Best Business Practices for Photographers [117]
One term that has been demanded—but which the client has relented on—has been the attempt to insist that there be no additional fee for magazine reprints that the subject might want. Because magazine reprints are not editorial—they are of commercial benefit to the subject photographed, with the added endorsement of the publication—editorial rates do not apply to these uses. Magazine reprints are a substantial source of income for many publications, and the photographs often play a major role in the reprint—frequently becoming the cover of the reprint when the subject was not on the cover in the first place. I'm just not willing to forgo my piece of the pie from this use of my work.
Recently, I was contacted to produce more than 20 portraits for a publication, and the publisher was insisting upon the inclusion of reprint rights. When I discussed this further, it was stated by the publisher's representative that, in fact, they expected to generate several thousand dollars' worth of revenue from each of the reprints, and they were unwilling to pay me more for those reprints. The revenue from the reprints alone would have paid for my photography fees and would have turned a profit off of me to boot. Understand that if you do an assignment, the assignment can generate more revenue for the publication through reprints than from the actual editorial usage.
My contracts all have a place for the client to sign at the bottom of the second page. Back in the day, documents such as Delivery Memos, which accompanied film, had a place for a signature on the front and an entire page of Terms and Conditions on the reverse. This led some clients to attempt to get out of any term they wanted (usually the $1,500 valuation per image for 60 images sent and now lost) by saying they never saw the T&C, and in some states—California among them—some T&Cs must appear on the front of a document for them to be binding. Now, all my documents have the signature space on the bottom of page two, so the signature appears on the page with the T&C. If your contract has the client signing on page one, make sure there is a place on the subsequent page(s) for their initials and that each page is labeled "Page X of Y." This will minimize the client's ability to suggest they never saw the T&C.
Following are several case studies from actual client negotiations. The names have been removed because it's not necessary to know who the client is or what publication they might be from; the important part is to see how the transaction took shape.
Before moving on to the case studies, there's one tangential aspect of many editorial assignments that needs to be addressed. Often subjects have never had a photograph that they like, or if they did, it's no doubt outdated. They frequently will ask, "So are these photos yours or the magazine's?" To which we respond, "They're ours." The client's next question is, "So how do we get in touch with you about the photos if we like them?"
I typically have with me a printed single-page piece of paper, often in an envelope, and I give it to the client's assistant. If I don't have the information with me, I point the client to a page on my website with the same information. It reads:
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INFORMATION REGARDING PERSONAL (AND COMMERCIAL) USE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS WE HAVE CREATED
Thank you for your interest in the photography we just created. When photography is done for a magazine or other publication, there is usually a one- to three-month delay in the images being returned to our offices from the date of the shoot or available to other parties.
We are more than happy to facilitate requests for a review