What to do with old negatives and files
ByTwo weeks ago I told you about why I was selling old files. There is money sitting on our storage shelves waiting for ….what?
This week I will share with you how am I tackling over fifteen years worth of old files. Where to start with all of those bankers boxes filled with negatives and CDs?
The first step is deciding what to charge for them. Consider the likelihood of getting a reorder like we talked about two weeks ago. Don’t be greedy but remember these are valuable. You might even adjust the price after a few sales attempts that may not go so easy. Remember to take into account the time that is involved in making the sales. Your time is not free.
The next step is how to position this idea to your clients. This generation, your actual client, may not think too much of it, they have the actual photographs on the wall or in albums. But what about the future? What about their legacy? Isn’t it a real treat and a blessing to stumble on some of your own family history that is well preserved? A photograph in good condition is great, but having the original negative or digital file would be even more exciting.
You might tell your clients, “It’s not for you, really, it is for your future generations.”
If you are anything like me, you don’t want to call all these people. Who knows how current their address and phone number are anymore. And who has time to do all of this? Break it down into manageable pieces.
Step One: From my accounting software I printed a list of all of my clients by job. This lets me makes notes on who did purchase files, who told me no, and helps me locate all of the jobs I have done for one family. (I file my jobs alphabetically by last name in each calendar year.)
Step Two: To make this task friendlier to me I pulled all the files for people I was currently working with this month. It was so easy to just ask them if they were interested because they were right there, no additional trips, phone calls, or mailings necessary.
Step Three: I also pulled all the files of clients that I really felt comfortable calling about this project. Keep in mind that contacting clients just might get you some bookings while you are interacting with them!
While doing the above, I threw away old event files like dances and commercial jobs that I was sure no one would care about anymore. That alone was two big trash bags!
A side note: Be sure to shred any old MasterCard/VISA slips. You know the old duplicate kind with complete account numbers listed.
Step Four: Design a simple postcard to mail to people that you don’t have time to call. If the number is too overwhelming just do a few at a time. Nothing says you have to complete this in a month.
Do have a deadline for purchase. You want to be confident that you can throw away old files, move on, and not worry about someone changing their mind. If you are doing this in stages, just do a fill in the blank on your postcard for the deadline for them to respond. This will help you spread out the project and not make your mailing obsolete.
If you have some images that are your favorites, make a high quality scan of the negatives before you sell them. Digital images, of course, make a copy of those as well. You never know if you want to produce a book of your work someday.
When I am aware of it, one thing that I have always done is to give the files to the parents who have lost a child I have photographed. They appreciate the gesture.
Of course we photographers are control freaks and don’t want our clients to monkey with the images and make strange graphics, off color prints and then say who the photographer is! That is why we are so controlling of our raw data in the first place. But we are going to have to stop worrying and obsessing if we want fewer things to store and create some cash flow in the process.
I am going to preface all of my sales with educating the client about keeping the integrity of the images. I will also tell them that I will be happy to print any further images they may need, professionally.
