Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/12/03

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] IMG: My dog is famous (sort of)
From: pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein)
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2010 10:30:37 -0800

Nathan: I understand how you feel.  When I got the request, I could almost
feel the sprit of Tina Manley on my shoulder, whispering disapprovingly in
my ear (sorry, Tina).  :-)

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had more to
gain by saying yes than no, and I was not taking bread out of any other
photographer's mouth by saying yes.  The site mixes celebrity pet photos
with stuff people voluntarily send in. And the photo they wanted had no
real commercial value.  It's just a cute throwaway home happy snap.
<http://www.peoplepets.com/photos/cute/hanukkah-2010-dog-and-cat-photos/10>

So I could get a credit on a site that is associated with a prominent
publication, or I could stand on principle and do nothing for anyone. My
saying no would not persuade PeoplePets to pay for stuff, they are awash
in silly point-and-shoot pet shots that people send in. They would have
simply used someone else's shot, or had one less photo in the series.

On the other hand, I was once asked to give one of my best photos away to
the publicity company that handles PR for Seattle's summer fireworks
display. In that case, I said a firm no.
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563 at 
N04/3691589024/sizes/o/in/set-72157622757851420/>

The arts world is has always been rife with people not getting paid for
things they do, and with people getting credit for what others have
actually done. The Internet has only devalued our work further. In this
case, I felt like getting a credit was worth it. If being able to say that
People, Inc. published one of my photos helps get another of my photos
published for pay someday, it will have been well worth it.  If not,
nothing lost.

--Peter

> Peter,

> Cute dog, but I would not have let a commercial site use a photo for free.

> Cheers,
> Nathan

> Nathan Wajsman
> Alicante, Spain
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> http://www.nathanfoto.com
> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog

> YNWA


> On Dec 3, 2010, at 12:54 AM, Peter Klein wrote:

> My dog Tilly has just appeared in a ?Chanukah Pets? photo series on a site
> of People Magazine?s, called PeoplePets.
> http://www.peoplepets.com/photos/cute/hanukkah-2010-dog-and-cat-photos/10
>
> I?m happy to report that she wasn?t dressed up funny, she was merely
> exercising one of her Border Terrier core competencies:  Mooching food!
>
> The editor saw the photo on flickr, contacted me and asked if they could
> use it.  No, they don?t pay.  Evidently having a famous pet for fifteen
> minutes should be sufficient reward.  Tilly has no plans to appear on any
> reality shows in the forseeable future. Informed insiders say that our
> relationship is rock-solid, so hold the stories on her leaving me for a
> rock star.
>
> --Peter
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>





Replies: Reply from images at comporium.net (Tina Manley) ([Leica] IMG: My dog is famous (sort of))