Advice needed- Selling my pics as an Amateur photographer

[skelly22]

Hi All,

I have a question about selling/ licensing my photos to a company. I have taken some pics on my own time of a recently completed infrastructure project in NSW- roads and bridges. I did some nice long shutter speeds shots with traffic light trails, and circulated some low res copies in the office here. Some of the representatives from the client (a large roads authority here in NSW, Australia) has expressed an interest in using the pics for magazines/ on websites etc.

My question is this- am I in a position to license my pics to the client- I am an amateur photographer with no ABN (company tax number) or anything. Payment could be an issue because I could not provide a tax invoice or anything like that, and a company like this does not just hand out cash. Any idea what the going rates would be for this type of thing- say unlimited but not exclusive, and with credit, use of 5 good quality pics —I was thinking maybe $300-400.

Thanks for your help in advance!!!

[MattG]

Essentially you have to satisfy yourself that this is a hobby not a business (check with the ATO. You could then issue a receipt (without GST) with usage licence conditions. You can raise an invoice without an ABN or GST - the business could legitmately withhold 46.5% of the fee as PAYG withholding though unless you explain that this is not a business requiring an ABN.

You need to declare the monies at tax time as additional income and cannot declare any expenses involved with this though as you are not operating as a business.

[skelly22]

@ Matt:

Hi Matt, Thanks for your reply, from the ATO websit i found this link Am I in business?
which as you suggested can be used to assess if you are a business, or a hobbyist, when you sell your pics- i could answer "no" to nearly all questions so I can proceed as a hobbyist.

Cheers for your help,
Shane

[gturner]

Originally Posted by skelly22

@ Matt:

Hi Matt, Thanks for your reply, from the ATO websit i found this link Am I in business?
which as you suggested can be used to assess if you are a business, or a hobbyist, when you sell your pics- i could answer "no" to nearly all questions so I can proceed as a hobbyist.

Cheers for your help,
Shane

the company would probably pay you out of petty cash... and yes, it is still a hobby by all accounts.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by skelly22

@ Matt:

Hi Matt, Thanks for your reply, from the ATO websit i found this link Am I in business?
which as you suggested can be used to assess if you are a business, or a hobbyist, when you sell your pics- i could answer "no" to nearly all questions so I can proceed as a hobbyist.

Cheers for your help,
Shane

Whats going on Shane? You been here for nearly 18 months Mate and only 2 posts. I want to see these great pics, I'm a bit into bridges and roads.

Show us your stuff.

Cheers,

John W

[skelly22]

Hi John, give me a couple of days to sort things out here and i would be happy to put them up!! I'm not claiming they are super fantastic but they are good i believe so hopefully i will make a sale. It would be nice petty cash to put towards a ten stop filter i have my eye on!!!


Shane

[skelly22]

HI John, here the pics i took of the project i'm working on at the moment. It a bypass being built around the town of Ballina in north coast NSW. Comments and critiques are welcome!

ShaneBBA_IMG_5544 - Shane Kelly- Balanced Cantilever Bridge over Emigrant Creek South.jpg

BBA_IMG_5803 - Shane Kelly- SP1 Main Alignment South of Ross Lane Bridge.jpg

BBA_IMG_5804 - Shane Kelly- Ross Lane Bridge by Night.jpg

BBA_IMG_5806 - Shane Kelly- Ross Lane Bridge by Night (2).jpg

[skelly22]

last one..
BBA_IMG_6481 - Shane Kelly- SP1 Main Alignment from Shared Property Access.jpg