Silly question, but here goes. A friend is writing an article for an off road vehicle mag and asked if he could use a couple of of my pictures for the article. The publisher has requested that the pictures to be submitted in the original RAW format. I use PS CS2, been looking and am umable to find how to make copies of the two CR2 files requested. Grateful for any help.
Thanks
I would not even consider sending a buyer my RAW file. Put your metadata in a hi-res tiff and send them that. Keep control of your files. The RAW file is the only real evidence that the image is yours, as you should be the only one in possession of it.
Most photo editors and publications have a completely different notion of "raw file" than we do as photographers. To the photo editor, they often mean an hi-res TIFF that has not been manipulated. That is because they want to be able to resize / crop / sharpen it to their liking. That is completely different than what we call a "raw" file - a camera native raw format file. I would be very reluctant to turn over a camera native raw file. That is your one source of proof that you are the original author of the photograph should there ever be a copyright infringement issue.
As suggested by others, create an TIFF file that isn't sharpened, attach all the metadata, and send that. If they still insist on the camera native raw file, speak with them to try to understand why they are asking for the camera native raw file. You may be able to convince them that it is not what they really need.
Also make sure you have an iron clad, signed license agreement in place before turning the images over to them. Make sure your license fee reflects the placements and sizes in the magazine, and the circulation of the magazine. Make sure you indicate whether the license fee includes reprints. Reprints are primarily done for advertisement purposes - especially cover images. Ever see those sample covers on those subscription cards, newspaper inserts, website banners, etc? That is considered advertising, not editorial, and should be licensed separately for an additional fee.
Discussion
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That said, I would generally not provide my raw files. I want to retain control of the conversion and processing and will provide a flattened TIF.
Guy
As suggested by others, create an TIFF file that isn't sharpened, attach all the metadata, and send that. If they still insist on the camera native raw file, speak with them to try to understand why they are asking for the camera native raw file. You may be able to convince them that it is not what they really need.
Also make sure you have an iron clad, signed license agreement in place before turning the images over to them. Make sure your license fee reflects the placements and sizes in the magazine, and the circulation of the magazine. Make sure you indicate whether the license fee includes reprints. Reprints are primarily done for advertisement purposes - especially cover images. Ever see those sample covers on those subscription cards, newspaper inserts, website banners, etc? That is considered advertising, not editorial, and should be licensed separately for an additional fee.