Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/10/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]No, it wasn't tongue-in-cheek, but it was from a professional viewpoint. Someone who doesn't make their living by selling their photographs can, of course, give them away whenever they want. Anyone who places any monetary value on their photographs, which is necessary if you are going to use them as a source of income, is risking placing a value of zero on their work if they give it away even for a good cause. I've been working with non-profits for over 30 years and learned that when you give away your photos to the non-profits, they place a value on your work of exactly what you charge them. I learned quickly to charge normal prices for my charity work and, if I want to contribute to the cause, turn around a make a donation for the amount that I charged. That way your work has a value and you can deduct your contribution at tax-time (of course, you add the income, too, so it evens out). So many people offer photographers a credit and say the exposure will be great for your business. You can't eat exposure. How many plumbers would fix your sink if you offered to put a credit on the sink saying "repaired by Joe Plumber"? For some reason everybody thinks photographers should donate their work, but they never think of asking the architect or electrician or publisher to work for nothing. And, Jayanand, there is a fee structure for digital use, also. So many people think that if it's on the internet, it's free. It's not. All photos are copyright protected and cannot be used without permission. Some people (non-professionals) give permission freely, professionals charge. As EXIF, watermarking, and services like TinEye improve, more and more photographers are following up on miss-use of their photos and charging 3X the normal fee for illegal use of their photos. If the photo has been registered with the copyright office, most lawyers are willing to pursue those cases and almost always win. I'm all for that! Sorry for the soapbox, but this is something that really, really aggravates me. I work with ASMP for copyright protection and receiving fair value for work. Tina On Sat, Oct 29, 2011 at 8:04 PM, Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net>wrote: > Tina, > > Your response to Bob Adler strikes me as a little bit strong, unless it > was offered tongue-in-cheek. > > I just contributed a number of images to the Facebook web page created by > our local airport. I have enjoyed the friends and experiences made at this > facility since I started flight training in 1957, and have seen the > numerous improvements made over the years, including transition to the > world of the internet. I think the web page will offer a new face to > people who may not be familiar with the value of this facility to the local > economy, and I am happy to contribute. I intend to continue to help with > updated photos. Somehow, from the EXIF data on my digital images, a number > of the images give me credit lines. > > In case you would like to see what I am talking about, here is a link to > the page. > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tullahoma-Regional-Airport/176056799142900 > > I don't feel that I gave a lot of value away. I see it as civic pride! > > Jim Nichols > Tullahoma, TN USA > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > -- Tina Manley, ASMP www.tinamanley.com