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[GWL]: Letting others use your photos

 
> .... I've been getting lots (up to a half dozen per day) of requests
> to use some of the images in the hort.net image gallery for various
> purposes.  I used to give permission if it was a one-time, not-for-profit
> application, but this is getting ridiculous.
> 
> Does anyone out there let others use their Web photos for free?  What kinds
> of restrictions do you place on usage?  What criteria do the requestors have
> to meet?

I treat web publishing just like traditional publishing and charge fees
based on the usage value to the site.  In traditional print media one
begins to calculate value based on how many people see the printed
matter (Book print runs or magazine circulation) and how important the
particular photo is to the success if the publication.  A magazine cover
or a full page spread in a book being far more important in attracting
and keeping readers than small photos.

Often publishers want multiple rights and re-use.  Photographers (and
all 'creatives') charge (or try to charge) extra for more rights and
usage.  If a publisher wants to publish world-wide the value of the
photo is more than if it is just North American rights.  While many
publishers do not want to pay for these additional rights they do
acknowledge the worth by the mere fact they ask for them.  What has been
happening in recent years is price competition has forced many
photographers to "throw in" these extra rights to make the sale - in
effect lowering their minimum price of a photo so that when it is loaded
up with other uses they can still provide a valuable photo.

Now photographers often have to "throw in" web and/or electronic rights
too so that publishers can run excerpts or promos on their web sites and
even make CDs and other electronic versions of traditional print items. 
This has made the value of web photos seemingly very little, which may
actually be quite fair because there is little evidence that web photos
alone can generate income for the publisher.  Web content is not so
glamorous as the dot com'rs hoped.

Small publishers (and the web has created publishers in every hobbyists'
PC) don't value photos because they can not afford to and it is so easy
to clip them from other sites.  This is not legal but who is going to
bust them ?

So what you have is a market in flux with no-one really knowing the real
value of a web photo.  The value then becomes what you are willing to
sell it for.  Are you willing to sell it for nothing in order to do a
good deed or for your own promotion ?  Those are valid reasons but
certainly you shouldn't feel taken advantage of if you do.  If too many
requests come in in a day you shouldn't feel bad about not getting to
all of them if you are doing it for free.

As a professional I have to sell my photos and set a price that makes me
and my accountant happy.  My price is going to be different from
everyone else but I will tell you I add 10% to my base price when a
traditional publisher asks for web rights.  If it is  web only use, I
use my minimum fee ($125 small photo one-time use) as a starting point.

As to non profits, I do contribute my photographs to a very select few. 
But most non-profits understand the photo is a commodity like stationary
and realize I am not a non-profit myself.

Hope this long winded answer helps rather than confuses.

Saxon Holt

I

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