# Friends wanting free pics?



## Mole (Mar 2, 2007)

How do you deal with friends that just expect to get pics for free from you? 

Here's my example: This last weekend I took a bunch of shots of my friends and their family riding quads and stuff at the sand dunes. When a few of them saw the pics they offered to buy some prints, I said no prob. Then others came up to me later and asked for me to just burn them a cd of all the images I made for free. Then a couple just want me to email them pics. The main question is how do you deal with the people that just expect you to give them free images. Remember these are your friends not clients. Also how do you charge one person and not another? How do you not offend the ones that just feel you should give them free pics, or do you just not worry about offending them? 

I feel like some of them put me in a bad position. I don't want to be greedy but I don't want to get Scre*** either.


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## dewey (Mar 2, 2007)

Are you trying to start a business?  If so email them a link to small 72dpi pix on a website and post your prices.  If you are not planning on getting into a business it makes it more difficult to charge friends randomly... I can see where you would make some of them angry.

In the end though they're your pictures so it's up to you.


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## brighteyesphotos (Mar 2, 2007)

Hard saying. The ones that offered to buy probably know that there are costs involved in printing. The ones that asked for a disc probably figured you have plenty of them lying around. I buy discs in bulk for various reasons. Since you were taking pictures of them playing around, not there as a hired photographer but as a friend, they probably figured you were just snapping for the sake of snapping. If it was a wedding or some other shoot where you were the only/main photographer and there only to take pictures, then I'd say you can tell the ones that asked for the files for free sorry, your services are not free. 

It wasn't a competition or an event, right? You weren't hired nor were you there only to take pictures, were you? I'm assuming that at some point, you were riding as well. For the ones that offered to pay, I'd take them up on it. The ones that wanted a disc, I'd make one with just a select few on it. The ones that wanted an email, I'd reduce the file size and email one or 2.


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## Stevedevil (Mar 2, 2007)

You will have too watch out more and more as your Photography progresses,

I have been lined up ( By my Lovely Wife ) to shoot the pictures at Christenings for both of her Sisters Children..

I was quite keen on the idea until I had this Thought......

I have spent over £2,000 on Camera equipment over the past year, and they are getting a Photographer for FREE, and reading your thread I think now the same problem will arise ( after sitting in Photoshop for around a week too!! )

My advise would be that if they used your car, they would put fuel in it, so if they are using your pictures then I think that a small payment towards your costs would be perfectly acceptable..

The other options would be to Water Mark them and store in lower ppi so they will not benefit from " Enlarging "

Cheers

Steve


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## Mike_E (Mar 2, 2007)

Tell them you'll bring the cds over and what are you having for dinner.  If they won't feed you a nice meal, wait till they will.     mike


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## MPowerM3 (Mar 2, 2007)

Yeah tricky call, personally, im not that good yet, but when some friends and I are out taking pictures of there car(s) I usally get dinner/coffee/drinks for doing it.  I do spend the time, but this is a hobby for me, so for all the time I spend doing it I really want to be doing it to get better.  Just tell the friends that want to buy pictures that your not doing that, and give them a cd or memory card or email with them on there and finsh up.  Or offer to do it if your going to the print shop anyways, and just have them pay you actual costs, they'll probably toss you a few dollars for doing it, leg work what not.  Or just stop being friends with the cheapos.


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## emogirl (Mar 2, 2007)

Were you asked to take their pictures?  Or did you go out and shoot, as a photographic opportunity presented itself and to spend time with friends? If its the latter, than No, i dont think you make them pay for them....these are your friends...if they want hard copies....ask them to pay cost, that is reasonable, if they want them on disk, ask them to bring you a disk .... i know the cost of a disc isnt much, but doing this constantly, as I do too, it adds up....if they want the pics, they wont begrudge you for asking  to pay cost.  

Its no different if you have a friend who does plumbing or a mechanic etc..they dont charge you, just ask you to pay for parts.

Now...different story when friends ask you to take pics for an event etc...I have made it known for years with family and friends, that you will pay....now i use my discretion depending on how close they are to me and, depending on the event....if its a wedding - well, that's my job, and you will pay my fee, but usually i give them a deal on reprints/enlargements orders after.  Everyone respects that, its my job. You have to draw your own line and stick to it. 

but honestly, in this case, give them a cd, or ask them to pay cost on prints....that's what friends do for each other!


