Published Photos Credited to Someone Else?!

[R Mutt]

a national publication which I've had a good relationship with has published many of my photos in their latest publication but has credited a few of them to another company.

Anyone have an idea for a resolution to this? I plan on contacting the editor with a detailed account of the mislabeled photos immediately and am unsure of how serious of an issue it is (obviously serious to us). Would this an anyway be a misuse of our copyright?

[tcphoto1]

Many photographers have an item in their T&C that calls for a x3 their fee for lack of photo credit. Often times, we accept an Editorial assignment because of the photo credit. If a publication has a wide circulation, we can assume that many potential Clients will see it.

Why would it effect Copyright? I would register the image along with everything else shot on a regular basis.

[gmen]

It's unfortunate. However, these things happen from time to time. I had an image published in a national paper recently credited to Getty.

However, as you already know a photo credit is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

You might decide to politely point it out to them... but as long as you get your payment for the pics through quickly, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.

Copyright doesn't really come into it unless they syndicate the images elsewhere without your permisson. Just sounds like a mistake to me.

---- Gavin

[gmen]

Many photographers have an item in their T&C that calls for a x3 their fee for lack of photo credit. That's very interesting indeed. I've never come across this practice before. Would be interested to hear about any cases where these T&C have been applied successfully - particularly in an editorial context.

Often times, we accept an Editorial assignment because of the photo credit. If a publication has a wide circulation, we can assume that many potential Clients will see it.Why on earth would you accept an assignment from a publication just for a credit? Wouldn't it also be wise to assume that if a publication has a wide circulation, they can certainly afford to pay you for a booked job?

---- Gavin

[DaveG]

a national publication which I've had a good relationship with has published many of my photos in their latest publication but has credited a few of them to another company.

Anyone have an idea for a resolution to this? I plan on contacting the editor with a detailed account of the mislabeled photos immediately and am unsure of how serious of an issue it is (obviously serious to us). Would this an anyway be a misuse of our copyright?


Stuff happens. People and organizations make mistakes, and usually they are very unhappy about them. You can let them know about their error in a very casual way (and not with litigation in your mind) and with some luck they'll correct it for you. The other side of the coin is this question: Do you really want to jeopardize your happy relationship with the publishing house over this? You may well win the battle and then go on to lose the war.

I have a friend whose a stickler about this kind of stuff. If there's any problem at all he lets the client know all about it. Subsequently he has no clients at all. He has burned every bridge he has come to, and some he's burned while he's standing in the middle of them! He's right, every time. And they don't want to deal with the downside of working with this guy. I like him and he's a basically a good guy, but he's also a guy who would require a contract the thickness of a phone book! Even with that everything-I-can-think-of contract I know that I'd STILL never cover all the bases, so I'd never hire him or recommend him for a job.

In my opinion you do not want to become this guy.

[gmen]

Stuff happens ..... Do you really want to jeopardize your happy relationship with the publishing house over this?Indeed. Point it out to them if you have any concerns that they may pay the wrong photographer/agency for the images, and then move on to the next job.

---- Gavin

[tcphoto1]

Why on earth would you accept an assignment from a publication just for a credit? Wouldn't it also be wise to assume that if a publication has a wide circulation, they can certainly afford to pay you for a booked job?

---- Gavin

Because if it's an interesting subject, Politician, Celebrity, etc. the resale value in Stock would be very good. Don't you think that Art Directors and Art Buyers look at magazines and might look you up, if an image catches their eye? Those people may even work at Advertising Agencies with projects relating to your specialty. I didn't say that I'd shoot for free.

I assisted a photographer for four years that shot Editorial portraits. The subjects were Politicians, Celebrities, CEO's and he earns five figures a year from Stock sales alone.

[gmen]

Because if it's an interesting subject, Politician, Celebrity, etc. the resale value in Stock would be very good. Don't you think that Art Directors and Art Buyers look at magazines and might look you up, if an image catches their eye? Those people may even work at Advertising Agencies with projects relating to your specialty. I didn't say that I'd shoot for free.

I assisted a photographer for four years that shot Editorial portraits. The subjects were Politicians, Celebrities, CEO's and he earns five figures a year from Stock sales alone.I said that I was surprised you accepted an assignment on the basis of a credit... that's what you stated in your earlier post. An assignment generally indicates that you're directed to carry out a shoot on behalf of a client to a particular brief and at a specific time - inherently this should be a paid job.

I'd also be surprised if the photographer you assisted didn't shoot the portraits on assignment, retaining his rights to the images and then obtaining stock repro rates at a later date.

However, I agree whole heartedly that there is value in stock imagery. Ideally stock comes about as a by-product of a booking... but, of course, there can be mileage in shooting stock on spec, as long as you don't impact on the work of pros on assignment.

---- Gavin