This morning, I received an email from a family lifestyle magazine, congratulating me that they had chosen one of my Flickr photos to be featured in their travel section.
For a credit. No compensation.
Now, if I had submitted my photo for this “opportunity,” the email language wouldn’t bother me. But I’ve never even heard of the publication. They found my picture on Flickr, and want to use it for free. In their magazine. Where they sell ads.
I’m not a hard-ass about my photos. When asked nicely, and depending on the use, I’m happy to give permission to use my images at no charge. Shortly after we returned from Africa, an educational website requested permission to use one of my photos of Victoria Falls.
But this? The tone bugs me. The spin makes it sound like the magazine, which again I have never heard of, is doing me a favor, when in fact it is I that would be doing something for them. Seems to me that if you are going to make money from my work, I should be compensated. And you should at least ask nicely.
It’s not even clear that the credit would be with the photo. It could just as easily be buried in a list somewhere. How many other people get similar emails from publications and are fooled by the flattery?
What am I going to do? I’m planning to reply to this query that my photo is available for a one-time use fee, payable to my PayPal account. And I’ve signed up for the new (announced today) Request to License service on Flickr from Getty Images that directs queries to use my copyrighted images to Getty, who will negotiate licensing for me.
Am I expecting to make tons of money from licensing my images? No. But I invest in my camera equipment and lightly edit the photos I upload to Flickr. That’s time and money on my part. If a publication or website wants to use my images, we both need to get something out of the deal.
Has this happened to you, with your photos, and how have you handled it?
By the way, here’s the image in question. Not entirely sure how it fits with baby fashion, but whatever. It was taken just outside of Mosi-O-Tunya National Park in Zambia.
Jerseygirl says
Great photo! I’ve never had this particular issue because I’m the type of person who still hasn’t uploaded her Easter photos, but I think you handled it really well.
Cara @ this is where i come up with something witty says
Ewww… That, is just flat out shady. You have every right to request payment and an exact description of where and how you will receive credit. I would also ask for more information about the publication.
Where I’m coming from…. My husband is a professional photographer so I’ve got a lot of opinion and knowledge about the industry. What they are doing is just flat out wrong. Publications hire “photo editors” who have NO idea how to legally obtain images these days. Images are your personal property. Yes you shared it on Flickr but as you know, they have usage agreements spelled out very thoroughly. The truth is, that image is your property. Paying you with a photo credit alone is just outrageous.
My opinion, the fact that the feature is about baby fashion and the photo is clearly of an African safari throws up a huge red flag for me. IF you want to let them use it, research the pub a bit and confirm that they ARE who they say they are. The content really doesn’t seem to match and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were looking to use your photo for something completely different AKA something with much higher visibility = more $$$ making for them. Just my $.02….
CascadiaKids says
Yeah, that’s just wrong. I wouldn’t go through Getty to sell your images though. You shouldn’t sign away a portion to them for negotiating a fairly straightforward deal.
Regarding this magazine, just say that you will allow them to use it once for $X dollars
(depends upon the magazine’s budget).
You can e-mail me if you want to talk about this more. I sell photos to magazines. I can tell you how to research the general budget and financial health.
Susan Getgood says
Thanks for the great comments. I’m used to getting “invitations” to write for websites and magazines for free for the “exposure,” but this was the first time someone contacted me about a photo. If you read my Marketing Roadmaps blog (as I know some of you do), you know how adamant I am that people should be paid for their work.
As to this magazine, I doubt whether I will ever hear back from them. They seem to be having the “if it’s on Flickr it must be free” delusion.
CascadiaKids — The Getty Licensing thing appeals to me because it gives me a way to respond to requests like this one without much effort on my part. I’m not trying to sell my images, but am not averse to picking up a little cash if someone wants to use one. I just don’t have the time to do the necessary research etc. etc. If I were to get serious about this hobby, and someday I may, I’d definitely do things differently.