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What makes a ‘Pro’ ?

Ahh, a different type of client woe for a change this morning..

This one serves as a warning to those budding photographers who think that because they’ve bought an SLR and a ‘JoeBloggsPhotography.com’ domain name they can call themselves a professional..

One of my former students is having some grief from a client who’s asking for images in certain formats etc. and it seems they have crossed wires about what had been expected/agreed upon/delivered.  The client is now demanding a full set of raw files of every image from multiple shoots etc. in return for a fee that wouldn’t hire a pro much past breakfast. Naturally said former student is in quite a tiz about it all!

Putting it bluntly folks, if you don’t know the difference between dpi & resolution, or between a raw file and a jpeg, you’re in no position to be taking on paying clients!

As a professional, your client is paying you for your knowledge and experience. You’re rightly expected to know your craft and to deliver the goods to a high standard, on time and as to do so as seamlessly as possible.  It’s down to you to understand the requirements, and to clarify anything well in advance before you take on the job.

If you subsequently find yourself well out of your depth and having to ask someone else how to do what you’re being paid for, it seems the wrong person is getting paid, eh?

 

Copyright – a reminder…

Recently I’ve had to remind a couple of people about the way copyright works.

It’s all too easy these days to post an image on Facebook or a blog that you found somewhere, but it’s important to remember you need permission from the person that owns that image to do so..

It doesn’t matter if you’re in the picture, and yes that includes if you’re a model on a photoshoot (paid or TF makes no difference), the copyright belongs to the photographer.

You can’t ignore this stuff, it’s important!


Here’s an interested blog article about the issue: http://www.blogher.com/bloggers-beware-you-can-get-sued-using-photos-your-blog-my-story

You should probably read this too: UK copyright Law Fact Sheet

 

An extract from the UK Copyright Service website:

Fact sheet P-16: Photography and copyright

Who owns the copyright on photographs?

Under law, it is the photographer who will own copyright on any photos he/she has taken, with the following exceptions:

  • If the photographer is an employee of the company the photos are taken for, or is an employee of a company instructed to take the photos, the photographer will be acting on behalf of his/her employer, and the company the photographer works for will own the copyright.
  • If there is an agreement that assigns copyright to another party.

In all other cases, the photographer will retain the copyright, if the photographer has been paid for his work, the payment will be for the photographer’s time and typically an allocated number of prints. The copyright to the photos will remain with the photographer, and therefore any reproduction without permission would be an infringement of copyright.”

 


As you can see, that’s really quite clear.  In all cases, the photographer, or photographic company own the copyright.  It doesn’t matter who’s in the image, the person who took the photo owns the rights unless there is a signed agreement to transfer the copyright.


 

Attribution

It is the photographer’s right to be credited as the author of the photograph, and you should always do this unless they specifically tell you otherwise.

If images have a watermark or logo on, this MUST be left intact.  To remove or mis-attribute a photographer’s copyright is a very serious issue, and will be treated as such. For example,  I caught a national newspaper using my images without permission once, and it cost them a  LOT of money.

To give you an idea how serious this is, for a small image used on a website you could easily end up paying in excess of £1000 per image in penalties.   I know this as I sent the bill to the newspaper and they had to pay it.

One UK photographer was awarded more than £5,000 in damages for the use of a single image, and there are cases documented online where photographers have received tens of thousands in compensation (example). In one famous case a photographer was awarded $1.2 million when a company used photos they had posted on Twitter!

Here’s my page with my licensing / copyright information, I have asserted my rights to be identified as the author of all my photographs,  I expect to be properly credited where any photograph is used, and I expect anyone I work with to read this page!


 

Useful Links:


 

Can you do me a favour ?

It obviously nice that people like what I do, but sometimes it seems they don’t appreciate what it took to get there..

Often it seems that people assume that because you’re good at something “it comes naturally” or you just have “the knack”. How often have you heard someone say something like “well it’s easy for you..” as if you just magically woke up one morning with the skill and talent to do something?  Worse still, it’s usually said in the context that they would like you to do something for them, because they can’t do it themselves (or can’t be bothered to try) and you can, so they’d like you to do it for them “as a favour”.

