| What's Photographable…?
Photographing Public Properties
The question often comes up in publishing circles, "Can I use this photo
of this property?" The necessity for a property or model release is
dictated by a photo's eventual use. In the case of locations such as
the pyramids, the Siq, Jordan biblical sites, or the Minoan palace at
Knossos, Crete, whether the photograph depicts the inside or outside
of the site, or whether it's the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame or the rock
Tombs at Petra, no model or property release is required if the pictures
are used to "inform and educate" (editorial use). Only if such a picture
would be used for a commercial purpose -- advertising, promotional,
endorsement -- would the publisher ever need a release. This would apply
to archaeological digs, as well. The confusion over whether a public
object can be photographed and published, most usually comes from persons
who arrive at the stock photography industry through the commercial
door rather than through the editorial door. Or stems from well-meaning
but erroneous advice written by magazine columnists who are unaware
of our First Amendment Rights. Persons who have worked in the newspaper
industry, know that model or property releases are not needed if the
photo is to be used "to inform or to educate." In contrast, researchers
who have worked in the commercial or advertising sector, e.g. corporate,
advertising, or graphic art services, know that any photo used for endorsement
or advertising purposes always requires a model or property release.
About $70,000 a day is spent on editorial photography world-wide. That's
about 1/5 of what is spent daily on commercial stock photography. Although
the monetary rewards for photographers in the editorial field are not
as high up front as in the commercial field, other rewards abound. Editorial
photographers remain more in control of their photography and time,
and although the per picture fee for editorial use is not as high as
in commercial stock photography, most publishers buy in volume, and
stay as long-term clients, which often makes up the difference over
the long haul. WHEN AVAILABLE Of course, if model or product releases
are conveniently available for the asking, the photographer should go
ahead and get them, as that will allow those images to be available
for a commercial use if the opportunity arises. Want to read more of
this article? Go to: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/CB82A.html
Jean-Philippe Soule
Changes
Each month we report to you moves among, within and between: publishing
houses, stock agencies, photobuyers, photo researchers, ad agencies,
and design firms.
KIDS CAN PRESS (29 Birch Ave, Toronto, ON M4V 1E2) former contact and
e-mail: Patricia Buckley, Visuals Researcher, pbuckley@kidscan.com
; current contact and e-mail: Shiela Barry, Photo Editor, sbarry@kidscan.com
.
BOWTIE INC. (PO Box 6050, Mission Viejo, CA 92690) former contact: Lauren
Silverman, Associate Editor; current contact and e-mail: Sandy Meyer,
Associate Editor, smeyer@bowtieinc.com
Images on the Internet are easy to steal. The thieves are not easily caught. However, in the area of editorial stock photography, stealing is a rarity. Read on to learn why.
Stealing Images
Your legislators in Congress have been tussling with the Copyright Law, attempting to bring it up into the 21st Century. They are finding the Internet presents revision problems much more complex than the revisions that went into the 1978 revision of the Copyright Law.
Especially important to the editorial stock photography industry, when it comes to image thievery, is the question: "On the Internet, which pictures need a model release and which ones don't?"
There are two kinds of stock photographs, editorial and commercial:
1.) The truly editorial picture, taken by a photojournalist, or "made" by a photographer to depict something that happened or could have happened, and used as editorial illustration.
2.) The commercial photograph, usually using professional models to depict (in most cases) cliche situations (such as the pretty child romping through a wheat field with a bright red kite and a well-groomed pet dog), and used for advertising or promotion.
BORROWING EDITORIAL IMAGES
Generally speaking, editorial photos (see above) do not need a model release if they are used to "inform and to educate" (in contrast to being used to endorse or promote a commercial product).
When photos are used on the Internet, it presents problems for our First Amendment (Freedom of the Press). What happens if someone "borrows" an editorial picture from the Web, that is not model-released, and uses it for commercial purposes?
- - - - - - - -
"It would return us to the Dark Ages..."