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## Christie Photo (Mar 2, 2007)

Mike_E said:


> Tell them you'll bring the cds over and what are you having for dinner.  If they won't feed you a nice meal, wait till they will.     mike



Well ya know...  I was gonna ask for a definition of friends.  We all have LOTS of "friends," but just how close are they?  One measure I often use is whether they've been to my home for dinner or I to theirs.  One step down for that is if my grandma dies, would the come to the funeral?

If your "friends" fall into this category, I offer a standard discount (20%) if they come to me for work.  On something like your outing, where I made some images and they ask for copies, I think I'd do it differently.  I might just make each of them a small (4x6) print and give it to them.  If they want larger prints, then they get the 20% off.  I've never been asked for a CD, but I can hear myself saying, "Oooo...  ya know...  I never do that."  Family gets everything for free, unless I spend more that $30 or so...  then the pay my costs.  Acquaintances are just customers I made through networking and pay full price.

Pete


PS   I often use the line, "Buy me lunch" and give away a print rather than discounting.


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## Stevedevil (Mar 2, 2007)

> Its no different if you have a friend who does plumbing or a mechanic etc..they dont charge you, just ask you to pay for parts.
> 
> Now...different story when friends ask you to take pics for an event etc...I have made it known for years with family and friends, that you will pay....now i use my discretion depending on how close they are to me and, depending on the event....if its a wedding - well, that's my job, and you will pay my fee, but usually i give them a deal on reprints/enlargements orders after. Everyone respects that, its my job. You have to draw your own line and stick to it.


 
I think there is a little something wrong here, as Im an Electrician, Its My Job, so when asked to do something for a friend then why cant I charge!

Your saying because its your Job then you can charge, so why cant a Plumber or Sparks


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## Sw1tchFX (Mar 2, 2007)

I just explain the costs associated with what I did and in a round about way, tell them they need to compensate.


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## darich (Mar 2, 2007)

i once had a mate ask me for the digital file so he could arrange a print and give as gift to a girl he was interested in. I told him that he wasn't getting the original file - for two reasons

I have no idea where that file will end up or with who
He could take numerous prints and sell them on as his own

He wasn't pleased but i told him no photographer would give away the original negative or digital image. he wasn't pleased and made do with a low res 72dpi version i sent him at approx 800 x 600.
I normally charge family and friends cost plus a nominal fee for prints.

So far, no one has asked me to take images as a job and then provide a CD but i think i'd be looking for some kind of payment even if it was purely my time. My family know how much my gear cost and i don't think it would be unreasonable to expect some kind of payment in return for them getting a fairly experienced photographer and top quality equipment to take their photos.


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## fmw (Mar 2, 2007)

If you make your living from photography and they know that and expect free photography then they aren't really friends.  

If you aren't a pro then give them the CD.  What are friends for?  They didn't hire you did they?


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## LaFoto (Mar 2, 2007)

Well, I am not sure about "just give them the CD".
Friends or family or strangers ... there are costs involved - and time - for having a couple of good photos taken. 
And I have taken way too many by now and given away for nothing or a pittance, I have made an inward decision that I won't do that anymore.
Never will they get my data. Never. 
All I will ever give them is prints. The data to those prints is mine like my negatives in film times have always and invariably remained mine. Further orders only through me. 
So far, however, I have only ever just charged what the prints costed me plus maybe 30% more for the print. Which ends in NOTHING really, given the time, material and more time spent on taking the photos. 
Since I don't run a business I always thought I MUST NOT charge anything other than my own expenses.
I am in the process of changing my mind. 

And the last thing I would do, ever, is give them my data!


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## Stevedevil (Mar 2, 2007)

Lets look at this from a Different Angle

Piracy

I paid £400 for my Photoshop CS2, I could have got it on the net for £10

This would not have taken into account the " BRILLIANT " people who made this program, but would cover the cost of the CD it was copied on.

They are your Photo's so keep them yours and if People want to buy them, then friend or Foe, charge them...

You wont see them handing you £500 when your camera needs upgrading / repairs.

If they want a Photo taken of them, then ask to use THEIR camera, a 2megpixel point and Click..


