Are Digital Files Included With My Baby Photography Session?
Babyphotographers.com would like to welcome St. Louis baby photographer Lauri Baker as our guest blogger. Please enjoy her interesting and informative thoughts on image ownership and digital files.
Surely you’ve noticed an increase in the number of photographers giving away digital files. As a customer, should you expect them to be for sale? Why don’t all photographers include them in the session fee for free, or at least make them affordable? Don’t the files belong to you anyway?
Federal copyright law is very clear about image ownership. They belong to your photographer, who has the sole right to print, display, and sell them.
You should expect the price of digital files, if available, to compensate your photographer for their work and talent. Baby photographers don’t always sell a large package up front like wedding photographers. Instead, most charge a session fee that just covers some costs of providing the shoot. We rely on print sales as our sole source of income. The digital images are the key to those print sales. This is good for you. It means I have to do a good job for you, or I won’t get paid.
While many photographers do offer the files for sale, many baby photographers who specialize in creating custom art don’t. For them, it’s a matter of quality control from start to finish. They realize cutting corners on that is a disservice to their clients.
Almost all of the file inquiries I get stem from an attempt to get my work for cheap… to get my vision, but to skip out on buying prints from me. Or from a misconception that digital is cheaper to produce than film. It’s not.
The equipment is much more expensive, replacements are necessary more often, and the workflow, maintenance, troubleshooting, and constant education requirements make digital much more expensive.
Even at that, the real value of digital files comes not from the cost, but what the files contain: the work and artistry that prompted you to choose that photographer. If you purchase files, expect to pay a price that values the work, and is sustainable for the photographer. You want him or her to still be in business when your new baby starts sitting up. Or walking. Or when your family grows.
If you’re looking for cheap portraits, and you don’t care about prints or a long-term photographer, cheap photography is available in abundance on places like Craigslist. You can have a session and all the files for very little money. But for custom baby photography, the most important things to look for are artistry, image quality, experience with babies, safety, and service. Choose wisely – baby portraits are precious memories and family heirlooms.
Copyright ©2010 Lauri Baker, printed with permission.
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49 Responses
Thank you! So true and sometimes difficult to explain to customers in the best way.
Great post! I just blogged about it
Great! Thanks so much for sharing
Amen! perfectly stated! = )
Love this article and how you worded so perfect to understand. Was wondering if I could use it on a Blog I want to start on my website?
Thanks, Cindy! We would love for you to share this on your blog! Enjoy
GREAT ARTICLE !
thank you for posting such a great article..
i have just shared your link on facebook also… thank you…
Sooo…anyone who sells the copyrights to their photos is a bad photographer?
I don’t doubt that you’re a great photographer. I’ve seen your images. And if I were a trained photographer, I’d be ticked off at the explosion of what I call “blogspot mommy photographers.” But a lot of them have talent, and a lot of them know what parents want–and what parents want is the digital files.
I’m a digital scrapbooker, and according to copyright laws, I will never be allowed to scrap any photos taken by anyone but myself. So I’d rather go to someone who will sell me the file. Of course, I’m not going to pay the $50 per image or whatever, because that would be a ridiculously priced scrapbook page.
Truth is, most people can’t afford to hire you or pay for your expensive prints.
You are obviously putting yourself in a different niche than these other artists, and that’s fine.
But don’t bash them just because their business model is different.
Hi
This article is fantastic. I would love to get permission from you to use some or all of it on my blog. I would like to take out the baby part and apply it to my senior portrait photography. Please let me know if this is ok and who to credit, or if there is some compensation you would like.
Thanks much!
Awesome information!!! I wish some of my clients would understand this. I am posting to my blog!
I couldn’t agree more. Your article is well written and explains it very clearly for everyone! good job
Interesting post on selling digital files. I think you are right – but wrong. Everything you say holds true in the old paradigm. It is the same argument that has been successfully made for years against selling negatives. It is eerily similar to the argument that record companies tried to make against making legal downloaded songs available. It doesn’t matter how right you are – if you don’t shift with the uncontrollable paradigm, you get left behind. With the advent of cheap scanners, its a can’t-beat-em-join-em situation. I think the true fallacy is not in selling the files, but in undercharging for them. Figure your price point – your average per session profit and increase it by 20%, then sell the files for that, and offer prints as an added convenience service. The idea that customers are somehow held hostage by quality and print orders is poor business. The photographer should do a good job to get return business – not to increase the print order.
