From Chapter 4: Photographers
Dealing with Unscrupulous Photographers
Have your photographer sign a Work for Hire3 contract which stipulates that you, the artist, owns the copyright and not the photographer although the photographer may still own
the negatives unless the hire contract specifies that you own the negatives (I never did get 'round to doing this with John; I never saw the need). If you buy the film, there is no question. You own the negatives if you buy the film.
The photographer tells you that he will keep the original or master
slides and send you duplicates. Wrong. You are paying for the original, i.e., exposed in the camera, slides. No originals. No deal.
The photographer tells you your work will require special equipment
for which he must buy or rent and bill you. Wrong. Real photographers have lots of equipment. If they have to rent something to shoot your work, they probably do not shoot that type of art very often. Bad sign.
The photographer charges a flat per-slide fee rather than time and expenses. Some work—small works, huge big pieces, or complex three-dimensional products just take longer to set up and light. A per-slide or per-image rate is a one-size-fits-all that is disturbing and sets off alarms. Pieces that are outside-the-norm may receive short shrift as the flat-fee is based on the average. S/he may skimp on the setup and lighting and you'll end up with lousy shots.
3 A sample work-for-hire
contract is available in Kathy Davie's How Copyright Applies to the Artist, the Buyer, the Employer/e, the Sold Artwork.