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## gizmo2071 (Mar 2, 2007)

Personally.
I'd get them to give me a disc and I'd give them the files at 800x600 at 72dpi with my name/websire written in the corner. So if they decide to show them on the internet, at least people will know who took them. I'd kinda see it as a free advertisment.


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## Mike_E (Mar 2, 2007)

I wouldn't give data to someone whom I didn't know well enough to know what they would do with it.  There is however a cost in friendship whether or not money is involved.  There is the investment in time, in effort and in emotional involvement.  The first sentence in this thread was about "friends" and giving of yourself is part and parcel to friendship.  Later "others" were mentioned.  Others = customers.  You'll have to differentiate the individuals involved for yourself.     mike


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## Stevedevil (Mar 2, 2007)

It can also be Where you are in Photography!!!

We all post on the forum and say " Its OK to Edit My Photo's "

Is that not the same as giving them away!!!


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## rmh159 (Mar 2, 2007)

I like this thread, something we can all relate to at one point or another.  

My thoughts... if the photos are good enough that you're even bothered by their lack of offer of a payment then you're probably at the point where you can take some pride in your work class your above the type of photographer who's just snapping random shots for the joy of it rather than trying to create art.  That said... I wouldn't give away your art.

How I'd handle this if I were in your shoes... address it light heartedly or maybe jokingly and just say "My stuff isn't free.".  Anticipate a reaction and be prepared with a price.  Like others suggested if you feel they're good friends and you don't want to leave them hanging just give them low res shots that they can view on a PC but not really do much with and add a digital signature.

I wouldn't give them the digitals either and for this reason alone.  Imagine your friend taking those digitals and getting them printed at some cheap, shop and creating horrid prints of your work.  They hang them up cuz they're pics of themselves (we're all vane like that  ) and when people ask about the pics your friend says you took them.  Now you're receiving the credit for prints that look like poop, or at least a different version that what you might've intended.

Maybe another question to ponder is how seriously do you take yourself as a photographer.  Once you can answer that one, the other questions might answer themselves.


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## xfloggingkylex (Mar 2, 2007)

You really have to play it by ear and do what you feel is right. Unless they asked me to come out and take pictures of them, I'd give them a CD of pictures on it. There would be little to no post processing done to the pictures because I am not going to spend a lot of time working on pictures for free. If a friend of mine asked for a picture of mine in a frame, I would ask them to pay for the materials, but I wouldn't charge any of my good friends.

I see it like this, everyone has their own strengths or uses. If a friend of mine is having a problem with their car or wants a part installed I'll do it and just ask for maybe a burger to eat while I work. The trade of being that when there is something that friend can do that I cant do, I would expect that same hospitality in return.

That being said, I do not have my own photography business so it may be different if normally I would charge for shots, and I started giving them away. But for a friendly outing, I just cant justify charging my friends money in exchange for my passion. Of course anything they offer I'll gladly take

the digital signiture is good, and if I was giving photos to a friend, they would all be sized down to 1280x1024, since that is as large as your average monitor will display for the sake of backgrounds.  That will make it so they can not print off your work (at last not at a high quality).


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## theusher (Mar 2, 2007)

gizmo2071 said:


> Personally.
> I'd get them to give me a disc and I'd give them the files at 800x600 at 72dpi with my name/websire written in the corner. So if they decide to show them on the internet, at least people will know who took them. I'd kinda see it as a free advertisment.



Personally I would not charge my family and friends anything as long as it was simple and not too time consuming. But I'm very close with most of my family, and the friends I keep are pretty close to me as well. Most have done favors for me in the past, and I probably owe my immediate family more than any amount of pictures would ever cover. 

I think the answer above is perfect, as they will have unprintable images, and you get advertising. Also next time make it be known that you have to spend a lot of time processing the images, etc and your time is money. Or just decline the request to be their photographer.


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## Mole (Mar 2, 2007)

Thank you everyone for your opinions and advice  This was just a fun trip and I was orignally just taking the pics for me and to improve my skills. 

A new problem arose tonight though. The offroad company that my friend bought all his parts saw one of the pics and now they want some. The problem is that they are my buddy's friends the own the company. If I give him a cd I don't want them printing some crappy low res pics for display with my watermark on it. How do you tell your friend, "here's your pics don't give them for others to display"? They also want to send in some of the pics to a couple of the magazines.