Thanks everyone! Cindy, share away! The more people are educated about the value of digital files, the better!
I would also love permission to repost this article! Very well written!
Thank you for posting, would also like permission to post on my blog..
Feel free to share this on your blog! Thanks so much!
A response to a couple of the comments here (which are most welcome, as it opens up the discussion):
Susie, there are digital file business models that are perfectly legitimate. Those that cover their costs to do the photography, and recognize the value of their work so they allow in their pricing some compensation on top of that. But so many of them out there don’t even know what their costs are, and they’re a problem for the industry. There are plenty of legitimately affordable photographers out there to choose from, and I have nothing against them.
Oh also, FYI, most likely you’re not buying the copyright from your photographer…just print licensing. The photographer still owns the copyright.
James, it actually sounds like we are both in agreement. I don¹t have anything against selling the files as long as it is for a price that still compensates the photographer for their work.
Great article. Very well written! I’d like to link it on my blog and facebook as well with your permission!
Lauri, one thing I want to point out since so many people may reference this (and it is a great article for photographers to help explain to their clients) is that while it is true you, the photographer, would own the copyright in the photos you take, it is not true that you have the sole right to print/sell them. Certainly the client does not have that right unless the photographer grants it. But, in fact, the photographer has NO right to sell them or use them to promote your business without the express written consent of the subject of your photo. There is a copyright (held by the photographer) and then there is the right your client has to the commercial value of their likeness. So I would simply add that without both parties, the photographs are basically worthless which is why photographers should consider this when setting their price points (i.e., price higher) but also price well enough that your clients will be willing to allow you to use some of their photos to promote your business (it’s a win-win). The good news is that most clients aren’t aware of this (most photographers too for that matter) and are flattered when you want to use their photos anyway. But since you made the statement above that the photographer has the sole right, I thought it was worth sharing my thoughts from a legal perspective. Usually photographers handle this in their contracts (you probably do) but often clients don’t understand what they’re giving up.
Awesome, thought provoking article. I would like to link this article too!
Thanks to everyone who has asked if they can share this. I’ve received 100+ messages through email and facebook, thanking me for writing it and asking me the same thing. You are welcome to share any or all of it!
Jenna, thanks for your thoughtful reply. The photographer IS the sole owner of the photograph AND of the rights to print and sell the photograph. I didn’t mention anything about selling it to a third party, which most people don’t do with portraits they shot for a portrait client. In some cases, however, the photographer can even do this without further permission. For me, it is rare that I would ever want to do anything with a portrait image except sell prints of it to my client. But in the rare instances this has come up, I’ve always asked them and compensated them. But the fact remains, image ownership and the rights to print and sell that image, belong solely to the creator of the image, no matter whose likeness it contains. There would really be no point in doing the work to create portraits for people otherwise.
I will, for the rest of my life, regret (where it hurts in my heart kind of regret) that I had my baby’s pictures done by someone who refuses to sell the digital portraits. I will never use her again and would not recommend her to anyone, EVER and will NEVER, EVER, NEVER use someone who refuses to sell them and will mention it to every new momma out there that I meet!!!
Y’all may think you take the best portraits out there and can hold the clients hostage, but guess what? There’s always someone better and willing to cater the the client, as it should be…
The photographer we used does beautiful work, I would love to use her forever and she would get thousands upon thousands of dollars out of me over the years, if I could get the portraits digitally as well as printed but she has some unreasonable emotional attachment that will be null and void in a few short years as Jamesbc stated above with his two major points: “It doesn’t matter how right you are – if you don’t shift with the uncontrollable paradigm, you get left behind. With the advent of cheap scanners, its a can’t-beat-em-join-em situation.” and “The photographer should do a good job to get return business – not to increase the print order.”
I think the last line pretty much sums it up; why would you want these heirlooms cheaply and poorly done? Great article!
Thank you so much for writing this! I am going to post this on my blog as well.
I agree that selling digital files is a necessity in this day and age. If I did not sell them, I would not get hired. As simple as that. But, they should be priced to reflect the real cost–meaning, expect not to sell anything else, so the cost of your files should be the cost per session you need to run a successful business in your area. You must take into account taxes, insurance, equipment and cost of living. This varies from area to area.
