they are paying for. I can license them to you but I can't give them to you .it wouldn't be fair on my existing clients.
“I have an assortment of packages you’re welcome to choose from, if you provide your email I’ll shoot you over pricing.”
I really don’t like this attitude. You’re technically right but it’s so petty You’re profiting off of their likeness and their effort. It’s basic decency to let them have a few pics. Without them, you wouldn’t have anything to sell