Photoclubalpha

I recently took some photographs at a country show and have been contacted by one of the shows organisers wanting to use some of my pictures on the website. Now obviously he's looking for freebies and I don't mind that if it gets me further exposure. Having never been in this situation before though I don't know what to say in regards to copyright, I don't want to sound pretentious but would want to tell the person that the pictures still belong to me.

Furthermore if it should turn out that someone wants to buy a print, or even hire me to shoot something else, what do those of you that work (on an amateur basis or even semi-pro) generally charge?

Any advice gratefully accepted.

Over the years many times someone has contacted me asking if they could use one or more of my photos for free. I have let a few use them, but these days it is very rare that I give my permission. Occasionally, if it is a charity I may, but even there I have become inclined to say no. I have had businesses contact me wanting free use of my photos. I sometimes ask them if they would give me some of their products/services for free. So far, none have offered anything free.

Are these show organizers some sort of charitable organization? What charity? Are the people who contacted you receiving a salary or other compensation or do they provide their labor for free?

My suggestion is that you offer to sell them photos. I suspect they will no longer be interested.

I am pretty sure that lots of people have stolen my photos for their use. Oh well. I want to show my photos on my website and sometimes post on forums such as this one, but I only post images that are 640 pixels on the longest side and have my name on the image. That makes the photos a bit less useful to anyone who steals them.

Hi Ewannawe,

My experience is no different than Bakubo's. When people contact you, most of the time it's to get as many free as possible. It is frustrating. There were times I shared some of my photos with charity only to regret later because they also were full-size images and I found my architectual shots displayed at an other forum by some man I have never heard of with no mention of credits to my name.

As a rule, never hand out a photo that's full-size, always show a water-marked small version. Even the photo you think is not your best work and could be given away can be enourmously useful for some. And don't turn them over / send via FTP online, before you receive your payment. Sometimes they'll attempt to get them in full-size to check for quality and after getting the photos will lie to your face that they are not interested in the photos becase they froze their project due to budget or something. And to your surprise you may see your photo partially used without your consent or being creditted.

Many ugly things can happen around photos, buyers like the idea of convincing you that the photos are not that good and will seek ways to drop the price...Just don't go along with such attitudes, it's a mock attempt to have you do as they say!

Best regards,
Yildiz

Ewannawe wrote:I recently took some photographs at a country show and have been contacted by one of the shows organisers wanting to use some of my pictures on the website. Now obviously he's looking for freebies and I don't mind that if it gets me further exposure. Having never been in this situation before though I don't know what to say in regards to copyright, I don't want to sound pretentious but would want to tell the person that the pictures still belong to me.
Any advice gratefully accepted.

You own the copyright if you took the photos and were not contracted to take them. You have to explicitly give the rights away and I don't see it as pretentious to remind people. They are your images after all.

I would send small-sized images stating that you are only giving the right for the images to be reproduced on their website. If you wish, say that a prominent copyright notice must be displayed near any images (or embed your own) and suggest a note to say you can be contacted for any prints.
Alternatively send a montage and ask them to link through to your website if you have one.

If the purpose of the images is to advertise the show then they are getting a real benefit,
you could at least ask for free entry to the shows.

Harvey

Copyright is 'inalienable' in Europe but may not be in the USA, where it has to be registered. It is therefore a good idea to register copyright in the USA for images which are donated to a commercial user, and to state any restrictions on use. If the user then violates those restrictions, there is a simple prima facie case in law and punitive fees will be secured by any competent lawyer without recourse to courts.

In Europe it is far more complex since copyright is automatic and 'moral rights' (the right to be identified as the author of the work) are also enshrined in national laws to varying degrees. There is no need to register copyright (indeed, there is no mechanism to do so). But it is harder to make a direct claim without legal process, for infringement.

David

David Kilpatrick wrote:Copyright is 'inalienable' in Europe but may not be in the USA, where it has to be registered.
David

Are you sure? I thought the situation was the same as the UK (no action is required to secure copyright) but US registration for a work created in the USA gives an extra benefit if you want to sue for damages due to infringement?

Harvey

I don't think you can register copyright in the US anymore, it was the case once but not now. As soon as you create it, it is yours. there is some other language of derivative works but you still don't have to register. Trademarks, yes you have to register those but your everyday creations they are already yours.

Copyright is automatically created in the USA, yes, but to act in any way to recover fees you need to have registered the works. This is still done by most professional stock and commercial photographers routinely. It saves potential large legal bills, and ensures rapid payment if infringed.

David

Ahh that makes sense now.