I was recently contacted by a local jewelry designer wanting shots for a postcard she needed printed and for use for future promotional purposes in magazines, catalogs etc. She is starting out, like I am, and I took a look at her work and felt her company had the potential to do very well and that it would be good exposure for me to use on my site. She said it should take 45 mins tops and that is was only for a postcard. I agreed to a ridiculously low fee of $200 & a necklace worth $150 retail (the shoot went overtime by 2 1/2 hours) to shoot the project, she had her own model, I gave her a DVD of all the images in high resolution, worked my favorite from the shoot which she wanted to use so she got free artwork for her postcard, and agreed that she could use the images wherever she wanted. In exchange, I would use the image on my website to promote my business. I even photoshopped in her logo and made it look like a magazine tear. It looked beautiful. I showed it to her on my site IN PERSON when she came to pick up the disk and she was elated. I even delivered everything to her within 24 hours with no rush fee. Today I get a call from someone calling on behalf of the model threatening to sue me for using the image on my site. What? I called the designer and she said she would talk to the model, she was confused and when I finally got a hold of her, she just said she wanted my attorney's name and number.

We had a verbal agreement. No contract. After the shoot, I found out she had a model release with the model which she won't give me a copy of it. Now, she says she wants indefinite exclusive usage rights to all of the images, the model will get copies from the designer for her own personal use and I am SOL?

What are my rights here?

It was my understanding that as photographers, every image we create, from the moment we create it, we own. Unless we SELL the images for profit, the copyright ownership allows us to use the images at our discretion for self promotion purposes on our websites and in advertising in newspapers or on sites like Craigslist.

As working photographers, what would you have charged her and what did I do wrong here?

I should have had a written contract, where can I download one that will hold in court if ever this happens again? Where should this verbage be? In the negotiating emails? In print by fax? How does this work for those of us without reps just starting out?

How do you go about pricing the usage fees or outright sale of copyright?

A lot of questions, I know, but I am self taught and I have no mentor.

Heartfelt gratitude and thanks to all who respond.

I think that you should have obtained a model release from the model for your personal records.  Even though the jewelry store lady hired the model, YOU took the pictures and should want a clear agreement between you and the model regarding the same.

Second, I always get everything on paper.  It prevents misunderstandings and makes your job and everyone else's job easier.  It also states who does what and what you can / can't do.  The main part is that it states what they can / can't do with your images.  Without it, it's basically a lost case.

Contact me offsite and I can send you a model release that can be modified easily to fit your needs.  Just go to my MM profile (#135017) and you'll see my email in the "About Me" section.

When will photographers learn.....contracts, contracts, contracts!

Usage issues and copyright issues can be argued in court for years. If you have that kind of money for lawyers....do it! But if not.....forget about it!

My most useful course in college was not photography.....it was business administration.