Right…

So, lets stop to consider for a moment just why I might be able to so something which you can’t, or don’t want to, do yourself.

I didn’t just magically figure out how to take a decent photo.  I learned how. I have invested thousands of hours of my time in reading, asking questions, practicing etc.  I’ve invested thousands of pounds in equipment and training, and I’m still continuing to do so today.

The reason I know how to use Photoshop is because I’ve spent night after night up until gone 2am learning how, reading books, trawling through website tutorials etc. and actually practising this stuff.

Why then should you get the benefit of that for nothing if you’re not prepared to do so yourself?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m  happy to help people out and will occasionally do someone a favour with some photos or help with their graphic design or web projects etc.  But when I do, it would at least be nice to feel they appreciated just what had gone into that.  Remember, what might take me two hours, would probably take you two days, or even two weeks.  Now how valuable is my time?  

So, why the rant now?

Well basically there have just been too many occasions recently when people have been taking advantage of my good nature, and I’ve been guilty of putting myself out way too much for other people who really don’t appreciate it. Yes, of course I understand that different people have different skill sets, and I’m flattered that people think enough of some of mine that they want my help or advice, but also there comes a point when I’ve got to draw a line under it as I’m spending way too much time and energy on sorting out *other peoples stuff* and not enough time on my own projects so it’s come to the point I’ve simply got to switch those priorities around.

 

Priorities:

When it comes to my to-do list my order of priorities will be:

  1. Paying clients
  2. Collaborations with mutual benefit (i.e. TF model shoots)
  3. Personal Projects
  4. Favours for other people

So, if you’re #4 on the list, please remember that I’m doing you a favour, in my own time, for nothing.  I’m afraid that means you’ll just plain have to wait.  If I can do something, I’ll do it when I’ve got the time.  That might be a few days, or it might be a few weeks. I can’t make any promises.

If your ‘favour’ is urgent then I’d argue that it’s not actually something you should be relying on favours for in the first place.  Obviously if you want me to make you a priority you have the option jump right to the top of the queue and be a #1, but otherwise you need to remember the holy trinity of getting things done:

 

How do you want it done? Good, Fast or Cheap?  

Back in my former life as a software developer, there was the classic ‘development trilogy’.  i.e. How do you want it done, good, fast or cheap?

You can pick any two out of three.

Diagram, the development trilogy, good, fast or cheap.

So, you wanna be a photographer – Part 2

The pro vs. amateur issue has been covered many times, but recently Fotoseeds came up with an excellent graphic which does a great job of illustrating many of the assumptions and mistakes that aspiring photographers can make in their desire to become a professional.

 

Image © www.fotoseeds.com – Check out the site, it’s excellent!

 

 

So, you wanna be a photographer? – Part 1

These days it seems that just about anyone can go and buy an entry-level SLR and suddenly they think they’re a professional photographer.  I’ve met loads, and seen many more posting their ‘work’ on Facebook etc, usually emblazoned with an ugly inch-high logo filling ⅓ of the photo with their made-up company name.

Well, there’s actually a bit more to it than simply sticking the camera on auto and adding the watermark later, yet sadly these faux-tographers are doing a lot of harm to the industry by lowering the value that clients put on a photographers work by undercharging for their poor quality photographs.

 

Credit doesn’t pay the bills..

Obviously I’m always pleased when someone likes one of my photographs and wishes to use it on their website etc.  For personal sites and non-commercial use all I ask is that someone is polite enough to ask first and to credit me properly with a link to this site.  The important thing here though is personal use by a private individual on a non-commercial site.

This week I received another (all too frequent) email from a company who would like to use one of my images for promotional purposes. But they ‘can’t use the low-resolution web image so could they please have a high resolution copy?’.  Part of that message said “of course we’ll credit you when we use it”.

Oh really, how very gracious of you!

I guess I’m supposed to be flattered and grateful that someone wishes to use my photo.  It was after all a good photo that a large international company thinks is good enough to use for promotional purposes, whilst apparently placing a value of ‘nothing’ on it.

Maybe next time I go for a nice meal they’ll give it to me free if I promise to mention them on my blog, or perhaps I can get my car serviced free if I say how nice the mechanic is on Twitter?

