Allowing free use of images for publicaton

dod said:
I can see both sides of the argument here.

I've had stuff published in most of the equestrian mags, a good few of the motox mags and a fair number of local papers. Some of it I've charged for some of it I haven't. The stuff I haven't charged for has always been to help promote a club/organisation. What I usually find is the bigger the publication the readier they are to pay.

I also had an MP ask for a shot of him presenting an award to Zara Phillips. He still hasn't agreed to pay, says he doesn't have the budget, so he still hasn't got it :D
Click to expand...

Good for you, dod, make him squeal as he pays through the nose - like we have to with all those hidden (and not so hidden) taxes! :thumbs:
 
Garry Edwards said:
As I said in my previous post, I don't blame the photographers, I blame the people who exploit them.
Click to expand...

I think that just about sums it up for me at least :thumbs:
I don't consider myself "good enough" to sell photo's so I don't try.
I did have a trade mag interested in a couple of images that they "got to hear about"
and I did think about letting them have them for free as an "ego massage"
but thought hell, they have more money than me so I opted for a low price per image, ( just a few quid) and "recognition" (just to get my name in print)
they agreed in principle but never confirmed, I assume that they were waiting for me to give them away.........They will have a long wait
I did stick a large semi-transparent watermark across the "samples" they asked for
I wonder if they would have been published anyway had I not :shrug:
 
Lets face it publishers are there to make profit ...its always been that way, end of.

How many of you pros, I'd like to ask (the ones who don't sit on there talents but move them to the next level when required) have actually started making less money each year? ... cos I get the impression business is as good as ever (not withstanding that recession thingy) ..in fact, couldn't it be argued that the digital age has in fact made images more available than ever before so loads of free stuff available, publishers are publishing more at less cost, from leaflets, to holiday brochures, home sale brochures, mags, supplements, club mags, websites, council quarterlies the list really does go on and on, how much junk mail do you get through the door each day! Photography is flippin everywhere...so isn't the side effect of all that free stuff that they've actually made photographs competitive again, my brochures better than yours etc.

I know if I was publishing something with photographs and wanting it to be real top class compared to the rest, I'd be hard pushed unless I actually paid a pro to give me the quality I want, in fact possibly daft to risk otherwise, especially considering my competetors are thinking the same.

:thinking:
 
A good friend of mine who works in the marketing department of a local educational establishment (where my wife also works), mentionned that she wanted a couple of shots of one of the new buildings on the site but they didn't have the kit to take them (they needed a wide angle lens and full frame). Since I do have the kit, I offered to pop down with my 12-24, 8mm and D700 and see what I could do. As it happened, yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment and my wife came with me since we both wanted to thank him for getting to the bottom of a long standing problem so she had a slightly extended lunch break and took me down with her after lunch. Since it's an educational establishment, there is a policy that meant I had to have a member of staff accompany me while I took the shots, so my wife volunteered and we had an extra 15 minutes together (even after 25 years together, we're as inseperable as we can be!).

I had scouted the location beforehand and was fairly sure that the 12-25 could get it all in but in the meantime, some contractors had cordonned off the spot that would have been ideal with that metal mesh fencing - not good to shoot through! Luckily, I could just get close enough to the spot to get the whole building in. After gatting the UWA shots, I swapped to the fisheye and took a few for fun as much as anything, and I think she may use a couple of them in the brochure/prospectus.

Did I get paid? No, I'm not a pro and my tax situation is quite complicated enough, thank you very much! Did I do a local pro out of a job? I don't think I did. Not many have the combination of kit I have and to buy one of the lenses would make the job lose them money unless they charged huge amounts of money for it!

If you're an Exeter based pro with FF, 12-24 and 8mm fisheye lenses, I'm very sorry and as a matter of interest, how much would you have charged for 15 minutes of work (no PP, they do all that in house) in very central Exeter?
 
