Selling images on CD

[malko16]

I'm new to photography and a customer of mine asked me to put all her images on a disk so she could print them herself. I don't have the heart to say "No, because then I won't make any money." Although, that is what I really would like to say. Any suggestions on a price to charge for roughly 30 images?? Or any other way I could tell her no?

[OsmosisStudios]

Say no. Say that you prefer to control the quality of the prints so that your work is best represented. Make her see the value, for both sides of the fence.

[i speak in math]

absolutely sell her the cd. Price it according to how many prints you think the images are worth. If you would expect to sell all 30 as 8x10 or something, the cd might run roughly $300? If she still wants it, then you are both happy. If not, tell her she can purchase prints.

[JodyGall]

Well, its really up to you. I simple no will suffice if that's how you feel. Some photographers sell digital images, some don't. It's a decision you are going to have to make on your own. Do you want all creative control of your images and the quality that the world sees? Then don't sell a CD. Remember, if she goes and prints a photo at a crud photo lab, the colors are all off, they center cropped the picture and cut half of someone's head off, etc.....your name will forever be associated with that picture. Even though it looks like total crud. So you have to think if you want to risk that. You've received good advice here so far.

Another choice you have is to only offer her a CD with images that can be printed up to a 4x6 or 5x7 (not the full resolution files). Any larger prints would have to be ordered through you. I can tell you that many photographers in my area do this...pricing ranging from $600-$1000 for a CD of final proofs, printing ability up to 5x7. But this is in my area, that price can extremely differ from photographer to photographer, city to city, state to state, etc.

Good luck!

[GadgetRick]

This is something I know a lot of old school photographers will tell you not to do. Concerns about print quality, etc. I have a different take on the whole thing, however.

I say, what's the big deal? I mean, most people today don't want every picture they have taken printed out. We all have so many ways of displaying pictures now other than paper (e.g. iPods, phones, digital photo frames, etc.). On top of that, typically, people today will buy prints just for immediate family and want to send pics out as an email to other extended family friends. So I believe the market has become bigger for electronic pictures than for printed pictures.

Another thing is, honestly, who cares what they print your pictures out on? I mean, it's not like they're going to print it with a huge watermark on it which tells who took the picture. Rarely do people ask, "Who took that picture?" Unless it's a truly artful picture or a portrait (much different market for portrait photography). So, it's not like you're going to get bad press if they print it on their crappy ink jet.

Many old school photographers started with film. With film, you pretty much had to have prints made so it was a different world and a different market back then.

I know I get annoyed when I'm somewhere (e.g. Disney World) and they take pictures, I decide I want one then they charge me a ridiculous amount if I want the picture(s) on a disk.

Portrait photography would certainly be different. People are paying to have their pictures taken in a studio to have them printed. I can understand reluctance to not give up the prints. However, if people are willing to pay for them, why not?

It's not like you're talking about a potentially award-winning photograph of something which you'll want to retain the rights to. So who really cares at the end of the day. If you're selling the rights to the picture to anyone, it could always be printed/distributed in a way you're not happy with. But, if you're selling the rights to it, who cares?

[Jim Poor]

For sporting events, I gladly sell a disc. I set the price just a bit above what my average order was when I was only selling prints. Costs went down, orders went up and profit margins increased.

For portraiture, I discourage digital high-res purchases with high prices; just over double what I charge for an 8x10 print.

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by malko16

I'm new to photography and a customer of mine asked me to put all her images on a disk so she could print them herself. I don't have the heart to say "No, because then I won't make any money." Although, that is what I really would like to say. Any suggestions on a price to charge for roughly 30 images?? Or any other way I could tell her no?

Say sure, I'll let you have the 72 dpi low res on a disk, but if you want the high res to print on your own, it's gonna be extra. She wants the high RES to get out from paying for per print, or how ever you set it up.

Frr my wedding shots..... I give them a disk of High Res images for $500.00. and I charge then $200.00 an hour to pping the prints to get them print ready

[BCampbell]

Originally Posted by malko16

I'm new to photography and a customer of mine asked me to put all her images on a disk so she could print them herself. I don't have the heart to say "No, because then I won't make any money." Although, that is what I really would like to say. Any suggestions on a price to charge for roughly 30 images?? Or any other way I could tell her no?

Curious what the project was, I thinkthat might make a difference.

But the real question is, what was your agreement? Did you sign a contract? If not, did you at least make a written or verbal agreement?

If you both originally agreed that you would deliver prints, then say I'm sorry, but the agreement si you would get the prints. Hands washed, done and done.

You can try telling her that you have a dedicated printing solution set up for your photos which delivers superior results.

I've had a few clients who want to use work for promotion on the web, in that case of course they need the files on a CD. This is all agreed upon beforehand. But the licensing terms are also agreed upon beforehand.

What are you charging per print? Figure out your pricing for the files; assuming she can make as many prints as she wants, some multiple of a print price is a good place to start for limited license photos. If she wants a long term, or exclusivity, that will bump your price up dramatically. If she wants to buy the rights outright, that should be extremely expensive -- thousands of dollars for 30 images.

If you didn't have an agreement you can fall back on, come up with some pricing for yourself (there is lots of advice here and elsewhere on the web about price points). Just a price per photo at many tiers. Then ask your client what kind of licensing agreement she would like to come to, do the math, and give her a price.

[Jim Bryant]

Really doesn't depends upon the type of photography...rights granted are rights granted.
But I most certainly wouldn't to give her a disk of full res images (like pretty scenics) grant her full rights, when she can turn around and resale your images to a third party for profit. In a contract you spell out the rights granted. I normally include in my contracts "For personal use only, not to be distributed or sold." You might want to add, "One-North American Rights granted". That way your photos won't show up internationally.

[jgonzalez1980]

I paid 250 for a cd of some newborn shots I had taken of my daughter. I've yet to print any out and its been two years. I would limit what she could print, like some of the post have suggested. This way shes happy with 4x6 or 5x7prints, but at the same time if she them any larger she can come back to you.