I do believe these ‘Craig’s list photographers’ are doing a disservice in some ways–as people are learing not to value the negatives and expect more for less, BUT they are also doing a service. The images and the service they provide is subpar and it does not take long for consumers to learn that lesson and realize that the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ holds true in all aspects of life.
I get what you mean about the :cough: service they provide. LOL I think businesses like that, in any industry, do more harm than good to our their competitors, their customer base, and the economy on the whole. Regarding the numerous itemized costs associated with providing photography services, there’s only so much that can fit into a 400 word article. I had to sacrifice some important aspects of this subject for readability. So thank you for mentioning them Dana! That’s definitely important to consider.
Oops…blame that extra word on my attempt to type on my iPhone while wind is blowing in my hair.
As a baby/maternity photographer i TOTALLY TOTALLY agree with Babymomma, i wish now ( my kids aged 15.16,18) i had photos taken when they were little,and had their digi files !!!
Come on fellow photographers, who are you kidding ?.. Let the clients buy what they want..!!! This is who we are here to service.. it’s a god dang digital world, and will only get more so..!!! sell em.. you will still make good money while doing what you love to do..!!!!!
As a photographer still shooting 70% b+w film the rest on medium format digital, I know that no-one else will ever do as good a job as we do with our printing. presentation and archiving. No one cares about how our portraits look as much as we do – our reputation is measured by our finished work.
If I had to hand over files or negatives to stay in business, I would simply stop taking photographs for a living.
I honestly feel demeaned by the suggestion that my talent should be made available on anything but my own terms. No other profession allows the customer to dictate terms of business which can effectively put you out of business.
The people who complain that we are not facing reality or keeping up with the times are simply wrong. If you want digital files of photographs, take the photographs yourself. If you want to avail of the talent and vision of a professional – then be prepared to do so on their terms.
I often wonder why anyone in a creative profession wouldn’t value their intellectual property and copyright since it is enshrined in the Civil Law of most countries. There’s a good reason for that. I admire the music industry for never giving up and I hope professional photographers never give up on their rights either.
Margaret, I am so inspired by your words! Thank you for posting.
Margaret, anyone that knows me, knows i could’ve written exactly what you said a few months back, I am ANAL about how my finished work looks ! I was doing 95% of my own printing.
BUT i have done extensive research with my clients, perspective clients. And sometimes to them, the finished product IS digital, they dont’ want 40 prints sitting around their house, they live in a digital world, and want them on; computers/digital frames/iphones etc.
You wrote “I know that no-one else will ever do as good a job as we do with our printing. presentation and archiving. No one cares about how our portraits look as much as we do – our reputation is measured by our finished work.”
-as i discovered, this is exactly right, no one does care but US… the clients do not see the perfection in printing as we do, all they care about is their gorgeous children/family looking back at them from those photographs ! , to them its a piece of paper.
In doing all this research, i was totally gutted and shocked in hearing what my clients want, and as you said, i had also said, if i had to sell files to make a living, i would give up professional photography..!!
Guess what.. i DID…i now only shoot part time, it shatters me to sell files, i am also now totally shocked to have MORE phone calls than i have ever had in my entire career, and im now turning people away !
This could be a long ongoing debate for sure, but if your making a good living out of selling on film and printing your work, good on you, i APPLAUD you, and wish it was me, but in my area, i can’t do this, this is not what 90% of my clients want and they will go else where.
I think a lot of us need to ask our clients what they want, coz to be honest, if i wasn’t a pro photographer, and had photos done, i WOULD want all my photos on disc, so i had a copy of them for life.
Well, actually I can’t agree with you totally but I do see where you are coming from.
Yes, we do make a reasonably good living and employ people who also make a good living.
In any business, not just photography, there will always be clients who would use us “…if only”.
“If only that designer dress weren’t so expensive…
“If only Tiffany sold cheap rings…
“If only that five star restaurant had cheaper prices…
The simple truth is, most ‘luxury’ services come with terms and a price tag because they offer more – better fabrics and tailoring, better designs and service, better decor, ambiance and skills. We wouldn’t even entertain the idea that they will dump the things that make them special just so we can afford them. We make the stretch because we see the value in paying for the luxury.
