Hello, I did a job for a company. Architectural photos to be exact. I received the first deposit payment even before starting the postprocessing on the photos. Now that I am finished with them I have sent a second and final invoice and waiting to receive the payment!
My question is:
The company asked me to write them that I will not be posting any photos publicly and also they want to own all the rights.
I did write them an email and said that I will not publish any photos but on the rights since I do not mind them owing them I also wrote that they will only own them upon full payment of the agreed fee.
If the company will not make payment of the second invoice and therefore will not pay the full amount agreed initially, can I use this to sort of "threaten" them and say that if they will not pay me I will publish all the photos??
Many thanks!!!
Don't send the final photos unless you get paid in full as you agreed initially.
Them not having their photos is your only leverage ( insurance ).
thanks!!
How would you show the photos to a client before getting paid. Most of the people will want to see what they are getting before paying you? correct? I have heard about "proofs" meaning they get low res ones but nowadays these are good enough for a website, Instagram etc!
If I suspect that my client could be a H&R ( Hit & Run ) I send them very low resolution and quality ( think 600x400 pixels and JPEG export quality 5 in PhotoShop ) with my photography logo semi-transparent in the middle.
That way they can see what they are getting but they can't use them, so they are "forced" to pay the bill and get the real ones.
Thanks Bill! I replied below..
Exactly - send them a folder of "proofs" with a low resolution such as 600px on the long edge and put a transparent "PROOF" watermark across the image. make it very transparent so it's easy to see the image content and quality. Once they pay, they will receive the link to the folder with all the high res photos.
Lo-res is one way to do it - obnoxious watermarking is another way.
Ultimately in this work, however, a certain amount of trust has to exist. Those who break it wind up not working, or not getting quality work.
What Bill said. Don't give them anything. If you can meet with them, bring your laptop or some way to show them the images. I assume that you have a signed contract laying out all of the parameters for the shoot. If not, make sure that any correspondence from the initial contact is secure.
Thank you! We have not signed a contract but have agreed on terms via email. Since my client can get into serious trouble if these photos are going to be published I thought that I could use that as a way of telling them "Since you have not paid the bill in full, I own the full copyrights and therefore the freedom of publishing all the photos". Don`t you guys think that this can be more powerful than actually in some cases employ a lawyer?? because if that is the case they will lose very important clients and get sued by them too!! My question is can I also get into trouble if they get sued by their own clients?? Many thanks!!
We don't know how long it's been since you've finished your work. I will assume that it's been a while. You're right about discussing the fact that unless you're paid, they don't get to use the images. Is their initial payment non-refundable? My son is a wedding photographer and that is in every one of his contracts; deposit is non-refundable.
An attorney is a last resort. Most of the time, if approached calmly and 'matter of factly', this sort of thing is sorted out.
Agreed. The minute a suit gets involved, you are starting a nuclear war. Nobody wins, and everyone else thinks both sides are assholes.
As discussed in some other posts, send them a folder of proofs and let them know the high-res files will be released upon payment. As far as an email stating their "rights to the photos", use this as a sign to write up a contract stating their usage rights and what you as the photographer retain. Typically, when you take architectural photographs, you'll give them perpetual rights for internal, print, and digital use. You will retain the copyright/ownership as well as usage rights for self-promotion. If they want rights or ownership above and beyond this typical use, you need to price that into the quote, which requires you to get clarity from the client beforehand. If they want to "own" the photos and also retain all production rights (which may also mean you relinquishing the RAW files), you need to increase the price which can be double your standard rate or more. If they have a usage case where they only need a license for a year or two, you can bring that quote down from your standard perpetual license.
The key takeaways:
- Don't release usable marketable photos before you've been paid fully
- Agree on the usage rights and ownership before the initial payment
That being said, make it easy on the client. Don't buy them in legalese, be non-confrontational, and make it simple. If they demand for the photos, simply reply that they're ready to go and you can release them when payment has been received, You have the goods, they have the money. If they need the photos, they will pay you. If they don't need the photos, well it looks like you covered your out of pocket costs with the 50% up front charge. Good luck!
Thank you very much Rob!! I did get paid the initial deposit which is more from what is left to pay for the final payment. I have sent the second invoice a couple of days ago and I am not saying that it will happen but I just want to be ready and consider any possibility in case it does happen. I tried to go a little formal with the client by sending the terms of the right and payment and the morning of the shoot he told me when he received the info he got offended as he thought we would be in a more like friend relationship!! Since that is my first ever paid job I said to him not to worry and that all is fine. As I said after that day of shooting I did get paid the first invoice. Let`s wait and see..
I will let you all know how things will go this week..
For now, thank you all for the support and advice!!!
Well said, Rob.
On another note, it is good to have a Work for Hire agreement 'boilerplate' on the ready. It can spell out things like this right at the start of the job, so there's no ambiguity once you're halfway or all the way down the path. I learned the hard way that if someone else sends you one of these, you lose.
to all. Everything is fine the bill has been fully paid without me chasing. It was me panicking maybe!! I honestly just wanted to be ready in case something might have happened. I did get quite a lot of useful information now thanks to you all guys!!! I appreciate it
Normally these guys want it on the first invoice... but they are just trying to want the images without paying the second one.
it can be tough.