Is this legit???

[stradibarrius]

I received an email from some one asking to use one of my photos from my flicker page for their companies annual report.
Does this sound like a scam of some sort?
In the email they had linked to my photo.

If it is legit should I ask for some sort of compensation???

 

[nickandre]

I haven't heard of any scams like it. If it were a scam they would just use it and not tell you.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I see nothing wrong. At least they've asked. Sure ask them what they'd like to offer.

 

[stradibarrius]

I checked a little further, using the email address, and it is an advertising agency that is doing campaigns for several major companies.

 

[bill schwab]

If it is legit should I ask for some sort of compensation???

Most definitely.

 

[Worker 11811]

Whether to ask for payment is your decision but, at minimum, instruct them to give photo credit.

 

[stwb]

I've had the same happen to me. In my case, a local bank wanted to use one of my photos that they found on flickr for their bank renovations. After conversing with the marketing manager I gathered they didn't want to pay anything for it. I asked some friends who also happen to be photographers and they encouraged me to charge for it. I'm glad I did. It was a bank after all. Ha!
Look at it this way: If they really want the shot, they can hire a photographer to take one just like it. So yeah, charge for it but be reasonable.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

If you put your images up on the web, you are frontierland, one where the law is vague, can be challenged and in time you will undoubtedly be approached regarding the use of an image. I get approaches from businesses who have seen my images on Flickr (the most recent one being a State-wide tourism map of popular places e.g. Victoria's Bells Beach) and once I see what they are involved in, I usually do agree, providing I am properly credited and I can see the finished art online. So long as they ask/approach you. Considering the uber-popularity of set ups like Getty Images, photographers in Flickr should count their blessings they are being singled out for attention, even if more often enough they are not remunerated.

 

[MattKing]

Does the company supply items or services that you have use for? If so, and they are reluctant to pay cash, you may be able to work out an alternative.

Is it a photo of one of your stringed instruments? There may be a valuable promotion opportunity available for your business.

In any case, insist on a photo credit, and ask them to refer enquiries about the photo to you.

 

[removed account4]

speak with them directly on the telephone
sometimes email can be worded vaguely

GOOD LUCK!
john

 

[MikeSeb]

Absolutely ask for compensation. Insist on it. If the work didn't have worth, they'd not want it in the first place. And by giving it away for nothing, you make it much tougher for our fellow photographers who do this for a living (maybe you yourself?)

Perhaps payment could be in kind for goods or services, as @MattKing suggested; but this should be spelled out in writing so that each knows the value of what the other is trading in the transaction.

Grant usage rights; DO NOT TRANSFER COPYRIGHT---read the fine print.

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

Yes, please ask for money. How much depends on the use. If its gonna be small inside the report, maybe $100. If its graces the cover a couple thousand. Seriously. I earn my living partly from licensing my photos like this. People write me all the time asking to use pics for corporate stuff. Some ask straight up how much money I want; they're the good ones, they know it has value and I need to eat too. Others don't mention money but don't come out and ask for it for free either; they hope you'll just give it to them. I always write back and thank them for contacting me and that they can license the pic for $xxx. Most pay and I send them a file of the resolution needed for the use they want it for. Some I never hear from again, they wanted free and went looking elsewhere.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I occasionally get such requests, so it's probably legitimate, but you should charge for this kind of usage. Consider that they could just go to a stock photo site and license an image like this fairly inexpensively, so they're being really cheap by trying to get it for free. You might at least see what the stock agencies are charging for such usage and offer it to them for that much, and since it would be a direct sale you don't have to split it with an agency.

Alamy has a pretty good calculator for determining the price of an image for various kinds of usage, so you might go to alamy.com, search for a similar image (maybe find one image that's Royalty Free and one that's Rights Managed for comparison), then plug in all the parameters and see how much it would cost you to license it for the same purpose, and charge that much.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I hope it is a real offer. It's an indicator that art buyers are shopping for images at non-traditional outlets. There have even a theft by an ad agency for a Toyota ad. http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/esearch/e3iee32171a99b7494718863d2f3831985c

If the offer is real, don't short yourself nor devalue pro photographers by under charging. If it's a buy out charge more. Good luck!