We (our studio and many contributors here) most definitely operate n the luxury market, because commissioned professional photography is definitely not a necessity. Fortunately our clients do see the difference in our work and often tell us that they can spot a ‘wannabe’ portrait a 100 yards – they do care as much as we do, not just about the printing but also the “bespoke only” nature of our framing.
We don’t have to be all things to all people. I am not saying that it is easy to turn away clients when times are tough, but if people don’t respect us, we can’t do a good job anyway. If all a client wants to do is beat down prices and terms, I can’t just ’switch on” and create beautiful portraits after that conversation. I’m not a robot and I’m sure none of us here is – though in the marketplace there are studios which are only about scale and art doesn’t really come into the equation…
Our studio needs about 1,000-1,200 clients a year to prosper. That’s not a lot of customers compared to other luxury providers, like restaurants.
Ever since I’ve been in business, people have always said ‘that’s okay for you, but my clients won’t go for….(fill in the space) ” and that was long before this digital maelstrom.
This is not a debate that can be won – there is no right or wrong. There is only what can work for you and your business.
But what I love about this particular blog and group is that at least the point of view that defends a photographers’ intellectual property rights has a voice here. That’s why i joined…
Kelly, the point of this article is to remind everyone that just because people want something another photographer gives away free, doesn’t mean all photographers will be doing so. Customers are not entitled (by God, Obama, or an indulgent society) to a product they didn’t create themselves, nor are they entitled to insist that a photographer or any other business offer a product for sale that doesn’t line up with their purpose and core values. There are plenty of places to get the various photographic offerings different people may want. A successful business can’t be all things to all people. We choose our niche, and we focus on it. I would really appreciate if you would give the article another read to see that it’s not the us versus them discussion a few commenters seem to have assumed. It’s about the value of an artist’s work. and recognizes choice.
Thanks- just shared with my Facebook fans. I offer them, but I think you do a great job of explaining why they should come at a premium price.
Every time I hear this argument, it sounds so petty and unprofessional. What difference does it make to one photographer what another photographer would charge for their services?
I reminds me of a bunch of fifth graders.
I go to an expensive dentist. It’s $250 to get my teeth cleaned. I go there as I trust him, his work and I value my teeth. I seriously doubt he blogs about the neighborhood dental chain on the corner that cleans teeth for $50. He is a high end cosmetic dentist with celebrity clients. He knows his market.
I think it’s so immature and unprofessional to address this
To Connie I say it is all about elevating the craft to keep it viable as a full time business venture and to keep the artistic level of delivery up there to an acceptable level for professional, creative, artistic work. At this level this is not a hobby. Certainly when you have 10’s of thousands of dollars invested in just hardware and equipment, you have the right to try to recover those costs and make a healthy profit for your hard work, creative vision and talents. In this day and age we are evermore apt to give away the farm and loose sight of the fact we will shortly have no place to practice our craft or live for that matter.
What if Doctors or grocers or scientist followed this same thought stream…? Who would be left to heal us, feed us, or find solutions to all our needs. We would be in a world of hurt and nowhere to go.
Kevin, it has already happened in other fields and industries. Here’s a great article you might like to read:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106431468
Anyone who feels entitled to things being cheaper and cheaper could really learn something from reading it too. We’re wanting things so cheap these days that our companies are sending all our jobs overseas to make that happen. We’re losing jobs, our wages aren’t going as far, and in the long run, that’s not cheaper.
Connie’s response is misdirected in my opinion, since she seems to be arguing about something I didn’t write about. I can’t really respond to her unless she wants to point out exactly what part of my article was petty, unprofessional, immature.
Lauri, in response to your last post… I am a local town Alderman, serve as a member of my HOA and have done a term as a board member at my church. I see this general mindset more and more. Entitlement is the catch phrase of the day and everyone wants “it”, they deserve “it” and they want “it” now. Forget about who will have to pay for “it” or who really deserves “it.” Imagine everyone just expecting with no effort exerted on their behalf to earn “it.” That is where we are today with some our general populace.
I am 53 years old, a coal miner’s son. I can still remember my parents struggling to make the household bills; my mother working a shift job at the glass factory and my father working three different jobs simultaneously and we still qualified for assistance, but we never accepted it. All of those jobs my parents held are long gone forever… In my life I have been blessed to never ever have to get even close that level of financial struggle. But I know there are many that have found themselves there, many by no wrong-doing of their own.
