Best Business Practices for Photographers [118]
If the images are to be distributed in press kits, on a website, or for other uses beneficial to the company or your own commercial interests (speaking engagements, etc.), then there are fees involved for those uses, and those prices are dependent upon how broad (or narrow) the use is.
When images are delivered to you that are indicated for personal use only, a permanent ink stamp is placed on the back of the print, indicating that that image cannot be used in publication or on the Internet. When images are delivered to you that have a specific license for use(s) you have requested, paperwork accompanies the deliverables that outlines the uses for the photography, the length of time for the use of the images, and the fees involved.
Use of images outside of the scope of the license provided, or any use of a "personal use" image other than hanging on a wall or framed on a desk, is a breach of our copyright. You may ask, "Why do I have to pay to use a photograph I let you take of me?"
Simply, you were contacted by a publication that believed their readers would benefit from seeing your image in the publication, and you determined that you would benefit from appearing in the publication. We were compensated by the publication for using our creative processes to give them a desirable image. We specifically granted one-time-only permission to the publication, and they do not have permission to re-run any of the images, nor produce reprints of the article, without additional compensation. Our fees were based upon this onetime-only use.
For you to receive additional benefit (beyond the scope of the magazine in which the image(s) appeared), we, as the creator of the image, need to receive an additional benefit. The more additional benefit you receive (usages), the more we need to receive. This concept, in principle, took hold during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. James Madison suggested that the Constitution include language "to secure to literary authors copyrights for a limited time." The provision passed unanimously. It is found in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. It states "The Congress shall have Power… To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to respective Writings and Discoveries."
We welcome the opportunity to discuss with you or your marketing department the costs of using the images we have created to benefit your organization. While the fees associated with the varying uses may seem high to you, your advertising agency, marketing department, or public relations firm will be familiar with the cost structure that is standard in the creative community for these varying types of uses.
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I refer to a one- to three-month delay on images being returned from the publication, and it is important to note that because I cannot remember the last time I actually shot a film assignment, and this was typically a film delay, the concept of "returned from publication," although not applicable in today's digital environment, usually still applies in the form of embargoes from the publication on our doing anything else with the images during that time. Feel free to copy and use this text for yourself when you find the same request being made of you.
Figure 13.1 shows a reproduction of one of the stamps we have used when we are providing a client with a print for their own personal use. The stamp clearly indicates that I am the copyright owner, as well as my contact information and that the image is not for publication. Feel free to use this stamp example as a basis for your own stamps.
Figure 13.1
Our stamp we place on the back of each print we deliver for personal use.