Releasing pics for free?

Trev M

Hi All,

Recently Ive taken a some photo's that have received a bit of attention. Out of this Ive been offered paid jobs which is flattering, some I'll do for a small charge based on my time and some I wont as they probably require someone more dedicated and specialised.

Ive also been asked if I could provide people with the photos Ive already taken, how much is fair given Im not a professional & just a hack. Ive been amazed at how people just expect you to give them stuff for free? Not all of my stuff is great but some pics are pretty decent and worth paying for evidently.

Im wondering about releasing some of the photo's free, in particular some are for charity but I know once I hand them over there open to anyone taking it from there I suppose, its hardly fair to expect a charity to impose restrictions and manage the copyright is it?

Without whinging Ive become a bit pissed off people just taking and using my stuff without as much as a mail of acknowledgement. I dont want to get into the whole sending people random invoices and legal threats as discussed in a previous thread. So Im wondering how to get it right from the get go?

Should I set up a specific site if Im gonna go down this road of earning a bit of side cash, also whats the story with VAT an all of that? I must stress its a purely casual thing and Im not looking at developing a business model here.

Any advice appreciated,
Trev

charybdis

You're not giving them your photographs, you're licensing your photographs to them. You can license them however you please, but you may want to look into Creative Commons licenses, particularly the by-nc-nd license.

The Snipe

One thing too look out for, is that some people will employ Young/Inexperianced photographers solely because they are cheap, However - Expect a return for your work.

magicbastarder

are the photos for charity the sort of photos anyone outside the charity might be able to use?
i.e. i see no problem if you took headshots at a charity event which are of little use outside the charity.

NothingMan

As it was said above, if you give permission for a charity to use your photos with or without charge you are just giving them a license to use them, they do not hold the copyright and if someone was to use the photos outside of who you authorised you could pursue them as if they took them directly from you and invoice them or take legal action.

Trev M

Many thanks for the replies very much appreciated. .

The charity photos could be used for a number of applications, it wasnt shot at a charity event, its more the shot itself suits the message.

The creative commons licence link was very useful I'll pass on the pics with that in mind and perhaps reference it directly.


The upcoming projects are not event stuff so its limited pressure,Im pretty comfortable that I can deliver the goods and more or less have the work half done already to the satifisfaction of the client which is nice.

I suppose its about being comfortable with people willing to pay for something you enjoy doing anyway and at the same time not being taken for a ride.

Thanks again for the replies.

Heebie

You could choose for your "fee" to be a visible photo credit in any medium they reproduce your work in or something like that.
If it's a popular charity, you could end up becoming a pro.