Let’s be very clear: Getting credit for my work isn’t compensation.  If I created the image the right to credit is automatic, it is not something that someone does for me as a favour.

Credit doesn’t pay bills. I spent thousands of pounds on my photographic equipment, insurance, training etc. And years learning how to use it.  No amount of ‘credit’ will reimburse me for that investment, and it certainly won’t pay my electricity bill or council tax!

The work of an experienced photographer isn’t free.  I don’t expect you to do your job for nothing, please don’t expect me to to mine for nothing either.

If you’re interested in licensing my images for use in any commercial context you will need to obtain a commercial use license.  You can find more information about this on my sales and licensing page.

Work Experience

A had something of an unusual week last month in that I had a work-experience student with me.  Alana was a friend-of-a-friend that I’d met when I shot a wedding earlier in the year and as she was studying A-level photography she’d asked if there was any possibility of spending some time with me to see how a ‘pro’ did things.

We had some pretty gnarly weather to contend with but still managed to fill our week with tutorials and workshop style shoots.  Alana is a natural with a good eye and clearly very interested in photography so it was an interesting week for me too and a lot of fun.

Here’s what she had to say about her week with me:

“Spent an absolutely amazing work experience with Rich, we spent the week covering as many elements of photography as we could – despite the awful weather of this years so called summer .

This week taught me more of the practical and technical side of photography, than my whole first year at A-level. If you’re passionate about photography and wish to develop them further Rich is an awesome teacher and has really inspired me to try out new ideas.He explains things in great detail as well as giving you visual examples to help your understanding.

The week allowed me to practice my photography skills and in a variety of different settings and types of photography.

I got some amazing results from some street photography around Bristol , natural portrait shoot, Bristol zoo , and some black and white shots of the old severn bridge. I also learnt various editing skills in different software packages so as i could improve my photos after I had taken them.

To anyone who would love to progress their skills with amazing photographic settings and opportunities I really recommend booking up some lessons with Rich. I guarantee you will see a massive difference in your abilities.”

Can’t say fairer than that can I.  Thanks!

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I’ll add a small gallery of some of Alana’s images to this post soon!

Reasons Why Professional Photographers Cannot Work for Free

Dear potential photo buyer,

If you have been directed to this page, it is likely that you have requested the use of an image or images for free or minimal compensation.

As professional photographers, we receive requests for free images on a regular basis. In a perfect world, each of us would love to be able to respond in a positive manner and assist, especially with projects or efforts related to areas such as education, social issues, and conservation of natural resources. It is fair to say that in many cases, we wish we had the time and resources to do more to assist than just send photographs.

Unfortunately, such are the practicalities of life that we are often unable to respond, or that when we do, our replies are brief and do not convey an adequate sense of the reasons underlying our response.

Circumstances vary for each situation, but we have found that there are a number of recurring themes, which we have set out below with the objective of communicating more clearly with you, and hopefully avoiding misunderstandings or unintentionally engendering ill will.

Please take the following points in the constructive manner in which they are intended. We certainly hope that after you have had a chance to read this, we will be able to talk again and establish a mutually beneficial working relationship.

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Photographs Are Our Livelihood

Creating compelling images is the way we make our living. If we give away our images for free, or spend too much time responding to requests for free images, we cannot make a living.

We Do Support Worthy Causes With Images

Most of us do contribute photographs, sometimes more, to support certain causes. In many cases, we may have participated directly in projects that we support with images, or we may have a pre-existing personal relationship with key people involved with the efforts concerned. In other words, each of us can and does provide images without compensation on a selective basis.

We Have Time Constraints

Making a leap from such selective support to responding positively to every request we get for free photographs, however, is impractical, if for no other reason than the substantial amount of time required to respond to requests, exchange correspondence, prepare and send files, and then follow-up to find out how our images were used and what objectives, if any, were achieved. It takes a lot of time to respond to requests, and time is always in short supply.

Pleas of “We Have No Money” Are Often Difficult to Fathom

The primary rationale provided in nearly all requests for free photographs is budgetary constraint, meaning that the requestor pleads a lack of funds.

