Video/Stills Price?

[Dokeman 0]

How do you charge for video services? I'm not talking about tandem/aff. I'm talking about if a jumper/group wants you to do a video and stills of their jump? And what if you just go jump with someone/group without them asking and then they want it after they see it? Do you sell all the stills on a cd or sell them individual prints? Do you charge seperatly for video and stills or a single price for both?

[PhreeZone 15]

They pay my slot and I'm theirs for most stuff. If I tag along its because I wanted to be there in the first place and they cen see what I videoed for free. If they want a specific still or something like that... then we'll talk but so far its been slot and a little cash and I retain publishing rights and they get the CD of photos.

I don't mind giving away a jump or two here or their on a tape they brought but if I need to supply the DVD or tape or if they want it edited then I'll charge $10-20. If its just one person that will take a minute of my time no problem, it its a 10 way and they each want it.. pay me. If they want it fully edited with a lot of time on my part.. then thats something different and needs to be talked out ahead of time.

Then again I'm odd since I do tandem videos (and free stills) for family of DZ regulars for slot only sometimes too.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Fast 0]

I'm starting to catch shit for not being willing to give away high resolution originals of my images. I am working on consistantly charching people $5 for a 8x10 but every now and then I give one away for free.

The frustrating thing for me is that I try to do my best to put up some of the pictures I take on the net, and they are quality enough that you could make 3x5 prints from. But people want the high res for free when I was there on my own dime. If someone pays me for slots I expect to be giving them the CD with all thier pictures on it and expect that from other video guys when I pay them. But if I pay my own way onto the jump I odn't see why I shouldhave to hand over my pictures. I mean, I like to do so in a lot of cases, but I dunno, I mean, I want to buy a $400 printer this winter, I can't afford to just flop the money down on that, print pictures, and not charge anything.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[quade 3]

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I'm starting to catch shit for not being willing to give away high resolution originals of my images. I am working on consistantly charching people $5 for a 8x10 but every now and then I give one away for free.

I don't know your situation and whatever arrangements you've made with folks, but $5 for an 8x10 is, in my opinion, WAY underpriced.

It also looks like you've discovered the horrors of posting photos on the internet; make them a little too good and people just rip them off.

It's hard enough trying to be a decent camera flyer without people being ungrateful and not wanting to pay for your work. Kinda leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Fast 0]

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I'm starting to catch shit for not being willing to give away high resolution originals of my images. I am working on consistantly charching people $5 for a 8x10 but every now and then I give one away for free.

I don't know your situation and whatever arrangements you've made with folks, but $5 for an 8x10 is, in my opinion, WAY underpriced.

It also looks like you've discovered the horrors of posting photos on the internet; make them a little too good and people just rip them off.

It's hard enough trying to be a decent camera flyer without people being ungrateful and not wanting to pay for your work. Kinda leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

My DZ is small and everyone is friends. I can understand people wanting pictures in that regard and a lot of these people have taught me things. I feel bad asking for money for pictures but then it comes back around with people giving me shit about it when I don't give stuff away anymore and I feel worse. I could just give the pictures away for cost but I dunno if that would make me happy either. I'm no tony hathaway, but I take decent pictures.

A 8x10 from me is $5 and that includes post processing and having it printed at target or walmart whichever happens to be most convenient (Costs about $3 for me to print). I don't print them myself because I haven't got a printer yet that is colorfast. I have the i960 from canon and the prints don't last long enough for me to justify selling them. I want the Canon pixma pro9500 when it comes out heh. Yep, probably underpriced.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[Icon134 0]

I do much like Eric here... I actually sort of enjoy being outside a formation shooting video/stills then being in the formation. (not that I don't enjoy a FS jump now and then I do...) I regularly jump with our local FS jumpers and cover my own slot and if these people want a video or stills from the jump then I'll charge them something (usually $10-20)

If on the other hand a group approaches me and asks me to shoot video then (espcially if its for several jumps) I'd like them to cover my slot (and I'll shoot stills as well) in that situation I'm likely to provide anyone on the dive that would like a dvd video/still a copy... (but that's just me... since I'm more or less just in this for fun...)

Also if I know a person doing a tandem I'm happy to shoot video for them covering my own slot (or we get a free jump tix for refering people to the dz...)

btw: I also agree that $5 is kind of low for an actual 8x10 photo... although I can get 8x10s printed locally at Meijer for 2.50.