This is just me rambling along. 

I guess what I'll do is, charge for any prints I make and just give them low res cd's with watermarks and leave it at that. If they actually get a magazine to want some of the pics they will want high res pics so they will have to cantact me for those.

Man this is difficult. It wouldn't be that bad if just a couple of people wanted the pics but it's turning out that a lot of people want them. Someday I would like to do this for a living. I guess if this gets my name out there then it would be worth eating some of the cost of giving my pics away for free.


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## astrostu (Mar 2, 2007)

Mole said:


> Thank you everyone for your opinions and advice  This was just a fun trip and I was orignally just taking the pics for me and to improve my skills.
> 
> A new problem arose tonight though. The offroad company that my friend bought all his parts saw one of the pics and now they want some. The problem is that they are my buddy's friends the own the company. If I give him a cd I don't want them printing some crappy low res pics for display with my watermark on it. How do you tell your friend, "here's your pics don't give them for others to display"? They also want to send in some of the pics to a couple of the magazines.
> 
> ...




Before I read this, I was going to say that my opinion had already been said by many people:  They're your friends, just do it and expect them to return the favor somewhere down the road.  Though charge cost for something like printing.

But when there are companies involved now that want to use them where they'll potentially make money off of it, it does get tricky.  In that sort of situation, I would go with something like, "You're my friend and I normally wouldn't have much of an issue with providing you the original images, but since other people potentially want to make money off of this, I have to protect my artistic property and can't just give you the original files.  Please understand that this is nothing about you, it's just the nature of the business."

I think if you were to say something along those lines that any real friend would understand and be okay with it.


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## Jim Gratiot (Mar 2, 2007)

> I guess if this gets my name out there then it would be worth eating some of the cost of giving my pics away for free.


If lots of people want your pictures... that's a good thing.  In this situation, I'd give the pix away free... but be aggressive about asking everyone you give them to if they know of anybody else who would be interested in your services.

Don't underestimate the power of word-of-mouth marketing... and if you can have several friends on your side, all the better.

So yeah, chalk it up as... not an expense... but as an investment in your future.

Also, you could boldly approach the offroad company about future _paying_ gigs.


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## Riggaberto (Mar 3, 2007)

Simply ask them to pay the costs, rounded up nicely.  Dont go doing it for like, friends of friends, however.


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## Mole (Mar 3, 2007)

This is what im probably gonna do; I'll hook up my friends with prints for what it cost me and give them low res cd's also. That way they can print 4x6 prints themselves with decent quality but can not do large prints. I'll let them now that if they need large prints just let me know. I'll tell them the files are much to large and would take too many cd's if I didn't convert them to smaller files. I am also gonna put my sig on every file so if they start sending them all over at least I'll get credit. Also with them only having low res copies on cd people like the offroad company wont have any use of them being of such low quality. If they want an image they can use they will have to go through me. 

Talk about a fine line to walk. Its hard for people that aren't into photography (for fun or business) to really grasp how sensetive something like this is.

To clear one thing up, I have no problem hooking one of my friends up its the freeloaders that just expect things to be given to them that im more concerned about. Also anyone that would try to make money off of my stuff (ie offroad company).


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## Alex_B (Mar 3, 2007)

for close relatives and very close friends all is for free.

And no problems with that single shot of Aunty Emma either.

But once it gets into a lengthy portrait session or shooting a whole wedding, then that is a different story.

After all, when you shoot the wedding, you cannot really enjoy the whole thing as a freind's wedding, since you are seriously working. If I did this, I would make this my wedding present, and I am sure they would know it is an expensive present ... everyone who does a wedding, knows how expensive hiring a photographer would have been. Most who say they do not know, only pretend not to know...

Recently I shot like 80 pictures of a friends baby, I did not charge anything since shooting people/portrait is not my strong point, so I did not consider the outcome really professional. Also it was a very close friend of mine.


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## LaFoto (Mar 3, 2007)

Well, I took my friend's baby pics the other day, and pics of herself with her two young children, and she only wanted "some photos with me in them, too, for a change" for the photo album. So I e-mailed her a 1200x800 version of the photos for free. It were like six or so. I would not charge anything for THOSE!

