Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
I wish I’d written this myself or shared it sooner – unfortunately it is a recurring situation that all professional photographers face. Originally posted in the Photo Society blog by Tony Wu, shared by a group of contributing photographers for National Geographic Magazine. A link to this original blog is below:
http://thephotosociety.org/blog/how-to-respond-to-requests-for-free-photography/
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.
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.
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.
Note to photographers: You can use the above text under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please ensure that you include a link to this page. If you’d like to add your name to the list below, please use the contact form. Text by Tony Wu.
Tags: pricing photography
Posted in Misc, Photography Tips | No Comments »
Thursday, March 31st, 2011
I’ve photographed more than 50 covers for Oregon Wine Press Magazine, and this concept was the the most ambitious and fun to date. For the feature story on the powerful, feminine, and fun personalities of Oregon’s women sommeliers, writer Jennifer Cossey (also a sommelier) pitched Hilary Berg, editor of Oregon Wine Press, on the concept of an April fool’s cover aka Vanity Fair with a nod to Annie Leibovitz’s elaborate sets for group portraits. However we did not have the extensive budget or staff to assist – no makeup or wardrobe stylists, nor group of assistants to move props, set up lights, or a digital tech to greenscreen individual portraits to be photoshoped together for the faux ‘group shot’ . With just three of us preparing for the shoot – Hilary braved the cold to stand in as a model for light tests and helped move the props to best locations with Jennifer, and Krysta McLaughlin, owner of Charlotte’s Weddings & More, provided the dresses and fitted everyone on location. Talk about multitasking – the sommeliers were equally involved keeping each other’s glasses full of bubbly, doing their own hair and makeup, and keeping the energy lively for the entire shoot, fueled by their passion for their jobs and the industry. The energy was contagious, and they were naturals.
Oregon Wine Press cover April 2011
Oregon Wine Press cover photo raw - little retouching necessary, my goal was capture the glamour balanced with the natural beauty and personalities of each woman
I’ve produced many advertising shoots for other photographers while working at Nike World Headquarters and with other photographers on advertising campaigns, and well know the work Jennifer dedicated to coordinating the location, props, and wonderful lunch. The team effort allowed me to focus on capturing the right moment for the group, a challenging task for 10 people in a vertical group shot – but love how it all came together.
Alternative Oregon Wine Press cover - no problem capturing a little bit of attitude and sass from these lively women!
These women were impervious to cold, outside on a chilly winter day in Portland fueled by their energy from the just completed cover shoot
Enjoying Grand Cru Estates catered lunch by Mathew Howard and a selection of Oregon Wines including Solena Estates. Sommeliers from left: Carrie Stigge, Tia Hubbard, Gaironn Poole, Caryn Benke, Gretchen Allen-Wilcox, Jennifer Cossey, Savanna Ray, Dana Frank, Toni Ketrenos, & Erica Landon
Posted in Photography Tips, Wine | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Photos and videos look fabulous on the ipad, but organizing them into tightly edited albums is the key to making your presentations powerful. I love presenting photo essays on my ipad, and have received many requests on how to import, organize, and edit visuals for the strongest impact. The wine industy has embraced this tool for presenations, both for consumer and trade – Jordan Winery recently purchased 97 ipads for their employees to best tell their brand story in an entertaining, engaging, and interactive manner. I have additional specific tips for how to optimize the ipad for presentations using iTunes:
Below are the main steps you can follow:
1. Save photos inside different folders on your computer, organized by subject. The name you choose for the folders on your computer is how the album name will display on your ipad.
2. I suggest saving all these separate subject folders inside a master folder titled “ipad photos” or something easy to remember. Make sure you keep the master and sub folders in the same location, since this is where you’ll synch photos to your ipad in the next step. One suggestion for wineries may be to create a master folder with their winery name, then sub-folders with winery name – hospitality, winery name – winemaking, winery name – scenics, etc. This will save you the embarassing situation of accidentally pulling up your personal photos vs winery photos at a presentation.
3. Open iTunes, click on your ipad device, navigate to the photo tab, then from the ’sync photo’ option drop down menu select the ipad photos folder you’ve created and saved on your computer. The sub folder titles you’ve created inside your master folder will stay intact during the transfer, so all your photos will be in these separate albums.
4. If you want to change the photos, you’ll need to do this on your computer following the steps above, then re-synch the ipad, which will delete the old photos and add the new. There’s other options to import photos via a special cable, but it’s more time consuming. By detault, if you accidentally download a photo when using your ipad it’s automatically saved to ’saved photos’ album, so you want to keep this separate.
5. Uploading your own videos is even easier. First compress the movie file as a .mov file format and save on your desktop, then simply drag and drop this icon into your movies tab in itunes.
