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Covering Sports events – competitor photos
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Over the past few years, I’ve gone along to local sports events and taken photos but more for myself and skills practice. If people wanted copies, I’d pass them on by email.
However, more recently now, I’m being asked to cover some events and have also become a lot more aware of copyrighting my images. With the time input involved to process etc, I’m still happy to email images with my copyright details in the bottom corner to people at no fee. But if they want it removed, then I’m thinking I should only provide a print and charge a fee for the print, e.g. 5eur +P&P up to certain size, rather than send a jpeg by email with no copyright info on it.
I’m wondering what is the norm for this kind of thing? And what do others do who cover similar events where competitors are looking for their photos?
Thanks
D.Hi,
I would always embed copyright info in my images but not as footer at the bottom of the image.
Any club or organisation that I would deal with would always put a note near the image crediting the image to me and were possible provide a link back to my website or the particular gallery that the image came from.Link to a article on Connacht Rugbys site last week were they used and credited one of my images: http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2010090982281/connacht-squad-to-face-scarlets” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
If you start selling prints I wouldn’t put any copyright text on the image its self.
I put stickers on the back of all my prints with contact details etc.
I have sold prints people only to find them ending up in the local papers so its going to be impossible to police every image you distribute.Jonathan.
If an image is good enough to want/use, then it’s good enough to pay for. Simple as that. Exposure/credit on a page doesn’t buy you any camera gear.
Why would you give away images free?
I have a scaled rate, depending on who wants the images and what they want them for.
If I see images in a paper, etc, I will then send them an invoice for use of my image. If I see it on a website, I send them a note informing them that I own the copyright of the image and asking them where I should send the invoice to.
I put my time and effort in to my photography, and I have costs and expenses. Why should I give images away for free?
Thanks for your responses.
My lesson has since been learned….just doing a random search on the event and found one guy who put up on his flickr, the images of himself that I sent out with my copyright text cropped out (which I knew could happen) and no accreditation. Either or would have been good for me. Now, I’m not a Pro but it realllllllly annoyed me, (I can’t believe how much it has annoyed me!) and I will most definitely be revisiting what I do. An email has been sent….
With things like that, you can lodge a complaint with FlickR and have the image removed.
Large watermarks tend to be a good way to discourage people using your images, but doesn’t always work.
I agree with Paul, never do anything for free (unless you do it for close friends). Amateurs who give photos away for free not only ruin their own future business but also make it more difficult for professionals. I don´t know how does it work here, but in USA it´s a common standard that photographers only sell printed photos. If someone wants a digital file, he has to sign an agreement with specific terms and conditions where and how can he use the photo(s).
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