Such requests frequently originate from organisations with a lot of cash on hand, whether they be publicly listed companies, government or quasi-government agencies, or even NGOs. Often, it is a simple matter of taking a look at a public filing or other similar disclosure document to see that the entity concerned has access to significant funding, certainly more than enough to pay photographers a reasonable fee should they choose to do so.

To make matters worse, it is apparent that all too often, of all the parties involved in a project or particular effort, photographers are the only ones being asked to work for free. Everyone else gets paid.

Given considerations like this, you can perhaps understand why we frequently feel slighted when we are told that: “We have no money.” Such claims can come across as a cynical ploy intended to take advantage of gullible individuals.

We Have Real Budget Constraints

With some exceptions, photography is not a highly remunerative profession. We have chosen this path in large part due to the passion we have for visual communication, visual art, and the subject matters in which we specialise.

The substantial increase in photographs available via the internet in recent years, coupled with reduced budgets of many photo buyers, means that our already meager incomes have come under additional strain.

Moreover, being a professional photographer involves significant monetary investment.

Our profession is by nature equipment-intensive. We need to buy cameras, lenses, computers, software, storage devices, and more on a regular basis. Things break and need to be repaired. We need back-ups of all our data, as one ill-placed cup of coffee could literally erase years of work. For all of us, investment in essential hardware and software entails thousands of dollars a year, as we need to stay current with new technology and best practices.

In addition, travel is a big part of many of our businesses. We must spend a lot of money on transportation, lodging and other travel-related costs.

And of course, perhaps most importantly, there is a substantial sum associated with the time and experience we have invested to become proficient at what we do, as well as the personal risks we often take. Taking snapshots may only involve pressing the camera shutter release, but creating images requires skill, experience and judgement.

So the bottom line is that although we certainly understand and can sympathise with budget constraints, from a practical point of view, we simply cannot afford to subsidise everyone who asks.

Getting “Credit” Doesn’t Mean Much

Part and parcel with requests for free images premised on budgetary constraints is often the promise of providing “credit” and “exposure”, in the form or a watermark, link, or perhaps even a specific mention, as a form of compensation in lieu of commercial remuneration.

There are two major problems with this:

First, getting credit isn’t compensation. We did, after all, create the images concerned, so credit is automatic. It is not something that we hope a third party will be kind enough to grant us.

Second, credit doesn’t pay bills. As we hopefully made clear above, we work hard to make the money required to reinvest in our photographic equipment and to cover related business expenses. On top of that, we need to make enough to pay for basic necessities like food, housing, transportation, etc.

In short, receiving credit for an image we created is a given, not compensation, and credit is not a substitute for payment.

“You Are The Only Photographer Being Unreasonable”

When we do have time to engage in correspondence with people and entities who request free photos, the dialogue sometimes degenerates into an agitated statement directed toward us, asserting in essence that all other photographers the person or entity has contacted are more than delighted to provide photos for free, and that somehow, we are “the only photographer being unreasonable”.

We know that is not true.

We also know that no reasonable and competent photographer would agree to unreasonable conditions. We do allow for the fact that some inexperienced photographers or people who happen to own cameras may indeed agree to work for free, but as the folk wisdom goes: “You get what you pay for.”

Please Follow-Up

One other experience we have in common is that when we do provide photographs for free, we often do not receive updates, feedback or any other form of follow-up letting us know how the event or project unfolded, what goals (if any) were achieved, and what good (if any) our photos did.

All too often, we don’t even get responses to emails we send to follow-up, until, of course, the next time that someone wants free photographs.

In instances where we do agree to work for free, please have the courtesy to follow-up and let us know how things went. A little consideration will go a long way in making us feel more inclined to take time to provide additional images in the future.

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Wrap Up

We hope that the above points help elucidate why the relevant photographer listed below has sent you to this link. All of us are dedicated professionals, and we would be happy to work with you to move forward in a mutually beneficial manner.

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This text was written by Tony Wu. He has kindly allowed others to use the text under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

If you do, please provide take a moment to visit and provide a link to his page: http://photoprofessionals.wordpress.com/[/iconbox]

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Sh*t Photographers Say…