Reading mode: Light Dark

demanding a credit line -

Go to last post
M

mlakner

New member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
I had my first real photo shoot with a well known rock band a few months ago, and finally I'm getting paid for it.

The manager wants all rights and ownership. Should I ask them for a credit line anytime they are used? Some of the time? Or that's not really done except for big name photographers?

Thanks

---I guess as long as I have tear sheets people I show will believe me regardless of a credit line.
 
Be careful how you proceed

If you give them all rights and ownership the pictures are no longer yours and they can do what they want with them without crediting you.

If you have made a substantial amount from the shoot then you may decide to do what they have asked. If not, then most certainly retain your rights and ownership and license the pictures to them for specific use.
 
I'm planning on just asking nicely to credit me when possible.

But about keeping certain rights, I feel ok not doing so because they only wants 6 pictures, and there are maybe 12 others that I feel very happy about, and those, and all the rest, will be all mine. After all, what are they going to do with them that is objectionable?
 
Selling all rights to your images is the equivalent to not joining the office lottery pool. Chances are you aren't going to win and the band is not going to become the next Beatles a year from now, but if lightning does strike you are going to eat your own liver.

You can demand anything you like, but if the band owns the images they probably won't even take your phone calls anymore.
 
Bill McLeod said:
Selling all rights to your images is the equivalent to not joining the office lottery pool. Chances are you aren't going to win and the band is not going to become the next Beatles a year from now, but if lightning does strike you are going to eat your own liver. You can demand anything you like, but if the band owns the images they probably won't even take your phone calls anymore.
Click to expand...
I agree completely. License your images according to usage, time period, territory and what media it will be used in. A standard clause of old ASMP contracts was that for images not credited the usage fee per image would be tripled.

If you still want to sell full rights the price should be extremely high. And selling full rights means you of course give up the right to a credit.

HTH,
Jimmie
--
http://www.winggang.com/gallery/folio
'think for yourself; question authority'
 
Demanding credit is more for editorial use. Sometimes commercial usages will include a photog tag, but usually they will not. The bottom line is that it doesn't matter, other than some ego stroking. If another band sees the pics and likes them, they'll contact the band's manager to get your contact info.

Make sure you have in your agreement that you are able to post the images on your web site. You'll get more PR usage from the photos that way than from a credit line.

--
peace

-Todd
 
I'd ask to sleep with each of the rock star's girlfriends -- assuming they're cute, of course.

But seriously, why are you worrying about stuff like this NOW, a few months after the photo shoot?

The time you figure out exactly what you want in exchange for your work is BEFORE you take a single picture. Then you make an offer, and the client is free to accept it, reject it, or negotiate. It's the only fair thing, no? After the work is done, you have no leverage, plus it makes you look like a blackmailer.

At this point, just cash the check and forget the whole thing. Negotiating after the fact makes you look like a doofus.

Next time, do it right from the beginning.
 
If this rock band is nationally known, they will put something in the CD liner that says, "Photography by Joe Smith" or something to that nature.

I have shot up and coming bands in Hollywood and they all gave me a credit line plus about 10 CDs for my portfolio. Many are wanna-be heavy metal bands that never got pass places like the Viper Lounge.
 
Here's something mildly analogous to your question.

"Someone asked me to sign over the deed to my house so they could own it outright. Should I insist they keep my name on the mailbox?"

The name and credit are worth nothing 99.9% of the time. The photos are the thing of value. Giving up ownership of the images is bad business. You need to tell the manager of the band (probably not a copyright lawyer, BTW) that is not how you do business. Tell him you will license the images to the band and charge accordingly.

--

'Truth is stranger than fiction, for we have fashioned fiction to suite ourselves.' G.K. Chesterton

http://www.jimroofcreative.net
 
Max Lakner said:
I'm planning on just asking nicely to credit me when possible.

But about keeping certain rights, I feel ok not doing so because they
only wants 6 pictures, and there are maybe 12 others that I feel very
happy about, and those, and all the rest, will be all mine. After
all, what are they going to do with them that is objectionable?
Click to expand...
It's not about what they might do with the image, it's what you can no longer do with it-if you give/sell the rights, you no longer own it. So, when they make it big, you can show your friends the nice photos you took, but can't legally make a dime off them.

Instead, always, always, always LICENSE the use of the image. You can be as liberal or strict as you want, providing you keep for yourself the right to use the image, for profit, in the future.

As for credit, you may or may not get it. About the only places that do credit lines as a standard practice are newspapers.

Personally, I have yet to figure out how to pay my equipment/power/phone/insurance bills with a credit line, so I prefer money.
Jim Dean
 
Paul Grupp said:
At this point, just cash the check and forget the whole thing.
Negotiating after the fact makes you look like a doofus.

Next time, do it right from the beginning.
Click to expand...
I suppose that's what I'll have to do. Photographer's should have something like the Screen Actors Guild to have standard contracts and so on.
 
Managers of pop stars and agents of celebs/wannabe celebs all want to control the images of the artists they represent these days.

You should have been clear with them before the shoot.You get paid for the job AND you retain the copyright for the pictures.OR get paid for the job and waive copyright and calculate a more lumpy fee, guesstimating how many times the pics will be used in the future.

If the band get bigger and bigger all those magazine usages over say the next 10 days can add up.

Out of many hundreds of jobs,Ive only sold copyright once,to a glamour girls agent,because I didnt think the stunted pics would end up anywhere.
Its not something I would ever really recommend doing.
 
look up ASMP and you'll get a lot of information on business practice - legalese, licensing, and contracts.

Credit line is really...eh, doesn't pay the bills. Don't sell yourself short.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top