Photo I took on back page of local paper

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WillieL

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A photo I took of a female runner at the BUPA Xcountry in Edinburgh has been used without my permission in the Herald & Post today. Not a great quality photo(plus its A5 in size) but it is the girl they are running a story on trying to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.

This must have been taken off my Flickr page, no credit given. There are a couple of smaller tennis photos inside the back page which have been credited to the photographer so I assume my photo was given to the paper by an outside source(athlete or club possibly) but no contact was made with me. I have the editors email address from the paper but not sure how to word my displeasure. :shrug:
 
Silly question, but was there another Tog right next you taking the same shot? If not, can't you just invoice them for it? Surely a paper like that should know better than to pilfer from flickr!
 
Yep, give them a ring and say "Oi, you used my photo without permission. Here's a nice fat invoice and if I catch you doing it again <insert threat of choice here>..."
 
leothelion said:
Silly question, but was there another Tog right next you taking the same shot? If not, can't you just invoice them for it? Surely a paper like that should know better than to pilfer from flickr!
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100% sure it is my photo, I have never invoiced someone for a photo as I just do it for fun but realise they should pay for its use.

Maybe someone could PM me with example invoices as I am not a business and do not know what I should charge.
 
You need to be 100% sure it's yours before going in guns blazing!
 
admirable said:
You need to be 100% sure it's yours before going in guns blazing!
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This!

If a photographer was stood 1.5 feet to the side of you and you both pressed the shutter button within the same second the photos are gonna be pretty much the same.
 
JackMcIntyre said:
This!

If a photographer was stood 1.5 feet to the side of you and you both pressed the shutter button within the same second the photos are gonna be pretty much the same.
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This was an athlete running at speed and nobody was near me, so yes I am 100% sure it is my photo.(angle, hand position & necklace bouncing back of neck)


Thanks for the link Leo, now to find out how much should I ask for, as this is a free weekly paper if that makes a difference.
 
WillieL said:
Thanks for the link Leo, now to find out how much should I ask for, as this is a free weekly paper if that makes a difference.
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Its only free to the reader.. the writers get paid..

15 quid if yer lucky but i wouldnt hold your breath..
 
KIPAX said:
Its only free to the reader.. the writers get paid..

15 quid if yer lucky but i wouldnt hold your breath..
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Exactly. An ex of mine used to be in ad sales for a weekly freesheet. They used to regularly get adverts in that they charged upwards of £2000 for. Multiply that by the number of adverts and suddenly you realise they've got plenty of cash to play with. More than some paid newspapers in fact!

If you're certain it's yours, and you were accredited to be there, then invoice for £50 for the image, then £25 for unauthorised use, then £15 for non-crediting. Plus £10 for the hassle of having to invoice. Make sure you itemise it all and phone the editor in the mean time.
 
A freesheet with "plenty of cash to play with". That's a novel concept. If they pay anybody for anything that will be unusual. If you get a tenner I'll be surprised.

On the other hand, they will probably say they were given the picture by the althlete and used it free in good faith. The first bit is likely true, the second bit is either a lie or they're stupid - chances about 50/50%. Either way, it's nothing to do with us, take it up with the athlete.

The athlete will say, don't be daft, you're having a laugh. You took a picture of me, without my permission, put it on Flickr for all the world to see, then get in huff because it's in the local paper. Don't be silly! Don't take any more pictures of me, and b****r off!

Not saying any of this is how it should be, but that's how the world works.

Edit: was the run for charity? That won't help your cause.
 
You could try calling their ad department and seeing how much an advert of the same size as the photo would cost. This will tell you how much they value the space in their paper and give you a ballpark to aim at.
 
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