Published - but no credit

[gregt1310]

Last year I was shooting 8th grade sports (my son plays football) and there was a girl on the team - she was the kicker. I was contacted by her mother over the summer that the local Mansfield Now Magazine was doing a story on her and wanted to use some of my images for the story.

Unfortunately, they couldn't pay me, but would give me photo credit - or so I thought.

I was excited when I got the magazine in the mail yesterday. Imagine my disappointment when I saw 4 of my images with no photo credit whatsoever.

I sent the Managing Editor a strongly worded email asking her what happened. I am still awaiting a reply.

I am a part-timer who is trying to get established in sports photography. I realize I probably shouldn't have let me use my images without compensation, but I wanted the exposure.

What else can I do to remedy this situation?

Thanks.

[zepp]

Live and learn. I doubt you can do anything now to remedy the situation. I would doubt highly the magazine would republish and issue the magazine again with your photo credit. Perhaps they would issue a worded correction in the next issue.

If your going after this profession to make money from it and be rewarded for your efforts, do yourself a favor and treat it as such from the beginning. It's hard to convince a client of a need to charge a fair price after you've been giving your work away for free or for little to nothing.

I HIGHLY recommend you pick up a copy of John Harrington's book "Best Business Practices for Photographers" and read it thoroughly.

Good Luck.

[gregt1310]

Thanks for the info Frank. This is the first time that I have given away images. I shoot on spec (mostly) and sell images to parents on my website.

I was told that this particular magazine doesn't pay for images, because they have a photographer on staff. Again, I was hoping to get some exposure out of this.

Live and learn is right.

[zepp]

Originally Posted by gregt1310

I was told that this particular magazine doesn't pay for images, because they have a photographer on staff. Again, I was hoping to get some exposure out of this.

Live and learn is right.

I don't buy the editor's logic. That's like me going to a restaurant and asking the waiter not to bill me for my food. After all, I have food I paid for at the grocery store I can prepare for myself so why should I pay for theirs. Or going on vacation and telling the receptionist at the rental car agency not to bill me for a rental car. I have a perfectly good car at home plus while I'm driving theirs I'll be advertising for them because of the company logo on the bumper sticker. Shouldn't I be the one being paid to advertise for them? Bad logic isn't it?

I recently cut ties with a publisher after we failed to renegotiate, and put into writing, new terms. The old terms were just not profitable. Them only seeing a photo and not the work (and business) behind it.

Sure, money is money, but there comes a point in time when you know it's really not profitable any longer as the work expected is not equal to compensation. They grow accustom to the original pay not wanting to budge when the job calls for more. Sad thing is, there is one right behind you that will do the deal at the lower fee just to get their foot in the door.

It's very hard to convince a client of the cost of doing business if you sell yourself short to begin with.

Yep, live and learn, we all do it don't we?

BTW moderators, if you're reading this, this topic might be better suited for the business forum than the sports forum.

[fivegrand]

What does the compensation agreement in the usage license you sent them say?

[Arnor]

Thanks for the book recommendation Frank. Just ordered it from Amazon, been looking for a good book about the business part:)

Best regards,

[CaptainTom]

frank is very correct.
I believe you can either be a professional photographer or not a professional photographer.

If you are wanting to be paid for your work, you HAVE to make it very clear in the beginning that there are charges and what they will be.

If you don't charge for your work, you are an amateur.

Personally I don't think that it is a "put down" to be called an amateur. It just distinguishes those who make their living at photography from those who don't.

There are probably many more amateurs who are better photographers than most professional photographers. But, they are still amateurs.

[bondarnes]

I would send them a bill for the images and even though they may refuse to pay it they would see that you value your work. You can always negotiate for an ad in their magazine as compensation.

Whenever I do charity work I always include a bill for my services at my regular rates then I show a 100% discount. It just reminds them that this is what I do for a living and places a value on my work. Unfortunately I can only deduct actual expenses (usually a disc) for income tax purposes.

[zepp]

Originally Posted by bondarnes

I would send them a bill for the images and even though they may refuse to pay it they would see that you value your work. You can always negotiate for an ad in their magazine as compensation.

Whenever I do charity work I always include a bill for my services at my regular rates then I show a 100% discount. It just reminds them that this is what I do for a living and places a value on my work. Unfortunately I can only deduct actual expenses (usually a disc) for income tax purposes.

Don states a very good point, one I practice myself. If I am to give a discount on my work, I always show the full amount for the job minus the discount on the invoice. This prevents the client from coming back on a future job and stating you charged a lower fee for the same type services last time. Having a paper trail you could simple tell them a discount was extended last time for whatever reason and this time it is not and my regular fees are due.

I actually do this quite often when I give the client an estimate and the work performed is less than originally conceived for whatever reason.

[fivegrand]

Originally Posted by fivegrand

What does the compensation agreement in the usage license you sent them say?

I still want to know this.

[gregt1310]

Jon,

Compensation agreement states in lieu of compensation photo credit will be granted.

I have spoken to the mother of the girl that I photographed. She was very upset. She also spoke to the author of the article, who was very upset also. The author wants to make it up to me, so she may do an article on me for the magazine.

I have a call into the author so we shall see what she says.

Thanks.

[bondarnes]

If you get a story that will be way better than a photo credit that most people wouldn't even notice.

[fivegrand]

Originally Posted by gregt1310

Jon,

Compensation agreement states in lieu of compensation photo credit will be granted.

If this is on the usage license that you sent the publication attached to or otherwise adjacent to the image(s), and you can prove default on the agreement (lack of agreed compensation), for all intents and purposes you own them until they satisfy the EXISTING agreement. Not a "we'll make it up later" thing - that's BS. They need to comply with the EXISTING agreement.

Causing them to comply with the existing agreement says more about your value than a 100% discounted invoice. A 100% discounted invoice is all well and good intentioned, but it doesn't mean diddly-poo to people that have no value for you to begin with.

If I were in your position (and I have been, a few times), my lawyer would have written the publisher a letter or two by now, with the "else" option being an unauthorized use suit due to breach of contract (and yes, I've won those suits, and it isn't a tough push through the courts).

[fivegrand]

Originally Posted by bondarnes

If you get a story that will be way better than a photo credit that most people wouldn't even notice.

And it still would not have satisfied the existing agreement, reinforcing the publications position that the artist has no value because he can be placated by a simple inch column that no one will notice.

[zepp]

For what it's worth...

I actually value the placement of my name by a published image of mine to be more of an ownership and copyright benefit versus the exposure or advertisement benefit.

I'm with Don once again in that not many people, besides other photographers, even take notice of an image credit.