- - - - - - - -
Who is liable? The photographer, the agency, the proprietary on-line service, e.g. Yahoo!, AOL, etc.? Or what happens if someone borrows part of a picture and marries it with two or more other pictures, some which are model-released and others which are not? And what happens if all of this takes place in a foreign country?
It might be easy to say, "All pictures on the Internet must have a model release."
That's a bureaucrat's dream.
It would solve one problem, but it would create others. It would shrivel the global concept of the Internet and return it to the Dark Ages.
Since the Internet knows no roadblocks, --to curtail picture use on the Web would limit the free flow of information. The dilemma means that we might have to give up some of our proprietary rights, in order to preserve the free flow of information in our society.
Yet if Internet picture-use goes unregulated, it could foster an unprecedented demand for pictures, especially editorial pictures that "depict something that has happened or could have happened."
As far as tracking down "misuse" of our pictures on the Internet, we can
expect (hope) that refined security software will come up with answers*.
Currently the cost to find and convict an infringer carries a price tag
much higher than the usual court-ordered monetary recompense. Commercial
companies will sometimes go through the laborious process to catch and
convict an infringer in order to set an example to other would-be infringers.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/7CF.html
Reed Photo
The New Veterans
Advance Notes: Every business has its newcomers and its veterans. In the photography industry, thanks to digital innovations, it's possible to move quickly to the head of the line.
No longer is it necessary to go through years of schooling, be honored with awards, recognized in the press, or have an uncle who is a publisher, to get your photos in print - and get paid for it.
The digital age has brought a kind of democracy to the world of photography. If you have a sensitive eye for pictures and are willing to work at marketing them, you don't need to be a "name" photographer or member of an elite group to say, "I just published another of my images."
"Successful photography," for many years, was the domain of cameramen who owned extensive equipment, expensive studios, and a large ad in the local Yellow Pages and national trade publications. They joined elite organizations and were showered with ribbons and awards for their work.
That age has passed. The automatic controls on digital cameras these days make it very possible for any newcomer with a creative eye for the visual, to also produce high technical quality and jump to the head of the publishing line. This might seem upside-down to some readers. "Photographers should work their way, pay their dues, the same way I did," a veteran photographer might say.
Things are changing, and changing fast. No longer do photographers have to feel that they can't compete with "the big guns," the established photo entrepreneurs and agencies. No longer do entry level photographers need to be apprehensive that it would take too much time and effort to get themselves prepared for professional results, to establish the right contacts, and to enter the stock photo industry, eCommerce, Web sites, CD-ROM catalogs, Web TV, on-line galleries, Email, Photography Chat Groups, Search Engines, Portals, and more.
A TRACK RECORD
What if a photographer has no track
record, no history of publishing? In the new economy of the Digital
Age a track record is no longer a prerequisite. In fact, in some cases,
if an enterprise nowadays boasts that it has been in business since
1975, red flags go up. "Who cares?" many art directors will say. They
may suspect a generation gap, and might even be apprehensive of dealing
with such a company for fear those at the helm are resistant to change
and not up to digital speed. So, if the icons of the photo publishing
industry are tumbling and the hierarchy of the photographic royalty
have been dethroned, who or what will fill the void? These recent years
of the expansion of the Internet, the information highway, I have chosen
not to travel it in my own vehicle, but to hitchhike. During the last
fifteen years I've had good observation posts as a photographer, columnist,
author, publisher, seminar giver, lecturer, and independent business
owner. As a hitchhiker I'm in a good position to hear the voices of
our stock photo industry's leaders, naysayers, and decision-makers.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/gen744.html
Repeating Mistakes…
Finding Out What's Wrong
"These photographs miss the boat." "We have marked your package 'Refused.'"
"Please cross us off your list; we have eliminated you from ours." Have you written a rejection slip like this lately? Probably not. Most photo editors are compassionate people and they don't wish to destroy their photo suppliers with damaging words.
