It's true that work for hire exists. And it's also true that work
for hire is a dirty word in the business, since it almost always is
understood to mean some sort of flat fee plus expenses in exchange
for forfeiting all rights to future ownership or licensing. And
currently that flat fee hardly ever is adequate compensation for the
loss of future fees, especially as work for hire is applied by the
big stock houses and the newspaper industry.
For those reasons I advocated to Veli that he advise his artist to
take the high road and negotiate a contract with the photographer
that acknowledges the rights of both artists.
There is a lot of skill involved in shooting art. It's not a
no-brainer, requires a bunch of equipment, can't be done out in the
sunlight or even shade, and is color critical. It reuqires selecting
the correct film, knowing how to manage reflections off of glass in
some cases, owning background stands, light stands, flash meter,
lights, umbrellas, reflectors, diffusers etc.etc. To pay the going
rate around here ($40) for any one shot is to be ignorant of the
value of the service.
That's why I'm looking at cleaning up after a local photographer who
shot a friend's art quick and dirty in RAW mode with her new Nikon
D100. Every shot is uncorrected, not square and underexposed.
Requires imagination too......
--
Emily L. Ferguson
mailto:elf@xxxxxxxx
508-563-6822
New England landscapes, wooden boats and races, press photography
http://www.vsu.cape.com/~elf/
