# should i give away a high rez image file? Or charge $? or offer print?



## oh snap! (Aug 10, 2015)

Hi!
I recently shot a wedding-related dance event for a friend (for free, as gift/portfolio builder). I posted pictures on facebook of the event and now have one of the attendees requesting a high res image file (of her daughters). 

I don't know how to address this as a professional photographer should (because I am just starting in the field with gigs; I want to actually make it a career of it and act accordingly).

Should I say yes or no, charge for it? if so what price? should I offer print instead? price? Or some other option??

Any/all advice on how to handle this situation is much appreciated. Thank you!!

Air


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## dcbear78 (Aug 10, 2015)

Were you there on a professional basis? Will handing over this photo rob you of future income? 

Personally I'd take the pat on the back and give it to them. First I'd maybe consider selling a print, but I wouldn't push it too hard. I think they'd be more likely to walk away than hand over money.... Although without actually seeing the photo it's a bit hard to judge this.


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## Designer (Aug 10, 2015)

oh snap! said:


> ..now have one of the attendees requesting a high res image file (of her daughters).


Just the one inquiry?  Are you quite protective of your images?  Have you asked her why she wants it?  

My first response would be to simply give it to her.

If she wants to get it printed, I'd at least ask to be allowed to reject any prints that did not meet my standards.  

You could offer to order the print yourself so you can have editorial control over the quality of it.  Give her the print at your cost.


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## tirediron (Aug 10, 2015)

Designer said:


> oh snap! said:
> 
> 
> > ..now have one of the attendees requesting a high res image file (of her daughters).
> ...


 This!  ^^


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## KmH (Aug 10, 2015)

oh snap! said:


> . . . because I am just starting in the field with gigs; I want to actually make it a career of it and act accordingly. . .


Then you need a contract signed by whoever you shoot for, even if you do not charge.

I would also highly recommend you register your business with the appropriate government agencies where you are, have business liability insurance (even if you do not charge for a 'gig'), and when you do charge, collect appropriate sales taxes if needed and be sure you meet government agency requirements for financial record keeping and reporting of income.


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## oh snap! (Aug 11, 2015)

Thank you all for the feedback. I asked her if she wanted it for printing purposes and haven't heard back yet. 

And yes, I was there on a professional basis.

What would liability insurance be for exactly? I feel ignorant asking this question, and will research it. Broadly though, can you give me an example of what it would be for in this situation, for example?

I'm not overly protective of my images, but I do want to use my images to advance professionally, to get more jobs, sell prints, etc. and really didn't know if I should be charging for something like this or give it away. I guess there is the idea of hurting other photographers (or artists or whoever) when you give away services and undersell; the argument that it hurts the industry, cheapens the work...This is just one thing I considered, but honestly have no idea about this stuff; seems all situations are different. 

Thanks again.


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## KmH (Aug 12, 2015)

Most governments (City/Count/State/etc) in the USA require a business have liability insurance to be a legal business.

Liability insurance pays the expenses (medical/legal) your business would incur when someone other than you is injured during a shoot. That happens more often than many new to the business of doing photography realize.

Putting some location info in your profile would really help people answer business related questions since locations has a lot to do with so many aspects of being in business.
For example, pricing varies by region. In general, a photographer doing business in a major metropolitan area can usually charge more than a photographer in a medium or smaller size town.


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 12, 2015)

You could get some info. and resources thru professional photographers organizations like American Society of Media Photographers or PPA.


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## oh snap! (Aug 16, 2015)

Thank you Keith and Sharon! Both helpful responses. I added my city- San Francisco.


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## clel miller (Aug 22, 2015)

KmH said:


> Most governments (City/Count/State/etc) in the USA require a business have liability insurance to be a legal business.
> 
> Liability insurance pays the expenses (medical/legal) your business would incur when someone other than you is injured during a shoot. That happens more often than many new to the business of doing photography realize.


This is Un-Godly important.
Never owned a photo business, but we did own a backline company for a few years. People will and do sue over anything and everything.
All it takes is a lens cleaning tissue on the floor, and somebody will say it caused them to Slip/Trip/Fall/Injure themselves. You want to make sure they are suing your insurance company, and not you. 
It can be hard to believe, at first.....especially if you are use to working alone, or for friends. But as soon as you involve the general public, you have to be prepared for the worst. You guys ever notice how service vans surround their vehicle with those Orange Cones.? 
We (our insurance) were sued twice:
1. A lady  "tripped" over MY 6' speaker  cable. Just mine, not one of the other 47 cables/stands/braces on stage.
2. A singer tripped over a 4x12 ATA Case (imagine a chest of drawers size thing) and sued. She said we should have had cones. What the F is to prohibit people from tripping over the cones.?
You hand all that stuff over to your insurance company.
good luck


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## imagemaker46 (Sep 8, 2015)

Just let them know you're doing it as a favour and that you don't normally do it. It's 1 image, and it will create good will, make you look good and that may lead to a future client.  But also what the others have said, if you're going to play professional, then register your business.