Last edited:
Nod said:
A good friend of mine who works in the marketing department of a local educational establishment (where my wife also works), mentionned that she wanted a couple of shots of one of the new buildings on the site but they didn't have the kit to take them (they needed a wide angle lens and full frame). Since I do have the kit, I offered to pop down with my 12-24, 8mm and D700 and see what I could do. As it happened, yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment and my wife came with me since we both wanted to thank him for getting to the bottom of a long standing problem so she had a slightly extended lunch break and took me down with her after lunch. Since it's an educational establishment, there is a policy that meant I had to have a member of staff accompany me while I took the shots, so my wife volunteered and we had an extra 15 minutes together (even after 25 years together, we're as inseperable as we can be!).

I had scouted the location beforehand and was fairly sure that the 12-25 could get it all in but in the meantime, some contractors had cordonned off the spot that would have been ideal with that metal mesh fencing - not good to shoot through! Luckily, I could just get close enough to the spot to get the whole building in. After gatting the UWA shots, I swapped to the fisheye and took a few for fun as much as anything, and I think she may use a couple of them in the brochure/prospectus.

Did I get paid? No, I'm not a pro and my tax situation is quite complicated enough, thank you very much! Did I do a local pro out of a job? I don't think I did. Not many have the combination of kit I have and to buy one of the lenses would make the job lose them money unless they charged huge amounts of money for it!

If you're an Exeter based pro with FF, 12-24 and 8mm fisheye lenses, I'm very sorry and as a matter of interest, how much would you have charged for 15 minutes of work (no PP, they do all that in house) in very central Exeter?
Click to expand...

That must be the thread revival of the month if not year:)
 
Holy thread necormancy, Batman! :lol:

I'd have needed a ouiji board to find that one.. ..
 
I got to about post 18 before I realised the TP members of the early days had not been cloned by alien forces. Good read, are the thoughts still the same today as they were 4 years ago?

I was very excited to get my first image published in the paper (free), a great thrill. Even though its still my hobby - no money/no pic. Agree with Garry, it's the fault of the vultures. Do I care if someone gives theirs away? Nope - as long as they know the reasons why and not through ignorance.

Phil.
 
PsiFox said:
That must be the thread revival of the month if not year:)
Click to expand...

It is a bit but one of the Mods (Gary, I think) had linked to it on another thread and having just done the "job", I added my story!;)
 
How many people will be getting paid for the shots of the floods?

I was out yesterday, so was anyone who any sort of photography device especially camera phones.

The local papers and radio stations were asking for anyone who any pictures to upload them to their facebook page.

I wonder if anyone will get paid, as for any that have to be paid for there will dozens for free.
 
cowboy said:
How many people will be getting paid for the shots of the floods?

I was out yesterday, so was anyone who any sort of photography device especially camera phones.

The local papers and radio stations were asking for anyone who any pictures to upload them to their facebook page.

I wonder if anyone will get paid, as for any that have to be paid for there will dozens for free.
Click to expand...

You aren't likely to get any money out of local/ regional press because they don't have the budget, but 90% of the photos in the nationals are from agencies or freelancers filing direct. Free doesn't necessarily mean good!
 
Canon Bob said:
I've just been reading a thread detailing the publication of an image where no royalty payment changed hands. The image was taken by an amateur for personal pleasure and subsequently used by a "proffessional" publication.
Is this wrong or morally suspect?
Is someones livelihood being threatened?
Should the amateurs amongst us not allow unpaid use of images?
Click to expand...

No. If the pros cannot provide better images than the hobbyists (which I think is probably quite rare), then there is no reason at all why someone would choose an inferior image.
 
I think this not paying people for professional photographs is not helping with the death of the publishing industry. I would pay for a mag full of outstanding images and amazing writing. But in effort to cut cost "reader journalism" and "Readers Photos" are all the rage. Many are put off buying it because the quality is simply not worth paying the asking price for. On the other hand Readers Wives always seemed to be popular back in the day :lol:.
 
locheil said:
the bbc used two of my images on their news website and some of my comments as well i thought to my self wonder how much i will get paid ,nothing,so if there is a next time i will ask if they pay for images that are used by them,,,
Click to expand...

And they will refer you to their T&Cs, which you agreed to before uploading your images. By doing so you agreed that the BBC can use your images in any way they desire.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top