How much to charge for taking photos of artwork for a artist.

[princesswoo]

My neighbour who is a well established artist and has her work in a couple of galleries in the UK as well as having her own gallery where we live, has asked me if I will phtograph her entire collection for new advertising and catalogues. Maybe even postcards.

She knows im still amateur although she sees my dedication on a daily basis, as were starting to become great friends through our passion for art, so shes not expecting miracles, just an improvement on the rubbish shots she has now. As she uses oils and water colours and her current pictures lack texture and the colours are flat. And I am more than capable of achieveing it for her.

She has given me the job before even asking how much I want paying, she just said ''let me know''. She said i wouldnt do a painting for free, and I dont expect you to do this for free either, we all have expenses and a living to make.

So how much do I charge. I am going to take extra time and care to make sure the shots are perfect, more time than a profesional would take, I dont want to pass this extra time on to her as she's doing me a huge favour in offering me the job and allwoing me to improve my portfolio. This job might lead to more work from other artists, as she's knows people who know people. so i want to do a fantastic job, to be able to get the reccomendations, so i dont want to underprice myself, as other clients might expect me to work for them cheaply too.

Do I charge a flat fee for each piece of artwork to be photgraphed. If so how much. This sounds the most sensible option to me. That way as she produces more work its a simple solution to the problem.

Where do I stand with my photos, I know its her artwork im photographing, but there my pictures, am I right in thinking I own the copyright to them , even though its her work in them.

I want to be able to use the photos for my own portfolio to show future potential clients(obviously ill request her permission to do this, i cant see her saying no as its more advertising for her), but these pictures could end up being used anywhere, so do i need to have something in place to protect myself and any future earnings.

So i have to find a great balance.

Any help, hints or tips are greatly appreciated.