 

[jamesgignac]

Best of luck with it, I've had a friend become published in a, albeit small, magazine for the first time through his flickr account...seems I really need to get on that. Well, hopefully it's me next time, that's all I'm saying

ALL THE BEST! Please keep us updated!!!

 

[Worker 11811]

...After conversing with the marketing manager I gathered they didn't want to pay anything for it. I asked some friends who also happen to be photographers and they encouraged me to charge for it. I'm glad I did. It was a bank after all. Ha!

Don't forget that people value most those things which come at a cost.

If you give something away for free most people will not value it but if they have to pay for the very same item, suddenly it has value to them which they will want to protect.

It is always up to the individual to decide whether to charge for something and to decide how much to charge but, if you give things away for free, you will not be as respected as you would be if you charged for it.

Have you ever sat down to drink a bottle of wine, for instance, and thought, "This had better be good! I paid a fortune for it!" We all know that there are some wines that are just as good as a name brand wine which cost less but are not as well respected. There's a perfect example of the price-value relationship. People will pay for a name brand product when they intuitively know that a no-name brand is just as good but costs less simply because they assume that something which is more expensive must be better.

Therefore, giving your photos away for nothing puts you in the same situation. Your work is not valued as much because it is free.

I don't know. Have you sold any works before? The final decision is yours but, in my opinion, you should charge, at minimum, a nominal amount. $25.00... $50.00... but even if you decide not to charge be sure to get credit for your work.

 

[PVia]

Always charge for usage of your work...period.

The fee should not be nominal, unless it's your kids' public school PTA newsletter.

Do not allow "photo credit only" in order to "get exposure". It just doesn't work that way.

If you don't value your work, then who will? Your position in the marketplace, and others perceptions of your work, is gauged by what you charge. Never forget that...

 

[Worker 11811]

I'm not saying that you shouldn't. I'm just laying out the continuum of possibilities. It is the individual's decision where to place himself within that continuum.

I'm not a professional and, as much as I would love to get a paid gig, I don't think my work is good enough or well known enough to demand a high price. But, what the hell? Even a blind pig can find the occasional apple! Right?

If it is a small, local publication I'd charge less than if it was a national publication. I'd have a hard time deciding.
I could never demand the prices some of you guys regularly get. You might be able to ask for hundreds or even thousands of dollars and get it. Me? I'd be lucky to get $100.00 on a good day.

That's why I gave the answer I wrote above.

 

[lns]

Definitely get paid something. Believe me, they're getting paid and won't mine paying you.

And register your copyright now if you haven't already.

-Laura

 

[eclarke]

Get something but don't try and rob them, there are million and millions more pictures on Flickr!!...EC

 

[stradibarrius]

Definitely get paid something. Believe me, they're getting paid and won't mine paying you.

And register your copyright now if you haven't already.

-Laura

How do I register my copyright?
I email back and ask for more info on use of the photo and compensation.

 

[removed account4]

barry,

you can use the visual arts form ( form va )
on the copyright.gov website.
i have attached a pdf of it, hopefully it makes sense.
it is either for single registration or a "gang" registration of a whole bunch of your images.

it is also OK to make copies of the images, and mail them to yourself ...
basically submit them to yourself, make sure the envelope is POSTMARKED
and you don't open it when you receive it back in the mail.
(put it in a safe place, as you would your certificate of registration)
it is the cost of a stamp, instead of the 35-40$ .. and can still be used
as "proof" if you get into a jam.

i don't remember what the backlog is at the copyright office, it might take a few (8?) weeks
to get your certificate, they are busy ..

good luck!
john

 

[stradibarrius]

Thanks!

 

[billbretz]

http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp

 

[Steve Smith]

As I said on another thread, posting an envelope to yourself only proves that you posted an envelope to yourself. It could have been empty and not sealed and you could have placed the photograph (or whatever) in it a few minutes ago.


Steve.