First Paying Job

[krissi835]

Please can anyone give me some advice. My current place of employment has recently changed hands and the new owners wish to have a series of photographs taken to be displayed in the bistro. I have offered my services however have no idea of what I should be charging. I would have to do some travelling as they want a series of the local and surrounding silos. They want these shots on disk so they can have them printed themselves. So what I really would like to know is a ballpark fee and the question of copyright - do I retain the copyright even if I give them a disk of images? Any advice would be welcome...

[KLi]

Work out how much it will cost you first, including traveling expense. And how many hours it will take to complete the assignment, not just shooting hours but editing/PP too. Then see how much you think you should be paid per hour.

There are website out there that helps calculating how much you should charge per hour, but most of them are towards full time freelancer.

[kiwi]

Photos taken in the course of your employment are theirs re copyright unless you have a contract stating otherwise

As the employ you they may ask you to take photos (you know, "and all other duties")...but...they have no obligation to make you use your own equipment or incur expenses doing so, so, make sure even if they do not pay you for your time that they pay as appropriate.

[Longshots]

Photos taken in the course of your employment are theirs re copyright unless you have a contract stating otherwise

As the employ you they may ask you to take photos (you know, "and all other duties")...but...they have no obligation to make you use your own equipment or incur expenses doing so, so, make sure even if they do not pay you for your time that they pay as appropriate.

Not exactly true Kiwi.

The other duties need to be related to the original reason for employment. The part of the Australian copyright act is only relevant, if you are specifically employed as a photographer or your work duties include photography were originally specified in your employment duties.

[kiwi]

Thanks William, Ive seen it tried on though (even on me awhile back), but fair comment you make

[Longshots]

Oh yes plenty of people will try it on, which is why its important to make sure that people are aware of their rights in this area.

Here is the relevant part of the copyright council information sheet for photographers - available from the copyright.org.au

The full document is the best 9 pages any photographer (pro or enthusiast) can read

The relevant part though:

Photographs taken in the course of employment
If an employee takes a photograph as part of his or her job, the first owner of copyright will be the employer,
unless they have made an agreement to the contrary. This general rule is subject to two major exceptions, set
out in the following paragraphs.
Photographs taken by employees of newspaper and magazine publishers
For photographs taken by employees of newspaper or magazine publishers, different rules apply, depending on
when the photograph was taken.
• For photographs taken before 1 May 1969, the publisher owns copyright.
• For photographs taken on or after 1 May 1969 and before 30 July 1998, the publisher owns the rights for
newspaper and magazine publication and for broadcasting, and the photographer owns all other rights
(including the right to put the photographs online or in a book).
• For photographs taken on or after 30 July 1998, the photographer owns the rights to photocopy the
photographs and include them in books; the publisher owns all other rights.
These rules do not apply to freelance photographers, who are covered by the general rule that the person who
takes the photograph owns copyright in it (unless they make an agreement to the contrary).

Its easier to read in the document

click on this link:
http://www.copyright.org.au/information/cit001/wp0005
and choose "photographers" in the information sheets section - which downloads the PDF document called GO11

Highly recommend all people should read this document.

[krissi835]

Thank you everyone, I will be able to discuss this further with my employers with more confidence.

[edenconnell]

Congrats!

[reaction]

wow those rules are complex!@

[Longshots]

um they're not rules. They're an explanation of what copyright is in Australia, how it effects people and relates to the Copyright Act. If you think thats complex, drive into a car park, and read the terms and conditions of entry !

[mercho]

hmm as its your current employer its a tricky one, but it looks like longshots has summed up the copyright side of it...

I work for the government and regularly take photos for our department for websites brochures etc, However I am employed with them full time and they are taken during work time, so I don't expect payment beyond my normal salary, and once I hand them over thats it i don't expect credit or anythign like that, I just look at it as normal duties...