Giving customers rights to my images?

[nick32]

I recently started shooting weddings.

I would like to know the best way to give the customer all of the right to the images I take at their wedding. So i can give them a CD with all the images and they can make prints as they wish

is there a form that takes care of this? just looking for some more information on giving clients the rights to the images

thanks
nick

[CheaperKings]

I'm sorry but, I can only answer your question with another question; why would you ever want to do that? You'll make more money off of the prints when they need more made. If they have all the rights, then they no longer need you.

I don't have the words right in front of me, but I usually say "royalty-free" followed by "you can print, copy, or display however you please".

To answer the "why would you ever", it's simple business strategy, which is to find holes in the market in which there is a demand that's not being fulfilled. Clients want full rights to their photos. I talk to people all the time that say this, and don't want the hassle of dealing with the photographer everytime they want a print. They want to be able to display them on Facebook and e-mail them to friends. To a client, the extra fees of prints and "royalty-free" DVDs doesn't make a whole lot of sense. They paid for your services...why should they pay more for the end product?

At my workplace, we have a newsgroup in which people ask for recommendations. About once a week I see a "Need recommendation for a photographer who will give royalty-free rights to all photos on a DVD". The demand is there, so it's only natural that a smart business person would model their business around what the customer wants.

When you allow the customer to use your digitals however they see fit, they start popping up all over the place. One of my co-workers has her son's photos on her computer screen, plastered all over her cube, and on a digital photo frame. After every shoot, they're all up on Facebook with all of her friends and family commenting and asking "who took these photos?". It's excellent marketting.

Last of all, it's kind of nice not worrying about copyright on your client's photos.

[candleman]

Originally Posted by Photoboothguy

I don't have the words right in front of me, but I usually say "royalty-free" followed by "you can print, copy, or display however you please".

To answer the "why would you ever", it's simple business strategy, which is to find holes in the market in which there is a demand that's not being fulfilled. Clients want full rights to their photos. I talk to people all the time that say this, and don't want the hassle of dealing with the photographer everytime they want a print. They want to be able to display them on Facebook and e-mail them to friends. To a client, the extra fees of prints and "royalty-free" DVDs doesn't make a whole lot of sense. They paid for your services...why should they pay more for the end product?

At my workplace, we have a newsgroup in which people ask for recommendations. About once a week I see a "Need recommendation for a photographer who will give royalty-free rights to all photos on a DVD". The demand is there, so it's only natural that a smart business person would model their business around what the customer wants.

When you allow the customer to use your digitals however they see fit, they start popping up all over the place. One of my co-workers has her son's photos on her computer screen, plastered all over her cube, and on a digital photo frame. After every shoot, they're all up on Facebook with all of her friends and family commenting and asking "who took these photos?". It's excellent marketting.

Last of all, it's kind of nice not worrying about copyright on your client's photos.

+1 everybody wants digital....
however, I give "limited rights"

they can do anything they like with the images except modify or sell them.

I give a second disk free which are sharpened and resized for web, as well as watermarked. This stops some sites using the images as their T&C says they take copyright. ...and its free advertising.

if you pitch the watermark as a good thing, its all gravy....

[summerbl4ck]

Originally Posted by Photoboothguy

...there is a demand that's not being fulfilled. Clients want full rights to their photos. I talk to people all the time that say this, and don't want the hassle of dealing with the photographer everytime they want a print. They want to be able to display them on Facebook and e-mail them to friends.

Amen! I am so glad to hear someone else say this! Can I book you to shoot my family? :-)

Seriously, every time I hear someone ask why you would give away digital images, I think if a photographer wants use the images for marketing, why not let the client do it for you?

Not to mention my friends whose wedding photographers have gone out of business. What do they do about prints now?

[private]

Its the same argument when the ball point pen came out...The folks who did caligraphy fought it tooth and nail (I assume - LOL). Many are afraid of change. If you think you are going to lose money, raise your prices for the digital image.

I would say about 60% in my area are now offering disgital images, most peole NEVER print them. They put them in digital photo frames, facebook, email...prints, sadly are becoming obsolete.

Wait I better jump off my high horse b4 I write a novel.

[Jim Bryant]

I give them limited rights. Facebook is fine, but not to reprint and give to others.

[windrider86]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

I give them limited rights. Facebook is fine, but not to reprint and give to others.

amen to that!

[tuxcomputers]

1. You take photos of the client
2. You spend time editing and enhancing the photos
3. You give them the CD with all the great photos you created
4. They take the photos to an el-cheapo shitty mass printing outlet and get them printed
5. Their friend sees them and goes "ewww yuck, who took those photos"

Here is a question, do you think the client is going to say "no no they are really great photos, I am just too cheap to get them printed at decent quality"

Second question, do you think you will ever get that friend of your client as a customer?

Third question, do you now see why pro photographers do NOT give away the rights to the photos?

[laurie millar]

I have a little paper I put in with the CD that basically says that the bearer of this disc has my permission to print the images found on the disc and then it has my info.

You know, I've always liked giving my clients a disc of their photos and I will probably continue to....BUT if trends weren't going the way they are I think I would change to prints. When I was shooting at a reception the other day, a good portion of the decor was pictures that I had taken of the bride and groom...pictures I loved!....and the prints were very bad. I mean, I guess they really liked them but I was saddened to see my pretty pictures looking not so great.