However, are you destroying photographers with your kindness? If they're going to make it as an independent photographer with a long-range program of marketing pictures digitally or through the mail -- they might as well take the medicine now, save themselves a lot of time and heartache, and get a free critique from you, who knows the stock photo industry best.
If a submission is rejected, the promising photographer should capitalize on their investment of time by asking a photo editor if they'd take a moment to tell him/her what's wrong with their submission. Most photo editors will admire their courage (even be humored), and won't mind spending a little time on a critique. They might consider it an investment in the photo supplier-- and actually look forward to their next submission.
If the photographer has guts and thick armor, plus the commitment that they want to produce excellence in their photo illustrations - they will soon become an important supplier. If the photographer is normal he/she will find the critical part of the response unpleasant to read. But why should they kid themselves? If they want to be strides ahead of their competition, they should learn what they're doing wrong -- correct it -- and shorten their route to success in the world of photo illustrations.
ANOTHER WAY TO BE A CRITIC
Note: Here's an idea. Big business knows that receiving critiques can improve their image and resolve problems that either they don't recognize or the general public doesn't take the time to tell them. Here's how they handle it. They pay "mystery shoppers" to visit a mall or business establishment. You can learn how and why they do this at http://daisy501.paid4shop.hop.clickbank.net.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/ed73.html
An instrument for truth. . .
Hungry For Information
Advance Notes: "What's Happenin'?" Along with the phone, email, and fax, the camera is an indispensable tool for bringing us up-to-the-minute information
.
We don't often think of a camera as a weapon. However, as society moves forward, it's becoming more apparent that the camera, indeed, is becoming at least a protection device. Photographs and videos, used positively, have brought attention to ills of society, ranging from environmental destruction to political chicanery. The strong reality of still photos and video have served as evidence in court cases; ranging from the Los Angeles police beating of Rodney King in the 90's, to the more recent Madelyne Gorman Toogood beating of her 4-year old daughter in the parking lot of a northern Indiana department store.
It may be that the still photos and film footage from a distant land that the general public was exposed to during the Vietnam War contributed to the halting of that war.
The PBS run of Ken Burn's Civil War series has honed our awareness of what happened on our own soil to boys that went off to war and never came back. Mathew Brady's records of tragically strewn bodies did not have television to increase their exposure. But the exposure they did get served as a powerful reminder to both sides that war wasn't the answer to the era's burning issues.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/psphy60.html
Watch for developments
in the field of stock photography in PhotoResearcher's
PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS
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RECOGNITION FOR THE ASSP EDITOR. Alexandria, VA, November
2006. ASPP is pleased to announce the naming of Niki Barrie as the 4th
recipient of its Picture Professional of the Year award. This award
is given to a member who has demonstrated one of more of the following
qualities: significant contributions to photography, a single outstanding
achievement, long-time service to the association or its members. http://www.stockphototalk.com/the_stock_photo_industry_/
ANSEL RULES. Pictorial convergence - TWENTY-TWO years
after his death photographer Ansel Adams is getting as much museum attention
as ever. Four Southern California museums have shows up or coming in
which Adams' images play central or key supporting roles. http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/
calendar/suncal/cl-ca-ansel26nov26,0,1078782.story
HOW LONG CAN THEY LAST? Adobe taps the power of negative
thinking - With a new image format, Adobe Systems believes it can improve
the quality and longevity of digital photographs--but the software maker
faces serious challenges. http://news.com.com/Adobe+taps+the+
power+of+negative+thinking/2100-1041_3-6136875.html
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE - Tamron reveals winner of "It's
a Wild World" 2006 Photo Contest. http://www.ephotozine.com
/news/fullnews.cfm?NewsID=3512
Photographer captures great Maple Leaf moments - As the
Toronto Maple Leafs' official photographer since 1977, Abel has chronicled
the team's greatest moments over the past three decades for today's
fans, along with their children and children's children, to cherish.
http://www.mississauga.com/mi/sports
/story/3785112p-4377993c.html
NATURE IN TWO FORMATS. 2 views on majesty of nature -
Stephen Lathrop, who captures the waters off Nantasket in his digital
works, is paired with Howard Bond, a recognized master of large format
film photography, in a two-artist show. They are being exhibited together
because of their shared sensibility.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles
/2006/11/23/2_views_on_majesty_of_nature/
JAMES DONALD FLEMING Photographer, leader dies at 71.
