What to Check Before Commissioning or Licensing Work from Ton Koene Photography & Illustrations

Updated

Ton Koene Photography & Illustrations (tonkoene.nl) is a portfolio site for photography and illustration work, so the practical way to use it is as a starting point for a direct conversation with the creator rather than as a self-service store. Before you commission or license anything, confirm four things in writing: the exact deliverable, the usage rights you need, the timeline, and the fee and payment terms. The site itself does not publish pricing, licensing tiers, or a booking process, so treat everything commercial as something to negotiate directly.

What the site tells you and what it doesn't

The site presents the creator's photography and illustration work. That is enough to judge style, subject matter, and whether the visual approach fits your project. It is not enough to answer commercial questions.

Question Answerable from the site? What to do
Does the style fit my project? Yes, by reviewing the portfolio Shortlist specific images or series you want to reference
Is photography, illustration, or both available? The site covers both disciplines Ask which one applies to your brief
What does it cost? No pricing information is published Request a quote for your specific use
What rights come with a license? Not stated Ask for the license scope in writing
How do I pay, and in what currency? Not stated Ask before agreeing to anything
How long will it take? Not stated Ask for a delivery date and revision terms

The site requires JavaScript to display properly. If you see a message about JavaScript being disabled, enable it in your browser and reload — otherwise the portfolio may not render and you will be evaluating an empty page.

Confirm the deliverable before anything else

Vague briefs produce vague quotes. Decide what you actually need:

  • Commissioned photography — a shoot with a defined subject, location, and shot list.
  • Commissioned illustration — original artwork to a brief, often with revision rounds.
  • Licensing existing work — using an image or illustration that already exists, without a new shoot or drawing.

These are different transactions with different costs and different rights. If you only need to reuse an existing image, say so up front — it is usually simpler and cheaper than commissioning new work, but the available rights depend entirely on what the creator agrees to.

Nail down usage rights explicitly

Usage is where most licensing disputes start. "I want to use this image" is not a license. Specify:

  • Where it will appear — website, print, social media, packaging, out-of-home.
  • For how long — one campaign, one year, perpetually.
  • In what territory — one country, one region, worldwide.
  • Whether it is exclusive — can the same image be licensed to others, including competitors?
  • Whether you can modify it — cropping, color grading, compositing, derivative works.

If your plans might expand — a campaign that could go international, or a print run that could grow — say so when you ask for the quote. Rights secured later usually cost more than rights scoped correctly at the start.

How to make contact and what to include

The site is the entry point; the actual conversation happens by direct contact. When you reach out, a message that gets a fast, accurate reply includes:

  1. What you need — commission or license, photography or illustration.
  2. The specific work you are referencing — name the images or series from the portfolio.
  3. Intended use — media, duration, territory, exclusivity.
  4. Timeline — when you need delivery and when you need a decision.
  5. Budget range, if you have one — it saves a round of back-and-forth.

Common sticking points

  • Assuming published portfolio images are free to use. They are not. Portfolio display is not a license.
  • Leaving usage vague until after delivery. Agree on rights before work starts, not after.
  • Expecting instant online checkout. No pricing or payment information is published, so plan for a manual quote and invoice process.
  • Judging the site on a broken render. If the page looks empty, check that JavaScript is enabled before concluding there is no work to see.

If you need a fast, fixed-price, self-service license, this is probably not the right fit. If you want work matched to a specific brief and are willing to negotiate terms directly, start with the portfolio, then open a conversation covering deliverable, rights, timeline, and fee.