Photo Questions

Lisamer · May 15, 2006

Okay. I actually received a contract for my ski-fitness book. It's with a very new, small independent publisher, but there is an advance as well as royalties. Not bad for a niche market.

Given that my publisher does not have endless funds for glossy photos, I wanted to ask a few questions. I already have a collection of high-resolution color fitness photos. Would it be cheaper to have a sketch artist use them to make black and white sketches? Can color photos be converted to black and white?

I know that I will have to get my "models" to sign a release form. For those of you who have worked with non-professional models: Do you pay them? If so, how much?

Thanks!

Lauri B · May 16, 2006

Your publisher should have a photo or art budget that will take care of the cost of producing these, as well as paying for the models. Regarding a sketch artist vs. photography: again, your publisher should have an art program in place and should be making these decisions. Have you discussed this with them?

Ashleen · May 23, 2006

Lisamer, CONGRATS! Way to go!

The contracts I've gotten have all made me responsible for illustrations. They specify that they can be photos or line drawings (or ???), but there's no extra budget for them, and if they're not of high enough quality, I either have to rework them or they don't get used. (Sometimes they come out a little fuzzier or more pixilated than I'd like them to, but I don't always see them in the galleys, and when I do, they're drafts, so I can't tell whether they'll be sharp in the final printing.)

I have never used professional models, just friends who are all thrilled to be in a book.

They still have to sign releases, though. I have once or twice gotten line drawings from friends who professional artists, and I think I paid them maybe $25 or $50/drawing. Same for professional musician friends who transcribed songs I put on audio tape for them, so I could include melody lines in my books. The music has to be scanned in and I've had some trouble getting a sharp enough digital version.

Yes, color photos can be made black and white. Most mess-with-photos programs will do this. You'll probably have to scan them into your computer and go from there. I work with a digital camera, upload the photos, and turn them into black and white myself. They'll need to be at least 300 dpi, and my problem has always been trying to get my comptuer to tell me what a photo's dpi is. (I don't have a professional photo manipulation program; maybe I ought to get one! There's a thought! ;-)

All blessings,
Ashleen

Photo Questions

Lisamer

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

Ashleen