Photo Prop Rental- Live Snake

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Someone just made me an interesting proposition. Unrelated to my photography, I have several large pet snakes. A local model is interested in renting one of them to pose with for a photo shoot. Has anyone ever rented out a photo prop, such as a live animal or any other object? If so, what are the usual rates charged, and is there anything else I should be aware of? I know the rates can probably vary widely depending on usage, but I'm just looking for a ballpark figure. Thanks for the advice!

[claudiocambon]

I would think an indemnity contact that, although the snake is your property, whatever happens with it is their problem!! :D

[Ash]

Definitely get some form of contract written up. You may need to be on-site to handle the snake, the model and photographer and all others involved sign to release you of any commitments or responsibility if anything goes wrong.

Most snakes are harmless, but if the model swallows a little one because she wanted a shot of it on her face, you could end up in court. Sounds farfetched, but stranger things have happened.


As for price, think of something outrageous, then double it. Let them bring the price down to what they're willing to pay.

[Michael Graves]

Ash has a good point. My younger brother used to have several snakes. One of these was an 8-foot boa. The thing had grown up around people and was as friendly a serpent as you'll ever encounter. The damned thing would actually slither up and sit on your lap like a cat! A local rock musician asked to use the snake on stage for a live performance one night and gave my brother tickets for the show as compensation. While the snake loved people, it turned out to be less partial to flashing strobes and loud noise. About halfway through the first song, it wrapped itself around the musician's neck and started to constrict. (Can't say that I blame him. I've heard the guy play, and I wanted to strangle him, too.) So here's this musician onstage, being choked to death by a medium sized boa and everybody in the audience thinks its a real hoot. What a performance! The guy is actually pretty convincing.

The saving grace was that he'd given my brother tickets for the concert as compensation. He was in the third row and was able to bound up onto the stage, convice Ozzie (yes, that was the snake's name) to relax and get him off the musician. The resultant applause was the loudest that band got all night. (There was a good reason for that too. I was the holder of the second ticket. I suggested that he let the snake have fun.) Had my brother not been there, I think there was a VERY good chance that the snake, in its panic, would not have let go for anyone else. Would my brother have been sued in that case? Most likely. He had no written agreements with his friend.

[big_ben_blue]

And make sure you are on the good side of any local bylaw. It might be illegal to have/keep a reptile or worse a large snake on the intended premise. Sounds ridicules I know; but hey, my own small town just made that move and the local petshop had to close (it's now illegal here to have a reptile which can grow larger than about 2 foot; you surely have heard about the thousands of annual casualties due to rabid iguanas and phytons in Canada).

[Darren Kruger]

You probably should also put something in the contract to cover if something happens your snake like a light stand falling on it or someone accidentally stepping on it.

-Darren

[vinny]

In the past, I have rented my trouser snake by the inch. I couldn't make a living at it though.
vinny

[Brian Vuillemenot]

In the past, I have rented my trouser snake by the inch. I couldn't make a living at it though.
vinny

I think you're confusing inches with millimeters, Vinny. ;)

Seriously, though, thanks for the advice. This idea may be more trouble than it's worth. Anyone have any clue as to the going rate for snake or photo prop rental? I was thinking maybe $100 for an hour, if solely for personal/artistic use, several times that if for commercial or advertising photography purposes. Of course, I would insist on an indemnity contract, and of course be there to wrangle the snake- no way am I leaving my valuable reptile in the care of someone else!

[Ash]

You could also also request a refundable deposit of the value of the snake... that is, not the cost of a new one, but the VALUE (ie cost you paid, plus cost of bringing it up to its current age). Pretty much a cheque you may never cash - keep it til you're done, then let them rip it up if nothing goes wrong.


There's a lot to consider and to cover yourself, but if you do it once successfully, you might be able to do it again and make a profit from the odd rental.

[GaryT]

I've rented a bunch of animals over the years, mostly domestic types...dogs/cats. I once needed to rent a very unusual frog. IIRC, the rates were somewhere in the 2-300 per day with a handler for advertising work. I haven't looked but I'd be surprised if there weren't a number of agencies on line to do a little research.

Also keep in mind the use here. If a local model is looking to use your snake as a prop for a non-paying job, I'd think she were looking to "borrow" it more than rent it.

[Frank Petronio]

It sounds like it might be fun to come along as the snake wrangler anyway, so you should compensate yourself too. But given the traditional roles of snakes with models, it could be quite an interesting production to be involved in.

For art, whatever price you think is reasonable. For advertising or promotion, try to relate it the end value to the client... try to be proportional to the cost of the other talent. Some people tie this to being a percentage of the overall cost of the ad... a fraction of a percent for a national ad, but quite a bit more for a small local client.

[eddie]

brian,

what kind of snake is it? i have several very large boas and pythons. most did very well in almost all situations. they were all about 5-12 years old so they were very familiar and comfortable with people.

i had had many many people with the snakes at various times. inside and outside. check to be sure your snake can handle 2-8 people at any given time in strange locations. be sure to explain to people some basic handling. BE SURE THE MODEL IS NOT WEARING A RABBIT FUR! or something else tasty like that! no shit!

i would guess that the model, you and the photog will not cause the snake any stress. he should be just fine with that. just watch him to be sure he does not begin to act stressed out or uncomfortable. (somethings to watch for are quick uneasy movements. if he looks like he wants to leave show him the door! if he is trying to hide his head help him) i am sure you have been around him long enough and can tell his stress levels.

as for the price. what kind of model/photographer are they? your buddy with no money or a big named duo? i would suggest something like $200 set up and $50-$75 per hour after that. you should get a min. of 200-300 for sure. (i mean just a tank of gas goes for $50 and more and you can get gas anywhere! snakes are harder to find....especially in the winter:) :) )

keep us posted.

eddie