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Question from Jodie: “I have been hired to design a Wedding Album and order prints for a client. I did not take or edit the wedding photos. She had a bit of a disaster with the photog and they never finished the job. So, since I did not take or edit the photos does the same x3 apply here for what I should charge??? She also gave me a flash drive with photos taken by other guests in the hope that I could edit some of these and include them in the finished albums as well. Unfortunately, only a hand full can be used. The majority are too noisy or poorly exposed to be mixed in the with the pro shot photos. There will be a total of 3 albums plus the prints.
E Shay: I would probably only double it, since you didn’t have to spend the time shooting them yourself.
Rachel: I would say yes. You are still ordering the products, paying for them, spending time creating an album and it should actually be x4 if you are a home based business and x5 if you have a retail space. One thing you could do is charge per/page and then a design fee. Or give a small discount on multiple books if they are exactly the same as many labs do that if you want. If you are feeling nervous, maybe discount the prints if you don’t have to spend time editing them.
Joey: You also may want to get a release from the original photographer since you are working with their copyrighted images
Sheila: legally you need a release from the previous photog to print for her otherwise she has to do it on her own
Jaye: If you do not have a release from the photographer DO NOT TOUCH THESE PHOTOS! Do not edit them, do not print them. And a print release given to the client does not count. You need a release that specifically states that the photos can be manipulated and used by another photographer. Otherwise you open both you and your client up to a major lawsuit. Copyright violation is a serious offense.
Jodie: All I am doing is designing the books online and ordering the prints for the clients. The actual paying for the products will be done by the client. She is an attorney who works 15 hour days in Manhattan and just does not have the time to spend online doing this. As for the photos I will be editing they will ONLY be ones taken by guests at the wedding. The pro shot photos I will not be touching
Jodie: The photog was actually the STEPSISTER of the GROOM. She charged them 2500 dollars and NEVER delivered any product to them.. She only refunded 400 dollars to them. Needless to day, relations are now strained in the family. The wedding was in May of 2011 and they STILL have no albums. I work with the Bride’s Mom and they asked me if I would be willing to do this
Jodie: Oh and even when I order the prints I will be doing it online. The account I will be using will be in my clients name so my name won’t be on anything.
Jaye: You still need a release, even if you are just throwing images into an album. If you are charging any mark-up then you are profiting off someone else’s work. If you do it for free or whatever that may be a different story, but even then I wouldn’t touch it personally. Especially since she’s someone who may be able to easily find out it happened.
Joey: This may seem innocent enough but it could turn out to blow up to something more. It doesn’t matter if you use the client’s account to order them. You HAVE to do the work for free in order to skate the copyright issues…and that is if she has a full print release of all of the files. Also, as soon as you edit one picture, you will be breaking the print release and moving into copyright infringement due to manipulating the original image. You Lawyer friend should know all of this and not put you in the situation in the first place.
Shelly: Yikes!!! I would run the other way if I were you. 1) The copyright infringement laws could bite you in the behind. 2) Sounds like there is a lot of work to be done and even if you are charging x4 or x5 you still may not make much per the hours that you have to put in. 3) If the client isn’t happy with they way it turns out (due to no fault of your own, but the images were so difficult to work with and not easily fixed) then you look like you don’t know how to do your job when actually you are probably very skilled. If the client isn’t satisfied and tells a few people, then they tell a few people, your reputation is then compromised. I think I would politely tell your co-worker that you are very glad that they thought highly enough to request your services but that you just don’t have the actual time it would take to make everything as perfect as they want them to be and that they would be better served looking for another company that can help them design their album. That way you told them no nicely and you are off the hook. And I can guarantee, no other reputable company will touch one photo without a full copyright release. A reprint release doesn’t count when it comes to altering a photo in anyway, not even if just cropping.
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