And also the solo singers who were in the Theodora-project with us did, indeed, get free CDs with the photos I took during the rehearsals, and likewise they also got free DVDs of the performance which costed 15 Euros for us choir members. It is just the thing to be done. (The CDs also had 1200x800px versions with my signature on them).

But when I documented that ballet performance a year ago and spent HOURS ON END on the photos, I find I later sold my work too cheap. I do myself more of a favour, I guess, if (when) I start to evaluate myself and my work higher.

And when people start to like the photos that I am going to show in a projection show come Friday, I will charge much higher prices for a print than I used to. And no one will EVER get a CD. Only prints.


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## Alex_B (Mar 3, 2007)

LaFoto said:


> And when people start to like the photos that I am going to show in a projection show come Friday, I will charge much higher prices for a print than I used to. And no one will EVER get a CD. Only prints.




So soon? good luck


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## Alex_B (Mar 3, 2007)

Stevedevil said:


> We all post on the forum and say " Its OK to Edit My Photo's "
> 
> Is that not the same as giving them away!!!



not really, here it is only low res images .. of course someone could use them on a webpage without asking, but not for anything beyond it.


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## darich (Mar 3, 2007)

Stevedevil said:


> It can also be Where you are in Photography!!!
> 
> We all post on the forum and say " Its OK to Edit My Photo's "
> 
> Is that not the same as giving them away!!!



Completely different.
Permission is given to edit - not to use or sell on.


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## Alex_B (Mar 3, 2007)

darich said:


> Completely different.
> Permission is given to edit - not to use or sell on.



I think what he means is, that people will download them to edit, and then they have your images on their computer and god knows what they will do with them  

.. this is not about what is allowed and what not I guess ...


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## Christie Photo (Mar 3, 2007)

I think this problem will work itself out.

I remember how everyone just loved my work in the early days.  As soon as they had to open their wallets, everyone became a critic...  and much more selective too.  All at once, they found the could easily live without as many prints and wanted to know, "How much for a wallet sized print?"


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## xfloggingkylex (Mar 4, 2007)

as for the company wanting pictures, they can pay for it, if they are going to be making money off your work, I think you should too.

Just ask your friend not to give it to them, or you go directly to the company and sell them, and if they dont want to buy, remind them that the photos you took are legally yours and it is a breach of copyright to use someone elses work in that way.


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## Efergoh (Mar 4, 2007)

For me it comes down to a couple of different factors...

1. How good of a friend is this person?
2. How can it benefit me?

We all have different definitions of what a friend is. A friend isn't just someone with whom I chat on occasion. He or she is someone with whom I have developed a close relationship with that is based upon mutual interests or common bonds. I consider a true friend to be no different than family.

One of my friends is a grease monkey by trade. We works for a Ford dealership 9-5, but he also earns a few extras dollars on the side doing auto repair outside of work on non Ford automobiles.

The brakes went out on my GMC truck recently. The brake lines rusted through (300,000+ miles on this vehicle). He replaced the lines for free. I bought the line itself (less than $10), but he spent a couple hours under my truck in the cold and snow fixing it for his friend. All he got from me was a smile and a 6 pack of beer.

I once got a call from him (or rather his wife) at 2:30am on morning. He and his wife had been cooking food all night for a party that was going on the next day. around 10pm he cut the bejeeezus out of his finger, and couldn't get it to stop bleeding. Four hours later I got the phone call (yes, I was in bed). He does not have health insurance, and couldn't afford to go get the  stitches that be needed quite badly. I grabbed my kit and drove to his house and patched up this finger and saved him a trip to the hospital. I check on it every day for the next few days for infection, and he ended up being fine.

That is what friends do. Close friends do things for each other. We don't always expect it in return, but good friends always make up for it.

As for photography, my friends know that I am trying to make a living of this. They always see me with a camera, and I always share my photos with them. When they ask about prints, I give them low discounted prices because they are friends. If they are a really good friend, I offer them.

This same circle of friends has also provided me with oppertunity.
One friend writes for a firearm/law enforcement publication. He asked me to shoot photos for an upcoming article. Since this would mean exposure for me, I told him I would do it for cost plus lunch.

