Originally Posted by
Richard Johnson
You are the copyright holder unless you sign your rights away, which you shouldn't. I am sure that even when J. K. Rowling was an unknown on welfare and her first works were being published, the publisher paid the photographer at least a small amount.
If you want to do the guy a favor or the buyer cries poverty, don't charge thousands but limit the usage rights of your copyrighted photo to this first edition of 5,000 copies in North America for a period of so many years, non-exclusive. Then if there is a secondary usage you can get a little more income, and if he becomes super-famous then you have the option to charge a lot more, sell to other outlets, etc.
For every item they want - exclusivity, geographic reach, larger press run, second edition, etc. you get a little more money. Of course there is a some horse trading, you have to stay within the realm of them still making a profit or not hiring some low-baller to do a replacement alternative shot. So the better and more unique your photo is, the more it is worth.
As despicable as Getty Images is, signing in and pretending to buy an image so you can see their prices and terms is very enlightening!
That's the way professional photography works until someone foolishly gives their photos away, glad you aren't going to do that!!!
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