What is the going price for a cd of high res photos (up to 100 photos) among you photographers?

Question

I've started a side business in photography. Have done this for years but just recently started charging for it and it's going very well. I had an engagement shoot this past weekend and the couple likes all 100 of the photos but wants to purchase a cd of the photos (high res) - now some have told me it's a huge no-no to sell high res photos, others say, sell it to them. If I sell, what do I charge? Do photographers even do this? I feel I put ALOT of work into the photos (enhancement) and I dont' want to get jipped - please help, I need advise and suggestions from the pros!
Any help is GREATLY appreciated

Answer 1

Depends on how much time you invested and your hourly rate, and the missed future sales, and the value you place on the rights to the images.



So as the info needed isnt there heres some fiquires : $2500 - 25000.



These pricing policies should be in your business plan which you wrote before going pro right?

Answer 2

As a general rule I don't like to sell a high res cd of photos. I do not do alot of weddings though.



The fact of the matter is most people by the prints that they want and you never hear from them again If you want to sell them a cd I would figure out how many prints you would expect to sell them and what this would cost. I would then double that price. For example if you would expect to sell $200 in prints you should charge them $400 for a cd of all shots. I would also have them sign a contract that states that you hold the copyright on the photos and can use them for any purpose you see fit to. Examples would be Advertising, portfolio you show to potential clients etc.



In the future I would have language in your contracts that spell out exactly what is included when you do a shoot and how much each item cost. If you decide against selling cd's I would state this clearly in the contract.



Some low cost wedding photographers today only give cd's and do no printing. I would check with people in your area to see what the common practice is.

Answer 3

Going rate for an engagement session around here is about $150- $250, including the CD/DVD. If you're also shooting their wedding, and they bought a high end package, then many photographers include an engagement session. An engagement shoot isn't like stock photography, so it's not like you are selling rights which might make lots of future money. Realistically the only people interested in engagement photos are the couple and their families.



The trend in wedding photography is make your money up front and hand the images over. It's what I do, easier by far. I correct and burn, hand the CD's over and I'm done. I archive the wedding for a few months, then it's the delete button for that folder. I do include a few prints, so the couple can see what they are supposed to look like just in case they get bad prints at WallyWorld. I suggest printing options at time of delivery. This works for me, but it's not for everybody. Many wedding photogs still count on print sales to make their money, so obviously handing over hi-res files would not be the thing to do for them. YMMV.

Answer 4

I would say it depends on how much time you invested in the photo shoot. I would charge by the hour and then charge for the CD.



The problem with giving them the pictures on the CD is that you give up complete rights to all of the pictures. Once you give them to them on a CD they can do whatever they want with them without really giving you credit. Therefore I would suggest putting a stamp on the bottom right with your name or something to show you were the photographer. Still, they can always photoshop it out or crop it but at least it's worth a shot.

Answer 5

what are they going to do with them?

-just to look at and decide which they want to buy?

-personal use and prints?

-business use for advertising?



also

-are these photos you can sell to other clients? if so then make it clear that they have rights to use but so do you... exclusive rights costs more.

-pro's useually charge a hourly rate + charge for photos they buy or royalties of some kind... or have a flat fee for all photos shot+time BUT they sell prints and LOW res pictures(weddings for example)

high res digital files means less money for you wedding photogs charge about 1500-4000 on a basic package...



those are things to consider... price should be discussed prior to the shoot always though or you risk not making any money from customers that think 50 bucks gets them 2000 dollers of work

Answer 6

I include a fairly low resolution CD for free with any shoot I do. (Say 600 ppi along long edge). This will let someone use them online, but they can't make any reasonably large prints at all.



By giving someone a CD you don't necessarily loose any rights to the reproduction of those images. You can state in your license agreement that they may not make any copies. However, this is difficult to enforce.



Another option is to use a photo sharing/printing site like smugmug pro. Then your client can view the images, but they are difficult to copy. You can set your own comission for prints or high res digital downloads. Your client then orders them directly from smugmug and you get your take. it's much less work than having to communicate with the client, order things yourself, get them to the client, deal with credit cards, etc.



I think this would work well for you. Here's an example from one of my galleries as to what you would give a client. Just give them a link like this and then you don't need to worry about it anymore: (They're landscape shots)



http://artphotosforsale.smugmug.com/gallery/2832191#151612419