If I were a Greedy Gus and held all of my pictures in secret and never let anyone have them, no one would see them, and no one would know what I am capable of.

Friends and Family are excellent sources for networking...


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## DeepSpring (Mar 4, 2007)

I was upset with my friend this past friday on this issue. He asked if I could come and shoot his band last friday. He never once offered to get me in for free. I know thw owner since my band plays their often so he let me in but my friend didn't know he would After the show he never thanked me for taking the pics, not even a thanks for coming. We all went to Dennys after the show. Over dinner he doesn't ask if I could make him a disc with the pictures, he basically tells me to make him a disc with the pictures. Not once offering to pay for my dinner or anything. I had been planning on giving him what he wanted before the night began but after that I decided to just give him low-re websize with my name and website on them.


I don't think many of these people who just want stuff for free understand the time involved. About 1 1/2 hours just to put all the pics you shot on your comp, an hour to review all the pics you took and decide what you want to edit. And then depending on what you want to do and how many pics it could take hours to edit everything. By the time you are done you have spent about 10 times the length of the show.


As far as other friends go for portraits, I have been doing a lot of them for free. Right now I'm still young and don't have the biggest portfolio yet so I have been asking a lot of my friends to model for me. In return I give them the link to the photobucket where I upload all the edited shots from the session. So far all of them without my even asking have put them on their myspace and given me my rightful credits and a link to my page. A few people have then messaged me "hey I saw so and so's pics and they look nice, I'd like to hire you"

Like Efergoh said  "Friends and Family are excellent sources for networking..."


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## craig (Mar 5, 2007)

My friends know that if I am shooting they may be able to see them. Generally not. If I get a good photo the subject gets a print, but only if we are close friends.


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## chakalakasp (Mar 7, 2007)

If they're really good pics, give them CDs in exchange for a model release. Then, send the photos to a stock site like Alamy. With luck, someone will license one of the shots and you'll have a few hundred bucks in your pocket (or more).


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## xfloggingkylex (Mar 8, 2007)

DeepSpring said:


> I was upset with my friend this past friday on this issue. He asked if I could come and shoot his band last friday. He never once offered to get me in for free. I know thw owner since my band plays their often so he let me in but my friend didn't know he would After the show he never thanked me for taking the pics, not even a thanks for coming. We all went to Dennys after the show. Over dinner he doesn't ask if I could make him a disc with the pictures, he basically tells me to make him a disc with the pictures. Not once offering to pay for my dinner or anything. I had been planning on giving him what he wanted before the night began but after that I decided to just give him low-re websize with my name and website on them.
> 
> 
> I don't think many of these people who just want stuff for free understand the time involved. About 1 1/2 hours just to put all the pics you shot on your comp, an hour to review all the pics you took and decide what you want to edit. And then depending on what you want to do and how many pics it could take hours to edit everything. By the time you are done you have spent about 10 times the length of the show.
> ...




that is truely disappointing.

as for the good part of your post, that is very cool that your friends who model are helping spread the word, and it is the perfect reason to do some low cost or free photoshoots when you are just starting.


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## calmom (Mar 8, 2007)

i am NOT a pro like many of you but the more serious i get about my photography, the more friends ask me to shoot their kids, etc. and i LOVE to do it. i even like to give them one or two free blown up prints. 

what i do NOT like is knowing that they may print them on a crappy home printer or use them for whatever they want, like in their signatures on a message board. i hope that doesn't make me a bad friend. i spend hours a day on my pictures and i'm starting to want to take the credit for them and not have them showing up looking crappy in other places so i've started watermarking them.


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## rastoma (Mar 9, 2007)

Mole said:


> Thank you everyone for your opinions and advice  This was just a fun trip and I was orignally just taking the pics for me and to improve my skills.
> 
> A new problem arose tonight though. The offroad company that my friend bought all his parts saw one of the pics and now they want some. The problem is that they are my buddy's friends the own the company. If I give him a cd I don't want them printing some crappy low res pics for display with my watermark on it. How do you tell your friend, "here's your pics don't give them for others to display"? They also want to send in some of the pics to a couple of the magazines.




In a nutshell regarding your original post and this follow......