Today some family units that are financially suffering, it appears still demand to have a newer car, a flat screen TV, computer, a house, and still eat all the junk food they can and do it on the backs of their fellow citizens. Why not? The government will pay my bills right? I deserve it anyway right?… These days this attitude has no specific boundaries in regard to Race or National origin. We have the truly poor and then we have the conveniently poor.
This all comes back around to your point of a drain on our Nations production. Since we “want it now “ but are not willing to work for “it” as a Nation, at a fair wage, our manufacturing base is going away, being off shored, in the desire to provide cheaper and cheaper goods. The government is also to blame as they continue to ignore the need to cut spending and halt tax increases.
We hear a lot about taxing the “rich” more… Who do you think buys our gallery wraps or senior portrait packages? Who creates the small businesses that employ our people? Who funds R&D so we can have commerce and invention? Not the conveniently poor…
I know this is somewhat off the subject of Baby Photography but really it isn’t as much as you think because it is a cycle of life, financial life here in America. We don’t live in grass huts with dirt floors and have to walk miles for fresh water and there is a reason for that. And that reason is the years of hard work and personal responsibility and sacrifice we as citizens have exercised, at least up unto the 1960’s. We all contribute; we watch over our neighbors, take care of our own and provide a little for those who have less. With that model and a belief in something bigger than ourselves our Country became great; so much so that we still feed and aide, in part, the rest of the world… That too will fade if we continue on this current track. This is a fact with all politics aside.
So should we sell our digital files? That is a much more difficult subject. I do know this, we should never ever “give them away…”
WOW!
Great all article and great points by all.
As a photographer I have been struggling with wanting to sell Digital Artwork…but I can’t sell an image for $20each. I have to put food on the table. Everyone wants something for free…heck I do too! I have so much respect for business owners now more then ever.
What I have started doing is giving my clients a print minimum that they have to reach and from that point giving them the digital artwork files with reproduction rights only to Mpix.com.
So, if they purchase a 16×20 framed piece they will receive the digital artwork file to order in a gift print size-BUT that is after an order minimum is reached.
As a mom I see the desire to have all your images..AND as a photographer I understand that we are just trying to make a living. It makes me sad when people feel like the time I spend working and away from my family is not as valuable as theirs. Who wouldn’t be happy paying $150 for a 2hr session(plus the other 8 or more hours of downloading, uploading, cleaning up scratches, showing your images and so on) and a cd of prints. BUT you are robbing the photographer…plain and simple.
This is a hard topic…that I am self battling everyday.
There has to be a balance or formula out there that can make us all happy. BUT-some of the new photographers popping up do make it hard….they will get burnt out eventually….(unless they don’t have any family or rich hubbies and nannies to take care of the kids)
GOOD LUCK TO ALL!
Great job Lauri, thank you for taking the time to write this.
@Lindsey Varva- I love this idea!!! I’ve been having this same dilema. I charge $150 for an image file and I have heard of so many different ways to address this and this is best yet! This article is def something I’ll be blogging about. I have never had someone buy the digital files, but I do understand how people want to post them online and what not so I give a CD of web sized watermarked images to the client with my $100/ hr session fee. I figure this is also good advertising. Laura do you mind emailing me what your sales min is for selling files?
There are photographers in abundance who give away digital files…they do this because they think no one will use them if they don’t. But giving away digital files IS a disservice to the client because they will most likely go to the nearest walgreens to print their photos, and as one of my customers noted (when we foolishly gave away the CD of images in the past), “They turned out horrible”. A professional experience is what clients should receive. To me, the photographer that gives away their images is going to attract “quanitity, not quality” clients and the photographs will eventually reflect this (or they will be poor forever).
If a photographer wants clients that look for the lowest price, then by all means give away the digital images. But if a photographer wants clients because the client LOVES their work, then I don’t think digital images will be a deal breaker. Since we have stopped giving away our digital images, our client base has changed to that.
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So well said. Thank you so much.
I’m linking to your article on my site.
[...] conversation. I just came across an article on this exact subject. You can read the article by clicking here, which I think is a great explanation of why digital files are not included, FREE or inexpensive, [...]
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