James Donald Fleming was laid to rest yesterday afternoon in the Demopolis
Memorial Gardens. His legacy, however, will be found in the thousands
of portraits he shot since opening Fleming Photography in 1981. http://www.demopolistimes.com/
articles/2006/11/27/news/news9954.txt
CONSTANTINOPLE. Photographer Alp Sime’s “ISTANBULLU-Istanbulity”
photography exhibition has opened in Athens. Sime tries to portray what
it means to live and dwell in this city – Istanbul – through
his black and white photographs. http://www.zaman.com/?bl=culture
&alt=&trh=20061128&hn=38701
WHAT’S IN A NAME? the National Museum of Photography,
Film and Television is now a thing of the past – in name at least.
Museum shortens name to pull bigger audience. http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/View
Article2.aspx?sectionid=55&articleid=1899207
ART WORLD VIEW. Globalization, technology changing the
art world Globalization and technology are forcing artists, curators
and museum directors to rethink the world of American art. New art collectors
are emerging from different parts of the globe and have pulled the art
world away from the traditional centers of gravity in Europe and the
United States. http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/11/26/
art.globalization/index.html?section=cnn_latest
SEARCHING FOR A STANDARD. Major Search Engines Unite to
Support a Common Mechanism for Website Submission - Google, Yahoo! and
Microsoft today announced support for Sitemaps 0.90 a free and easy
way for webmasters to notify search engines about their websites and
be indexed more comprehensively and efficiently, resulting in better
representation in search indices. http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/24925.html
NAME RECOGNITION. Digital Photography Goes Green - While
the Vivitar deal opens new opportunities for Syntax-Brillian, it's banking
on Vivitar's brand name in digital cameras, film cameras, lenses, flashes
and tripods to expand its market. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/061121/20061121005839.html?.v=1
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PhotoResearcher, get a handle on this easy way to post your photo needs
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Check out our brief video that takes you through three simple and quick
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Leatha Robinson
CHANGES
Each month we report to
you moves among, within and between: publishing houses, stock agencies,
photobuyers, photo researchers, ad agencies, and design firms.
MAXIM MAGAZINE
(1040 Ave of the Americans, New York, NY 10018) Former contact
and e-mail: Sam Morales, Photo Researcher/Art Buyer, morales@maximmag.com
; Current contact and e-mail: Marya Gullo, Photo Researcher/Art Buyer,
Gullo@maximmag.com .
PRONK & ASSOCIATES (200 Yorkland Blvd, Suite 500,
Toronto, ON, M2J5c1, CANADA) Former contact and e-mail: Danny Meldung,
Photo Research Department, danny@pronk.com ; Current contact and e-mail:
Ann Lundbrook, Photo Research Department, ann@pronk.com .
######################
This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio:
Christine Stewart (http://folio.photosource.com/2760)
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S H O O T E
R S
RAINBOW IMAGES.
Coco and Dan McCoy, www.rainbowimages.com , who established their stock
photography business in 1975, report they are moving into the “Fine
Art Print Arena.” They have already chosen 75% of the initial
images they are making available. The images are from various new artists.
Rainbow Images will be able to provide custom sizes (signed by each
artist) using pigment ink on paper or canvas. They call their enterprise,
“Sky Gallery.” –RE
COST OF TRAVEL
OVERSEAS is
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Love Notes
" I recently used Photosource International
to locate some stock photo images to use in a brochure project. Your
service was a great help and I found a photographer based in Canada
that had exactly what I was looking for. Great work you guys."
– Nick Mougey, MOUGEY COMMUNICATION, East Hampton, CT
GOOGLE GMAIL
:
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. With Google's legendary search engine as its backbone, and offering
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