It's been covered, but if you were there as a friend just hanging out, even just to improve your skills, I don't think the people there thought it was wrong to ask for pics and CD.  Since you're improving your skills I take it this is not your paying profession?  If it's not, then why not give them away?  Call them later and ask what they thought of them?  Tell them you're wanting to start earning money on the side or as your main source of income in the photography business so please spread the word to people who might need a photographer.

The next time you go with friends and don't want to give away something that you didn't go out of your for to begin with, before any activities start, mingle with everyone and just come out say "man, this looks like it's going to be a great day.  I hope to get some really good shots for my portfolio since I'm doing this as a professional now and need to start making a return on my investment".  MOST of the people will take that to mean you're not giving them away and since you're saying that before the pics are taken it shouldn't offend anyone.


About the business that wants the pics....

They want to publish some of your pics in a national magazine and that's a dilema!!!!!!

If I was you I'd give it to them in a heartbeat in any resolution they wanted.

Do you know how much that 'credential' will mean in future business when you can pull out a magazine to other individuals and businesses and say 'here is a sample of my work'?

You're being given a great opportunity.  That should be a no brainer.


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## castrol (Mar 9, 2007)

If someone ASKS me to take photos for them, most everyone I know will at
least offer to pay for my time. Other than that, if I am taking photos because
I want to take pictures, I don't mind passing photos on to the people I am
photographing. I do this a lot at parties and when we go out. 

Eh, I bought my photography equipment because I wanted to get better and
better as a photographer. I don't expect to ever make a living at it, but at
some point, little by little, it will eventually pay for itself and to me, that is 
reward enough.


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## MPowerM3 (Mar 9, 2007)

castrol said:


> If someone ASKS me to take photos for them, most everyone I know will at
> least offer to pay for my time. Other than that, if I am taking photos because
> I want to take pictures, I don't mind passing photos on to the people I am
> photographing. I do this a lot at parties and when we go out.
> ...


 

Best answer in the entire thread, nailed on the head, what I wanted to say when I posted.  Very nice!!


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## darich (Mar 10, 2007)

Alex_B said:


> I think what he means is, that people will download them to edit, and then they have your images on their computer and god knows what they will do with them
> 
> .. this is not about what is allowed and what not I guess ...



But permission is still limited to editing and reposting to show that editing work. Not to post on commercial sites and make money from.
Permission to edit means that they'll have to be downloaded, altered and reposted to show the change.
Permission to sell on means that person can download and do what they please with them.

I know what you're getting at (along with Steve) but when it's a legal issue ie copyright ownership then it's important that people appreciate the difference.


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## ZyxKor (Mar 12, 2007)

I think what you are doing is ok. They won't know the difference and probably wouldn't care anyhow. 

Castrol hit the nail on the head, well put. 

As for the business why not call them up and talk to them about it. Maybe say "Hey, there shots were just for fun. Want to set up a real session and I can make them even better and get more of what you want for $xxxx". That way you can get some shots they want and give them any from the fun session for free as a bonus. Tell them they can bring any products they want and you can stage pictures so they would better fit into what they want for advertising/magazines. If they aren't interested in a full session then tell them they can have the pictures for $xxx.


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## R.Robbins (Mar 14, 2007)

For me it depeds on how close my of a friend they are, and if I can use the shots fro anything, If I need it for my portfolio and its a close friend I'll comp it and let them pay to get prints made.  If I dont need the shots and its a so so friend then maybe I'll give them a low res copy and have them pay me for prints.  It all depends on the situation.


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## Jeepnut28 (Mar 14, 2007)

I do not charge any of my friends for my photos...usually i meet them at the print shop so they can pay my costs for their prints (i am very picky, insist the use my printer, and dont let any prints leave the shop without me seeing them first).......my friends have lots of friends and they send me referrals.....works out well.


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## oldnavy170 (Mar 14, 2007)

If its your friends and family asking for the photos then they only want them for their own personal use.  

I gave my mom a few photos of my children and she took them to work and she gets tons of comments regarding who took them. Just like one of the other members said, its like free advertising.


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## OttawaPhotog (Mar 15, 2007)

Hi, 

Just curious if there were any updates on how you made out with everyone Mole ?  I've been reading , and would like to know the outcome!

Thanks!


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