Advice please! Request to produce images for a book.

10 years 9 months ago #290070 by scottaj
I have been asked to produce the images for a series of books about self defence. The images the author is after are to demonstrate the techniques. The author is already in communications with a publisher so the ball is definitely rolling.

My only problem is I have never been asked to do this before so not sure how to handle the job.

Should I charge a set fee or ask for a percentage of the authors takings. Who gets what in the way of copyright?
Then probably a mountain of questions I haven't even thought about.

I literally have little idea of how to handle this commission so any comments will be very much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!
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10 years 9 months ago #290076 by garyrhook
As far as I know, this is usually not a work-for-hire situation; you will license the images to the publisher for printing. You will retain all rights to the images, unless you want to let them buy you out and transfer ownership to the author/publisher. For the right price, of course.

You might be able to go onto a stock photography site (iStockPhoto, Getty, etc) and figure out what a license for book publication would net for a single photo. You need to know the expected run, will reprints be re-negotiated, distribution, etc. And ask for auditing privileges if there's any reason you shouldn't trust the publisher. You might also charge for the studio time necessary to take the shots. There is software available to assist in pricing, buy you're going to need more details on the project.

Then figure out what the total cost will be to the customer. The author should have some idea as to what is wanted already. Presuming that this is not a vanity project, ask for a reasonable amount of money for your work. Don't be shy.


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The following user(s) said Thank You: scottaj
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10 years 8 months ago #292522 by J Hemingway
Didn't know they licensed photos there for books too. Now you have me heading there to check.


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