Dale Charles Photography License, Terms & Conditions Jan 1, 2024
I've photographed well over 2000 residences in 17 years, most of them mid to high-end. I photograph everything from studios, apartments, lofts, Airbnb, condos, standard homes, fine homes, major estates, restaurants, galleries, museums, office space and so on. I am usually available 6 days per week unless during holidays.
PHILOSOPHY: Photography is an art form and I treat it as such.
PREP: Real Estate ("RE") Listings and locations should be in “Ready To Shoot” condition when I arrive. There should be as few people on site as possible. Minimal to no distractions. When possible, sub-contractors should not be working on-site or scheduled during the shoot. I kindly ask that agents and homeowners do not shadow me while I work. I weill ask you for any specific shots, scenes and points of interest during our initial walk-through.
Please schedule your shoot as far in advance as possible, preferably two or more days before launching. After fourteen years photographing thousands of listings, I get it. Photos are last and you want them tomorrow. No problem. That said, in the busy months my workload can be heavy at times and I cannot always deliver the next morning, especially for large RE listings which take many hours to develop in post. I need 1-2 hours on site for smaller listings, longer for mid-sized and all day for significant estates. I love what I do and take my time to get it right.
MY WORKFLOW: Similar to the best architectural and interior design photographers who charge four to five figures for a dozen images. I use highest-quality architectural shift lenses and off-camera lighting to supplement an interiors' natural light. I carefully develop each image in lengthy post-production sessions to achieve the best possible results ensuring white balance is correct, exposure is optimal, colors are accurate, perspective is plumb and level, shadows, highlight and mid-tones are balanced and that each image is believable
FEES: Your payment to me is a License Fee to use Digital Copies of my Original Work. Copyright is always owned by The Photographer in any industry. Copyright does not transfer to a client or end-user, only a copy of The Photographer's Original Work does. This is is standard practice in a professional photography business.
USAGE: To advertise, market and or promote a Real Estate Listing for sale, internationally.
TERM: As long as needed to sell the listing. You may re-use them at a later date if re-listed with the same homeowner in another season, for example. Licensees can also use listing images in their personal “Sold by Me” portfolio and of course on social media to promote themselves outside of, during and after the Listing, indefinitely. All I ask is Credit with link or tag when possible on social media.
TRANSFER: Digital Copies of The Photographers Work are non-transferable as a gift or resale to any for-profit, third-party for their Business Use.
If your brokerage wants to use my work in their branding, marketing and advertising *outside* of your original listing, they must License and pay for the new, separate usage. In this instance, my fee is priced per image, per year. Fees vary as a photograph used on the home or landing webpage is far more valuable and integral to branding, therefore it comes with a higher cost. Usage as the main photo on a major brokerages landing page for three months is $300 per month. A smaller image within would bill at $100 a month. In comparison, a magazine cover or full-page image bills significantly higher than a small, page four, one or two column op-ed image in a newspaper or magazine. Fees are lower for smaller, low-circulation periodicals and websites. For example, an image Licensed to the NYT would bill higher than John Smith's Roofing website. Still, that large front image is critical to selling magazines or services and sets the emotional tone for that issue or website.
If you lose a listing you may not “give” or “resell” copies of my My Work to another agent or any for-profit third-party, they must pay the photographer a License fee for *their* new usage. If you lose or drop a listing photographed by me, as a courtesy to you, if one of my clients picks up that listing I will re-shoot it rather than re-License the images I delivered to you.
When a third-party wants to use my work in their business. Brokerages, architects, builders, developers, contractors, stagers, rental property owners and landlords must each License and pay me for their unique Third-Party Business Usage.
For example, the architect, builder and rental property owner likes my work and want to use a number of my images in their portfolio, website and to advertise with. The real estate agent who paid me for listing usage (the original Licensee) does not have the right or License to sell or give third-parties Copies of My Original Work for their Business Use. The architect, builder and landlord must each License directly from me, each paying me for the new usage. In this instance, there are four parties and four separate uses, therefore, four Licenses and four payments. Listing agent, architect, builder, landlord. This is how professional photographers earn a living and have conducted business for over 100 years.
Another example: If I license an image to Newsweek, they cannot sell it to Time Magazine, Time has to license it from me and pay me a fee. Exclusive usage rights are rarely accepted in the professional photography industry without significant payment thereof. Real Estate Listing Photographs are generally used for a short term of a few weeks so photography fees are very low. The same set of images for an architect bill significantly higher as the usage is long term if not lifetime and mission critical to obtaining new clients, not to mention weeks of planning, scouting, travel, days on site and in post.
I reserve the Right to use My Work in my portfolio and social media accounts. I have the Right to License and sell copies of My Work to any third party as I see fit *after* a listing has been sold, a practice known as Embargo, unless otherwise agreed upon.
PAYMENT: I prefer to be paid the day of a real estate listing shoot as my work is delivered within about 24-48 hrs and your Usage begins immediately. Otherwise, once established you may pay me within 30 days. 5% Late fee per day after 30 days.
Pay by check to Dale Charles, use debit and credit cards online via PayPal using my prints@compago.net PayPal ID. I prefer and accept Venmo, my ID is @tarrymore I also accept cash and Bitcoin
COPYRIGHT & LEGAL: Photographers own Copyright which does not transfer to clients when images are Licensed and delivered. Clients pay for and own a temporary License to use Digital Copies of a photographer’s Original Work, a standard professional photography practice for over 100 years.
I offer a 15% discount on your next shoot for a referral and a discount when paying with cash. Thank you!
DALE CHARLES PHOTOGRAPHY | 530-210-3171 Mobile | 617-209-9972 Studio