Question about approaching members

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inquisitive_chap

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If I see a photo on TP that I like, is it ok to message the person and ask if they are interested in selling a copy of their photo (either to give them money or in return for a donation to the site)?

I just want to check that doing that won't break any site rules?
 
Hi. Interesting question. From a forum rules point of view, there's nothing specific precluding you asking via PM's regarding the possible purchase of either a hard copy of a image, or a digital copy with whatever rights you were to discuss and agree upon with the person who took the photo and owns such rights. Nearest it may get is the "no trading outside of classifieds" though obviously that's more allied to sale of hardware / tangible items rather than "image rights"...

Please however be aware, that there is a vast range of levels of photographers on here in terms of their attitude to their "work" - ranging from a happy amateur who would be flattered to be asked, right through to people that earn their living from taking and selling photo's and who will be VERY clued up as to the "going rate" for their work. SO - i'd suggest that if you DO make an approach to someone for this, then ask them to set out on what basis they'd be providing the image - what usage they'd allow (or what levels are available) and (crucially) let the person who took the image set the tone and pricing of the transaction. Above all, don't be surprised if someone comes back with a price that is far more than you were expecting - OR comes back with a whole list of questions as to how their image is going to be used. This isn't Farcebook, while some people may hand over images for the buzz they get, others rely on this sort of stuff to put a roof over their head and food on the table. Accept that, and behave accordingly and I think you may possibly be positively surprised...

I'd also be remiss if I wasn't to point out that PM's (private messages) are just that - PRIVATE - Staff cannot read the messages, and I believe that they can only be accessed from the underlying database by some pretty serious forensic hacking around - so - unless it's under instruction from legal entities, they're effectively off limits to moderation staff AND admins. So, frankly, if you'd just not mentioned it, and asked, we'd have been none the wiser... Also, I'll also point out that in best part of 14 years as staff here, we've never had someone complain that they'd been approached to sell an image. We HAVE however had quite a few people seriously disgruntled by people expecting them to give their work away, and we've had LOADS of people getting really irritated at people just stealing imagery.

I should say that this is purely my own take on this matter as a moderator, the "management" may have other views - which is why i've actually moved this thead into the "forum info and discussion" section, as that way I believe all staff get automatic notification of the posting...

And, taking my mod-hat off for a moment, if it's one of mine you're interested in, crack on and ask, we can definitely negotiate usage terms or even prints / canvases should you be interested. :D
 
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I really appreciate Mark's detailed and (as always) very good response, however as Mark says the rules do say no trading outside of the classified section. We say this for a reason, we can't see PMs, they are personal, so if there is a dispute we can't see what has gone on. The classifieds allow people to give feedback etc. One option here is for you to ask via PM for the photographer to advertise the photo in the classifieds and tag it as for your attention.

Obviously there's nothing we can do if you were to do something like exchange email addresses ...
 
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Thanks

If it was TP policy to proactively ALLOW exchanging email addresses so that things could be dealt with 1:1 and any negotiations not held on the TP platform (via messages) and therefore TP in no way held liable for disputes, then I would consider doing that

However, if TP preferred people did NOT do that, I would not

I should say I am not trying to cause any issues or circumvent any rules, or cause any trouble. My thought actually was that some amateurs may be happy to pass on their images in return for a donation to the site to help the site with its costs (or to a charity close to their heart), although I totally get the point that some people on here make a living from their photographs and for such people they would want to charge the going rate (which for a good photo that I wanted to frame I may well pay).

If this suggestion is actually a bit of a headache, I don't want to cause trouble so will leave it
 
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I generally go with the maxim "it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission"

We can't write down everything that is allowed, so assume if its not explicitly denied then it's up to you
 
Just thought I'd mention something.
If your thinking of buying pictures to hang on your wall, thats fine. If your thinking of selling them on, or putting them on a tee shirt or something it's a bit more complicated.
Buying a copy of a photo doesn't necessarily mean you can reproduce it or use it for other uses. It depends on what conditions the seller applies when the sale is done. In most cases the right to reproduce or use the picture for profit will be reflected in the price, you'll probably have to pay more. ;)
 
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