Part 4 - Improving Business Practices & Safeguarding Our Income
(use this part for working pros only, and for programs that allow a little more time)
Now that we've talked a little bit about the importance of, and the reasons behind, being paid commensurate with the use of our images and the importance of protecting our copyrights, let's now spend a little time going through a scenario which reinforces how those goals might help us improve our incomes and better manage our businesses. We will be getting to some financial examples that you can all relate to that will underscore the importance of "fee for use" and of protecting our copyrights.
First call or contact with a client with a job! - the start of the Paper Trail
a) Gather information - Who is calling, their title, from what publication, spelling of names etc, phone and fax numbers, e-mail, mailing address.
b) Send Estimate (always a good idea even in editorial) This ensures that you are on the same page as the client.
1) Define the scope of the job: What exactly are you doing; how are you providing your images?; a statement that generally describes any criteria or limitations as stated by the AD or PE
examples:
1) Shooting at the Virtual Widget Conference in Your Fair City, USA on June 19th from 10:00 AM to 2:00PM . Must get the keynote speaker and scenes of the overwhelming crowds sneaking a peak at the latest sexy widgets. Client will also want one good booth shot. Will probably use a maximum of 3 photos.
2) Portrait of the CEO of Sol's Sneezeguards (Sol, himself) for Sneezeguard Monthly - Client will want two shots, one for the article and one for the cover or if not the cover, the table of contents.
3) Illustrate a story for Model's Life Magazine: What do supermodels do for fun in Paris? One week in the life of a male/female supermodel. The magazine will want from 10 to 20 images, all reportage style. You will work directly with the writer and the subjects, while trying not to become part of the story.
2) price for completion
1) Creative Fee: See the EP Estimator at http://editorialphoto.com. This allows you to plug in a magazine's circulation and the rates they charge an advertiser for a full page ad to come up with a fair creative fee to be applied against space.
2) Space rates to be applied? Creative fee should be applied against the space of the images used. The size of the photos should increase the price! Cover use is the biggest. The Estimator can do all of this for you! Check it out.
3) Allowable expenses (F&P, travel, assistants, meals, special equipment.)
c) Timeframe for completion
4) Deadlines for image delivery.
5) Scheduling for subjects etc…
d) Specific usage of the images - the medium
1. What medium(s)?: print, or web, or electronic (tv, DVD, CD-Rom, PowerPoint), filmstrips
2. Exclusivity: sometimes this refers only to direct competitors.
e) Location of usage of images
1. North American print rights?
2. worldwide English language editions?
3. King County only?
4. Worldwide in one language and edition?
f) Timeframe of usage - how long?
6) One time only (sometimes will be called “first time,” a type of exclusivity granted to the publisher who hires you to create the images)
7) One month (perhaps for the duration of a web version of a publication) Make sure that archiving (this means forever!) is discussed.
8) Archiving is storing on a searchable database, usually forever, and this had to be figured into your usage fees!
9) Unlimited usage: read those contracts carefully - look for additional licensees, third parties, advertising uses, and other types of rights grabs that must be addressed and/or compensated for.
10) Embargoes for re-selling used images or similars or even shots from an un-used situation.
11) How long the magazine can hold onto the images before returning them to you (and thus preventing you from re-selling them)?
12) How long can the magazine hold onto the images if the story is on hold (once again preventing you from re-selling timely images).
g) Include your terms and conditions! You can get these at http://www.editorialphoto.com or from APA or ASMP or GAG etc…
3) Assignment confirmation:
a) You may have to negotiate usage and fees, price, exclusivity and embargo periods. This is very important if they have a contract with written terms that contradict your terms or your understandings from verbal agreements! This should not be confrontational, but instead a business negotiation with a client (not your enemy!)b) Include a copy (always!) of your terms and conditions. Do this with every piece of paperwork!
c) Get a signature. No signature, you do not move. This protects you from many misunderstandings that may crop up later.
4) Job Execution
a) Anticipate contingencies
a)Scheduling difficulties, no shows, no model release…
b)Weather delays/cancellations and Acts of God, construction, power failures.
b) What is the remedy and who pays?
1. This should all be covered in your terms and conditions or your contract, especially if you anticipate ANY difficulties. Be specific. See the EP suggested terms and conditions.