After much research, I’ve found the best option for showing custom presentations is a company called Shows 4 Pros, an app which is customized for the iphone or ipad an allows you to customize order of photos, effects between photos (fade or dissolve time, or manaual advancement vs auto slideshow), and create multiple lists by category. They also have excellent customer support if you run into any technical difficulties.
http://www.Shows4Pros.com
Tags: creating powerful presentations, importing photos and video, IPAD tips, Photography Tips, video tips
Posted in Photography Tips, Video & Multimedia | No Comments »
Friday, October 29th, 2010
Timing is everything: The transition between summer and fall this season, like harvest, has been quick and dramatic. With rain forecast for the next 10 days, I was able to find one morning with sunlight, fog, and optimum fall colors in the vineyards. There’s no better way to cover a lot of ground quickly than an aerial helicopter shoot. Here’s a few highlights:
Brilliant golden vineyard contrast with surrounding hillside in this panoramic photo over WillaKenzie Estate, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Fog began rolling in over the hill quickly, this view looking north over Willakenzie Estate about 6 minutes after the first panoramic photo.
Warm hues of a foggy fall morning showcase new tasting room at WillaKenzie Estate.
Colene Clemens recently completed construction for their tasting room near WillaKenzie Estate. Fog skirts around the winery & tasting room, perched above estate vineyards.
A 180 degrees view of Colene Clemens Winery as the fog continues to roll in.
Landmark barn at Colene Clemens peaks through gap in fog.
Placing harvest bins in preparation of pick later that morning at Alexana Vineyards, Dundee Hills, Oregon.
I love aerial photography, it is my favorite way to capture unique landscapes with a sense of place and drama. I’ve been fortunate to fly with the same pilot for the past 7 years, fine-tuning my expertise on shoots throughout Oregon, Washington, and California. I’m often able to piggy-back several properties on the same shoot, and these photographs get more mileage than any other type of photography in books, magazine features and covers, and general marketing material. It’s a surprisingly reasonable expense – please contact me if you are interested in a custom quote.
Here’s links to a few websites of wineries that have utilized aerial photography uniquely:
Penner-Ash http://www.pennerash.com/
WillaKenzie Estate http://www.willakenzie.com/index.html
Hyland Vineyard Estates http://oregonvineyardproperty.com/hyland-vineyard-estates/
and a link to more aerial photos on my site
http://www.photoshelter.com/mem/gallery/gallery-show/G0000bbu5OzbTx4c
Tags: Aerial Photography, dramatic landscapes, fall colors, fog, Oregon vineyards, Travel, Wine
Posted in Aerial Photography, Photography Tips, Wine | No Comments »
Monday, August 30th, 2010
Last summer I had the pleasure of working with a talented team at Stoller Vineyards for a lifestyle photoshoot to be used in a series of advertisements, multimedia/video productions, and general marketing material – http://www.stollervineyards.com/
It takes the coordination of many people to create a lifestyle shoot that looks and feels vibrant and relaxed. Dixie Huey (consulting G.M. at Stoller Vineyards) was integral to the planning, strategic focus, and coordination of all details. She was also able to balance her roles as ‘creative director/ water & wine fetcher/ housekeeping/ damage control’ as she explained in the behind the scenes preparation and execution of this shoot on her Trellis Wine Consulting blog:
http://trelliswineconsulting.blogspot.com/2010/08/diary-of-andrea-johnson-photo-shoot.html.
The ‘models’ were perfect: For lifestyle shoots I prefer to work with actors since creating real interactions among the group are essential for capturing candid moments. I’ve worked with Erik Nicolaisen, who is a professional actor based in L.A., for several advertising campaigns in California and was fortunate to coordinate this shoot with his trip to Oregon. His ability to put everyone at ease and joke with the crew set the scene, and the great wine and food also helped create a jovial atmosphere.
Wine industry folks will probably recognize the other ‘actors’ in the campaign:
Kerry Newberry (with printed sundress and straw hat) is a renowned journalist specializing in wine, food, sustainability and lifestyle, http://www.kerrynewberry.com/,
Andrea Slonecker (red sundress, dark brown hair) is the executive director of Portland Culinary Alliance and a culinary instructor, recipe developer, and food writer.
Blake Van Roekel (red top, black skirt, tire swing model with red hair) is a chef instructor at the Art Institute of Portland and Robert Reynolds Chef Studio, and owner of Good Keuken http://goodkeuken.wordpress.com/about/
Hans Koenigseder, an Alaska airlines pilot, loves Oregon wine and appeared in the Oregon Wine Board brochures and campaign in 2007.
Melissa Burr (winemaker), Grace Cargni and Emily Olds (hospitality) graciously acted their real roles at Stoller, and truly add to the warm environment at the winery.
Thanks everyone for making this a successful and fun shoot! To see more photos check out the selects here: http://bit.ly/Stoller_Lifestyle_Campaign
Emily Olds of Stoller Vineyards sets up a private tasting and picnic with a view overlooking the stunning estate vineyards at Stoller, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Couples enjoying the tire swing at Stoller Vineyards, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Couples enjoying a private wine tasting and picnic at Stoller Vineyards, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Couple enjoying a romantic picnic and wine tasting at Stoller Vineyards, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Couple enjoying wine tasting at Stoller Vineyards, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Couple enjoying private barrel tasting with winemaker Melissa Burr at Stoller Vineyards, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Stoller hospitality director Grace Cargni arranges lunch & wine tasting at Stoller tasting room overlooking estate vineyards, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Couple enjoying wine tasting at Stoller Vineyards, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Tags: chardonnay, pinot noir, Stoller Vineyards, Willamette Valley wine
Posted in Photography Tips, Wine | No Comments »
