Thread: What's Your Policy on Commercial Use of Your Photos?

Quickie for y'all:

What's your overall policy toward commercial use of your photos? In this case, I mean small local businesses using your image for CD covers, restaurant menus, nightclub promo materials, etc. Do you require a small fee? Written permission? Credit to you and your photographer? None or all of the above?

Let's talk!

hmm well Technically if the photo was taken by a professional it is the photographer's property not yours (at least here in Florida) so you may want to ask the photographer if it is alright and have a credit towards them as well. I've never asked for a fee but I have only had them used in a restaurant where I am dancing and I'm being promoted directly. If it is just for a CD cover or something unrelated I would ask for a fee or perhaps for some free advertising through the business for you and your photographer. A friend of mine gets more business from a flyer of hers in a local Middle Eastern bakery then she does from her website.

If it's a menu, website or other promo material for a place where I am dancing, then I allow it. It promotes me and that's what the photos are for. I'll generally ask for photo credit. If it's for something that does not specifically promote me (CD cover or other "stock" use), then we'd need to negotiate what I'd get in exchange. And of course, the photographer also needs to be involved in these discussions.

All I ask for at this point is at least ask me for permission! I don't mind helping some people promote an event but when you stick my photo on something, then sell it, then offer to sell it to me, and using an unflattering picture to boot! Well, that just puts me into a diva fit. ,m::

Great suggestions, guys. As of now, my photos have mostly been used for the purpose of promoting restaurants and venues that I regularly dance at. My boyfriend takes half of my promo pics, anyway, and he's more than encouraging when it comes to letting these establishments show off his photos ..g.:

Thought I'd bring this up in anticipation of any commercial requests. If anything comes up, I'm due for a talk with my other photogs to see how they'd handle the situation. I always sign those releases but never remember what's on the fine print, aside from the obvious that I can use the images on my website.

Originally Posted by Fotia

All I ask for at this point is at least ask me for permission! I don't mind helping some people promote an event but when you stick my photo on something, then sell it, then offer to sell it to me, and using an unflattering picture to boot! Well, that just puts me into a diva fit. ,m::

Yes, I'm sure someday I'll be eating falafel at some divey ME takeout restaurant someday and flip over the menu to find a picture where my stomach is sticking out mid-belly roll and I'm rockin the red-eye and zombie hands. Heck, I freak out when somebody tags an unflattering photo of me on Facebook or when my boyfriend posts a goofy-looking pic of me on his photography portfolio.

Can I put some verbiage on my website that businesses can only use my images with my permission, my photog's permission, and if (and only if) the pictures are flattering? ..l;,

Yes, in fact I was having a conversation like this a couple of days ago where other dancers wanted to approve the use of their photos and which ones to use.

But I still love your goofy photos, Satin!

I paid my photographers for the rights to the photos I use for promotional use. In my contract, it states that I will provide promotional photos that may be used for promoting events I am directly involved with *only*
A good photo session plus purchasing the rights to those photos is expensive, I pay for it to promote *my* business & recieve direct benefit from the expense. If someone wants to use my photos for anythings else, as the rights holder, you'd better believe they had better have a written agreement with me about it! Not saying I'd necessarily make a big deal if they ask to use them, but use it inappropriately without my permission, & you *will* hear from me. My image in the community is very, very important to me and I do everything I can to stay in control of it!

Here's what my contract says about it:

The client may use the name, contact information, website and photos of the performer when promoting this event. The performer reserves the right for the above to be modified or removed from client materials if the appearance does not meet with her approval.

I paid for the rights to use the low-res files in whatever manner I like for promotion. I do have to pay an additional fee if I wanted a high-res file, like for ginormous poster, but the low res files are fair game.

Originally Posted by Lara L

If someone wants to use my photos for anythings else, as the rights holder, you'd better believe they had better have a written agreement with me about it!!

You said that you've only paid for the right to use your photos for promotional purposes, however, so the photographer still owns the copyright and anyone wanting to use your photos for commercial purposes would need to negotiate directly with him or her.

The way this scenario would have to play out in most cases (where the dancer has only the rights to use her images for promotional purposes) is:

1) X contacts dancer about using her photo for a CD cover.
2) Dancer directs X to the photographer.
3) If the photographer is agreeable to the use of the photograph, s/he asks the dancer to sign a commercial model release.

The photographer would negotiate the purchase price of the photo with X, and the dancer would negotiate the terms of her model release directly with the photographer.

Personally, I would want monetary compensation as a condition of signing a commercial release.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

I always sign those releases but never remember what's on the fine print, aside from the obvious that I can use the images on my website.

And, to further complicate matters, model releases often don't deal with questions of the model's photo use.

Photographers have the option of putting usage information in there, e.g. "model has the right to use these images for promotional purposes, on websites, in print, etc.", but, since releases are agreements signed by the model, they can only confirm the conditions the model has agreed to for the photographer's use of the photos or the restrictions she has agreed to for her use of the photos.

Only a document signed by the photographer (i.e. a usage license) can confer usage rights to the model on top of the limited rights she is presumed by law to have by virtue of exchanging her modeling time or money for the photos.

Good topic. I don't have much to add here, but I think our community as a whole has a lot to learn about topics such as photography, music rights, etc.

It really all depends on what was included in the Model Release and License Agreement that were signed. If nothing was signed, then it's a whole different can of worms.

The Model Release gives permission for the Photographer to use the images, the License Agreement gives permission to the Model to use the images.

For more info try this All About Model Releases
and then All About Usage Licenses

Note that in general the photographer controls everything by default, at least in the USA. There are many uses that do not require the Photographer to have a signed Release, and there are very few uses that do not require the Model to have a License.

Ha, like anyone ever asks first! When we find them, our policy is to politely ask whoever 'borrowed' the image to put Ruric-Amari.com on the picture. I have a private collection of websites which I call 'the adventures of the pink costume' - this one pink-costume pose has turned up selling pillows in NJ, veil workshops in South America, swords in Atlanta, and someone else's workshop weekend fifteen miles away. Gosh, and no one knew how that picture got on their website!

Sideways of but not completely unrelated to the topic... we find it useful to keep taking our own pictures, no matter how many gazillion pictures pro photographers make available to us. Their technique and their equipment may be superior, but the moments they are looking for are often not the ones that we consider to be of the essence... they seem to get confused by what they expect to see vs. what is really to be seen. There is one significant exception to this rule.. a young local photographer with The Eye... his photos are always amazing, and I am very careful to let him know how much we appreciate his talent :)

Originally Posted by Ainsley

You said that you've only paid for the right to use your photos for promotional purposes,

sorry- should have been more detailed- I splurged & paid for full rights to these particular photos- it was expensive & I probably won't do it again, unless I suddenly become world famous & wealthy. otherwise, yes, absolutely, your outline is the proper procedure for folks who want to use the photos for other purposes. but you see why I would be more adamant about photos I paid an arm & a leg for...

Originally Posted by maurazebra

I have a private collection of websites which I call 'the adventures of the pink costume' - this one pink-costume pose has turned up selling pillows in NJ, veil workshops in South America, swords in Atlanta, and someone else's workshop weekend fifteen miles away. Gosh, and no one knew how that picture got on their website!

You might find this website useful. It's a search engine of sorts that you point at an image, and it will search for copies of that image. Pretty cool, and good for finding infringements.

TinEye Reverse Image Search

Originally Posted by JGilchrist

For more info try this All About Model Releases
and then All About Usage Licenses

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GREAT articles!!! Everyone should read them!