I'm having a problem with some of the clients I shot candids for during the Florida Circuit of Dog Shows. These are Poodle clients. Which explains a lot .

They love the images I captured of their dogs. But they want so much retouching -- of both the dog and the background -- that they are moving beyond the point where my photography fee makes sense. Which gets to the point of where I have to decide when does the "photographer" retouching stop and when does the "digital artist" retouching come into play.

The problem is, we also do ad make-up and in that work, we do a lot of Photoshop work: cutting dogs out, putting them on new backgrounds, blending several images, etc. For clients, it's difficult to distinguish what part of that is the "photography" part and what part is the advertising part.

What's the difference? I charge $25 for an 8X10 (in addition to any shooting fee) and we charge $100/page for ad make-up. For us, that's a big difference.

I'm wrestling with the problem of where to draw the line and how to explain it clearly to these clients. However, it gets to the fundamental problem with digital that we never had to deal with using film: the endless process of making something good even better. Or, just because you can do something in terms of editing, doesn't mean you should .

I'll let you know how this plays out.

Jim

You need to have a clear policy on digital retouching. State what comes with the $25 fee(taking out of minor blemishes) and what your charge is for serious retouching, like taking out backgrounds.

I no longer will remove things without upfront money. Been burned by too many people.

Oh, and just say I cannot alter some things. Like the anti drug campaign, just say no!!

Actually if you take a page from the portriat photographers book, they charge for blemishes, backgrounds, masking, and any "artistic" changes to the photos. Google some of the senior HS portrait photographers in your area to see what charges I am talking about and you will also have a ruler to measure what people in your area charge.

Tom

Basic photoshopping of such things is included in my session fee and print prices. I do quite a lot with my *portrait* images to give an artistic feel that seperates me from a run of the mill photographer. At least that is my goal. Wrinkles are softened, zits and blotchy skin is smoothed etc;

I do charge extra for removing of items from the background or for removing the background. That is on an hourly basis with a min of one hour charge. I try and find positions where the background is nice, but, it is not always possible.

Hey Jim,

This is a very good question, and I believe a very common one. We have gone out of our way to make sure that clients know that we are photographers and that we do not digitally manipulate photographs outside of basic levels and wb adjustments. We actually have a clause in our contract from a wedding where we were asked to simulate something we were not even there for.

Digital Artistry is something extra - and should be treated as such.

James