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## Braineack (Sep 8, 2015)

All my pictures, saved at 3000px, would be in a dropbox folder for them already...


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## sm4him (Sep 8, 2015)

imagemaker46 said:


> Just let them know you're doing it as a favour and that you don't normally do it. It's 1 image, and it will create good will, make you look good and that may lead to a future client.  But also what the others have said, if you're going to play professional, then register your business.



^This. 
And also--set out the "terms" very clearly, in writing. In other words, if you are giving her the image to make ONE x-sized print, be specific about that. Be sure to specify that it is NOT for unlimited use, nor is it acceptable to edit the photo in any way. I'd include a low-res copy already optimized for posting to FB WITH your watermark, and I'd make it clear that the low-res image also must not be altered in any way and is for her personal use only, for posting on social media WITH your watermark and credit given.
That's not an all-encompassing list of what you might want to specify by any means, just an example or two. But if you just hand over a high-res file with no strings attached, next thing you know you may well find that picture posted on FB with some god-awful filters or other processing that makes it look like it was taken by someone who'd dropped too much acid. And to make it worse, they'll still give YOU credit! 
"Thanks to XYZ Photo for the beautiful picture!" and then it'll look like YOU took AND processed the photo that way.


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## sm4him (Sep 8, 2015)

Braineack said:


> All my pictures, saved at 3000px, would be in a dropbox folder for them already...



All of my ACCEPTABLE images might already be in a dropbox folder, FOR THE friend I'd taken them for. But this is about one of the attendees, not the person for whom the OP originally took the pictures.


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## vintagesnaps (Sep 8, 2015)

If you did this as a gift for a friend, it would still probably be necessary to get a release signed to use the photos in your portfolio.

I'd be more likely to give the friend of the friend a print, maybe a lo res copy sized appropriately for social media use (she does not need a hi res copy for that and I would not provide that for free as a favor).

However, I probably would have made it clear up front, no freebies for friends of friends - in a nicer way than that! But still, there's a limit to this kind of thing...

If your business was a bakery, would you just let people come in and take whatever cake they want for free? No, businesses don't do that, maybe you'd give a kid a complimentary cookie, that's about it! lol You might donate a cake to a charitable cause, or give a cake as a gift to a best friend, but not to everybody and anybody or you'd be out of business.


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## oh snap! (Sep 13, 2015)

Thank you Imagemaker46, sm4hm, and vintagesnaps!! This is more particularly the info  I was looking for.

I wish I would have gotten these more recent responses before I replied to her. I asked her if she wanted it to print. She said she wanted to share it with her family. She saw it facebook in the first place when the bride tagged her. 

I ended up saying I could give her a higher quality image "I just ask that if you will be sharing it on social media that you use the one with my name on it to help promote my photography."
She replied " I would love to send it to my family, and would be happy to promote your work."

I haven't actually emailed it to her yet though. I decided I wanted to have my name on the picture regardless and would send her a 180dpi image. I guess I will explain that this is what I can offer her under the circumstances and now also set more parameters as suggested above in this thread.

Wow, I can not fathom how much there is to consider to do this professionally. It makes my brain hurt, because I don't really know where to begin. Anyway, thanks again for the responses.


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## philsphoto (Oct 2, 2015)

Designer said:


> oh snap! said:
> 
> 
> > ..now have one of the attendees requesting a high res image file (of her daughters).
> ...




What a brilliant way to handle this situation, then hand the print over with some business cards and maybe you'll build and advocate for your business.  


Sent by www.philsphoto.com from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## KmH (Oct 3, 2015)

Key word - maybe.


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## Hermes1 (Oct 3, 2015)

Since you indicate taking on gigs, which indicates a desire to make money from photography, whether part time or full time, my recommendation is to indicate a willingness to send a lower resolution image suitable for social media or e-mailing, but for a high resolution image you will need to charge.  What is often overlooked in the "should I shoot or give images for free" discussion, is the risk getting a reputation for free or cheap prices, which you may be able to afford as a hobbyist, but should you go pro it may come back to bite you.


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