Frequently asked questions
Duration of rights, territory, paid advertising, multi-party projects, number of images and deadlines — the questions that decide a commission.
What actually blocks a quote, and what is rarely written down elsewhere: how long the rights last, where they apply, what you may do with the images, and how quickly they arrive.
How long may I use the images, and in which territory?
Five years from delivery, across Europe. That is the standard licence, included in the price — nothing to add in order to publish on your website, your social media, in the editorial press or in institutional material: brochures, competition entries, annual reports.
It is non-exclusive: you are not buying exclusivity, so you are not paying for it. The full detail is on the Pricing & usage rights page.
What happens if I use them in paid advertising?
That is the case which triggers a licence extension. Paid advertising, sponsored campaigns, out-of-home and promotional material fall outside the organic uses covered by the standard licence.
The extension is quoted upfront, before distribution, based on the campaign's duration, territory and scale. It is never applied retrospectively: if the use is known from the outset, it is in the original quote.
Can several parties use the same images?
Yes, with one extension per additional entity. This is common on construction work, where the client, the architect, the main contractor and the operator all want the same views.
Each then uses the images in its own name, under its own licence. The important part: this framework is written before the shoot. Tell me who will publish, and the quote accounts for it — cheaper and simpler than regularising afterwards.
How many images are delivered, and how quickly?
A half day yields up to fifteen retouched images, a full day up to thirty. Beyond that the rate tapers. These are finished images: individual retouching and colour harmonisation across the whole series.
Delivery is through a private online gallery, with full-resolution files and web-ready versions. The deadline is set in the quote according to the season and the scale of the assignment; on urgent projects a first selection can be sent within a few days.
How is a quote built, and how quickly?
Describe the project in a few lines: the location, the type of building, the deadline, and above all the intended use of the images. That last point matters as much as the first two, since it determines the licence.
I reply within 24 h to frame the scope, and the detailed quote follows within 48 h: a firm price, the licence written out in full, and the delivery schedule.
How is travel accounted for?
It appears on the quote, never folded into the price. Parking in Paris is a real cost: burying it in the rate would mean charging it to clients who do not incur it. So you see the line, and you know what it covers.
My base is Paris, but close to a third of my assignments happen elsewhere — Nice, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the Dordogne, the Var, and a twelve-building assignment across Denmark and Sweden for Henning Larsen. A project outside the Paris region is no obstacle: it changes one line on the quote, not the work.
Does the building need preparing before the shoot?
A little, and it is quickly said: spaces cleared of anything that does not belong to the project, lighting in working order, and access to the areas to be photographed arranged. On an occupied site or an active construction site, tell me in advance — it can be planned around.
I scout when the building calls for it, mainly to choose the hours of light — often what separates a correct image from an accurate one.
What if the weather does not cooperate?
A date is postponed at no cost when the light makes the assignment impossible. It is a decision taken together, usually the day before.
Architectural photography works with available light: an overcast sky is no problem for interiors, but it is one for a façade that needs its own shadow.