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[monkycndo 0]

I'm just starting to get collect equipment to start flying with a camera. In the past, I have asked a buddy to get some video and stills of me in the air. I covered his slot and his pack job. He gave me an untouched copy of the stills and video. I did all the processing.

If I see a nice shot that someone got of me when I didn't cover the slot, I would expect to pay for it, either as a print or for me to process. The aquired skills of a vidiot is worth something and deserves compensation. I agree with Quade, $5 for an 8x10 is too low. Your time to do the processing is worth more than $2 over cost.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[siddacious 0]

As a consumer of said materials, I'd expect to pay anywhere from 10-30 bucks for a print.

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[PhreeZone 15]

$5 is WAY too low for an 8*10. I'll be charging $15-20 for a print if I drag a printer out to the DZ next year. I'm thinking of trying to make some spare $ by getting a nice ground zoom lens and shooting landing photo for jumpers and tandems that opted not to get videos.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[pilotdave 0]

I've been doing it for fun since I bought a still camera. I pay my own slot and then post the pictures to a website (http://pilotdave.smugmug.com). I'm selling 8x10s for a whopping $4, which gives me 86 cents of profit. Well, the site is $150 per year, so I actually sell everything at a pretty big loss. I had someone buy a $6 8x12 who then paid $200 to have it framed. My profit: $1.71.

Low res pics can be purchased digitally for 25 cents, and full res are $5. Only sold one so far. Course I usually just give em away when people really want em anyway. I'm not much of a business man I guess.

But I'm skydiving and taking pictures for my own fun. Making money has nothing to do with it. I just use the smugmug site to give people a convenient way to get any pictures they want. I definitely don't want the hassle of printing myself.

I'll raise my prices when I think my pictures are worth more or when I get tired of taking them.

Dave

[tonyhathaway 0]

My response to anyone who gives me grief over what I charge, I just tell them it is very unfair for them to basically want me to get a "real job" so I can afford to give them photos for cheap or free. One of the problems with part of that, if I had the "real job" all along, and sold photos for cheap all along, I would have the equipment or experience to produce high quality images that they are now complaining about cost too much. It doesn't happen much now, but it still does. It becomes a catch 22 if you let it.
-Tony

My O.C.D. has me chasing a dream my A.D.D. won't let me catch.

[vdschoor 0]

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My response to anyone who gives me grief over what I charge, I just tell them it is very unfair for them to basically want me to get a "real job" so I can afford to give them photos for cheap or free.

I have a real job that paid for the initial purchase of a lot of the cool toys that now enable me to shoot photos.

Still I will not give stuff away unless its a present for someone, which I have done in the past...

[freefalle 0]

It amazes me the way people think its okay to ask for a photo for free. Ask a packer to pack a rig for free or a rigger to pack a reserve for free, or ask a DZO to let you make a fun jump for free, see how that works out. Why should we give our work away for free?

[Laszloimage 0]

What's the difference between AFF/TM or a funjumper group? Nothing! You still doing a same job, so you should get paid same (or even more since you have more costumers for the given skydive...). Unfortunately people don't understand the value of the video/photo work until themselves trying to do it. Then they realize how much effort, time, and money involved to be able to come up with some descent result after a skydive.
To charge $15-20 for an 8x10 print is very fair, so $10 to dub the footage onto a DVD. If some one tells you "I can get this at Walmart for $2-3" then you should tell the person ask a Walmart employee to take your freefall or landing shot.
Hi resolution digital files... they worth lot more than a print because they can be reproduced unlimited times in same quality. I charge more for them and have a written agreement about the use. Or I just give away a small (like 640x480 pixels) JPEG with a big watermark on it. I've been hosed before multiple times.
People and businesses asking frequently if they can use the image for commercial purposes only for a photo credit. Some rare cases it's ok (if it means a lot to have your name out there) but most of the time my answer is: "as long as B&H Photo accepts those photo credits as a payment when I buy my equipment".
And finally if you are a full time skydiver how the hell you're going to pay your every day bills if you don't get paid for the job you;re doing?
So please don't feel bad about charging for your work, because you deserve it!!!
I hope I helped.
-Laszlo- www.laszloimage.com

[Dokeman 0]

Great advice... I got of the anwsers I was looking for..