5) Delivery of images
m) Digital or physical film? n) Use someone reliable (Fed Ex, DHL, Airborne etc….) and require signatures! o) Always, always, always send a delivery memo with the count of the film and the condition. Include captions and correct spelling. Your terms and conditions should arrive with this, once again. p) Register you copyrights prior to publication! This means that you should make copies/scans/photos/ of your images BEFORE they are delivered or go back into your files. See the section on Copyright at http://editorialphoto.com for a primer on how and why you should be doing it. It is easy and very valuable! q) Do not send all your film! This protects you and your client. What if the Fed Ex plane has a problem and your client is on a tight deadline?6) Invoice the client
a) Be sure to get a signed copy if you have not gotten any signatures yet.b) Include the invoice with the film, if possible.
7) Follow up
a) Is the invoice paid? Use an accounting program if you can (Quickbooks, MYOB, InView & StockView, Fotobiz etc…) b) Is there extra space rate to be applied? This emphasizes the importance of getting tear sheets and periodically doing web searches under your name, and also looking at your clients' web sites… c) Have all the images been returned safely and in a timely manner? Once again there are good cheap computer programs to keep track of this (StockView, Fotobiz, or custom databases based on Filemaker etc…) d) Is there any unauthorized or excess usage? e) This is a personal business, and a note of thanks or appreciation for some nice design etc. is always a good idea.Reprints and other uses after the fact…..
A) Reprints are third party uses of an editorial piece, usually in it's entirety. They may be used for anything from education to advertising, and you should charge accordingly. They are usually sold by the magazine's own reprint department or an outside company that deals exclusively in reprints (i.e. Reprint Management Services) They can be very expensive for the purchasing client, and should often be treated as an advertising use of your images. It is crucial that you not give up or license reprint rights for a pittance, no matter how persuasive the magazine might be. They are no longer an “editorial” use, but have entered the high-priced realm of advertising. Ask yourself these following questions:
a) Who is buying the reprint? Is it the Little Sisters of the Poor who want the article to solicit more gifts for their wonderful charity? Or is it the glowing cover photo of Costly Widgets Monthly showing the CEO of some mega-conglomerate with his America's Cup entry that his marketing department wants to send out to prospective investors? These are very different uses!
b) How many do they want, and does your photo have anything to do with why they want the reprint? Remember that your photos are very important in many of these reprints, and the budgets can be astronomical. Corporate America knows the value of positive “un-biased” reporting. Magazines charge a lot for these, and they have become an increasingly important source of revenue for both magazines and photographers.
2) Re-uses for licensees and foreign editions and other editorial uses should be covered BEFORE the assignment, but often one of them is interested afterwards (usually in the whole article with your images included). This is indeed an additional use, and you should be compensated for this too! This leads to pricing these items…
3) How to determine rates for these additional uses:
1) Use the Estimator! It rocks! It will do reprints, foreign editions, stock sales etc….. 2) Use fotoQuote for stock prices. See the link at http://editorialphoto.com This is a simple and cheap computer program. It will pay for itself within a few uses, guaranteed! It is a guideline, but is a useful starting point. Some of it's prices are too low, and some are too high, but still invaluable…… 3) The book “Pricing Photography” by Michal Heron and David MacTavish. If your budget finds even fototQuote too lavish, stick with Heron and MacTavish. Published by Allworth Press, this useful guide has stock and assignment pricing information at under $30! 4) See photographer published guidelines, like those of EP's esteemed President, Seth Resnick. Also do not be afraid to ask other photographers what they have gotten for similar uses. 5) It never hurts to ask the client what they want to pay before you quote a price. They may surprise you pleasantly, but most likely you will have to burst out laughing at the number they throw at you. All of these guidelines are useful as they can put a bit of backbone in your prices, and this will gain you respect and income.c) In order to control and generate income from these additional uses you must do several things:
a) Retain your copyright. Do not grant unlimited uses or sign Work-For-Hire contracts.
b) Specify and enforce the limited uses of your images with your terms, assignment confirmations, estimates, delivery memos and invoices. Leave a paper trail.
c) Register your copyrights (prior to publication is easier, but even after is not hard). Just do it!
See the handout, "Photographers Alan, Bob, and Charlene" for examples.