[lewmonst 0]

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What's the difference between AFF/TM or a funjumper group? Nothing! You still doing a same job, so you should get paid same (or even more since you have more costumers for the given skydive...). Unfortunately people don't understand the value of the video/photo work until themselves trying to do it. Then they realize how much effort, time, and money involved to be able to come up with some descent result after a skydive.
To charge $15-20 for an 8x10 print is very fair, so $10 to dub the footage onto a DVD. If some one tells you "I can get this at Walmart for $2-3" then you should tell the person ask a Walmart employee to take your freefall or landing shot.
Hi resolution digital files... they worth lot more than a print because they can be reproduced unlimited times in same quality. I charge more for them and have a written agreement about the use. Or I just give away a small (like 640x480 pixels) JPEG with a big watermark on it. I've been hosed before multiple times.
People and businesses asking frequently if they can use the image for commercial purposes only for a photo credit. Some rare cases it's ok (if it means a lot to have your name out there) but most of the time my answer is: "as long as B&H Photo accepts those photo credits as a payment when I buy my equipment".
And finally if you are a full time skydiver how the hell you're going to pay your every day bills if you don't get paid for the job you;re doing?
So please don't feel bad about charging for your work, because you deserve it!!!
I hope I helped.
-Laszlo- www.laszloimage.com

Amen to that!

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It's hard enough trying to be a decent camera flyer without people being ungrateful and not wanting to pay for your work. Kinda leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

and Amen to that!

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My response to anyone who gives me grief over what I charge, I just tell them it is very unfair for them to basically want me to get a "real job" so I can afford to give them photos for cheap or free. One of the problems with part of that, if I had the "real job" all along, and sold photos for cheap all along, I would have the equipment or experience to produce high quality images that they are now complaining about cost too much. It doesn't happen much now, but it still does. It becomes a catch 22 if you let it.

and Amen to that!

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It amazes me the way people think its okay to ask for a photo for free. Ask a packer to pack a rig for free or a rigger to pack a reserve for free, or ask a DZO to let you make a fun jump for free, see how that works out. Why should we give our work away for free?

...or an accomplished RW coach to coach for free, or a manager to work everyday for free, or the pilot to fly for free, or the instructor to teach an FJC for free... We provide a service and deserve to get paid for it.

I could say so much more about this topic... but the points have been made. I will add that it's been a lot easier to deal with this issue since I've stuck to my prices. I stick to them, and that's that. Once you set your standards, people stop asking for free stuff. If they really want the photo or video that bad, they'll pay for it. $20 for an 8x10 is very reasonable (unless you suck and the photo sucks, then by all means, give it away). Depending on if it's just video, video and stills, and the agreement beforehand, I chanrge slot + $20 at least. I'll do a team rate of slot + $15 if they plan to do a lot of jumps. vid and stills is either slot30 or slot40. I basically gaurantee a good end product. I don't care about the glory, cause like everyone has said, it's not going to pay my expenses. I'm sorry, but that's just business. We've all invested way to much money in our own equipment and time. In the words of a great cameraflyer, "I do this for a living, I can't afford to give stuff away."

We will continue to get criticized by those who don't understand. That's fine. Those with that sense of entitlement lose my respect. Good luck to them.

peace
Karen Lewis

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/lew/skydive

http://www.exitshot.com

[phoenixlpr 0]

I think its just a question of supply and demand and the quality of your work.

I'm about to start flying camera next season. I don't think I can charge anyone or anyone would pay me anything.

One "pro" promised me some digitals for 2 years....

[ltdiver 3]

You are correct when you say that a beginner cameraflyer will most likely not be able to charge for anything. It is a learning curve that can, if paid attention to, improve with each dive.

For my first year of flying camera (weekends only) I paid for my slot and got 'tips' with dubbing if the group wanted to take their video home. If they only debriefed it and left....well, that was okay too.

That year I was noticed by one of our load organizers who also had a 4-way team. He gave me a shot to practice that discipline and paid for my slot. I flew for free. The team bought me lunch as 'payment'. Oh, the 'good 'ol days'...

The next year I had enough camera jumps to join with a newbie team and continue my trek....student videos followed (got my AFFI rating as well which is required to fly camera with students where I jump).

Guess what I'm trying to say is....look at your jump numbers (and camera experience) and those who posted above you. 500 jumps vs 5,000 jumps. For those beautiful cameraflyers who have perfected their craft, they do indeed deserve to be paid. And paid well. They put in the time (and money) to reach this level.

Like going to a 5 star restaurant. You pay for that gourmet meal, don't you?
THESE ARTICLES >

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[phoenixlpr 0]

I wanted to say the price is a subject of an agreement between the vidiot and the customer.

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Thanks. I've read it before. Goodstuff.