There's nothing like being prepared - What would you do?

[SAB_Click]

I was unsure where to post this so please forgive me if I have the wrong section.

Suppose you are on your way to the airport and en-route something happens whereby you are at the right place at the right time and you get a photo of a news event that you know the press would clamour for. BUT YOU ARE NOT A PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER.

You have no laptop with you, just your picture on the card in your camera. Your plane leaves on long haul in three hours and you still have to get to the airport and check in.

What would you do? who would you contact? where would you start?

[dreamcatcher23]

email a paper and let them know you have photos, ask them what their rate is. DO NOT SEND THE PHOTOS AT THIS STAGE. and when you do, only send a slow res sample until you've got it in writing the rate they will pay you.

[jblaschke]

There are advantages to not being a working photojournalist in this instance. Your parent newspaper would expect you provide the image to them, as a part of your normal job duties. They'd turn around and sell the rights for as much as they could get. I've seen it happen. You might argue you were shooting on your own time and the paper doesn't have any claim to it, but that'd get you a world of grief.

Call the nearest major metropolitan daily on your cell. Talk your way through to the photo department, or the managing editor. Tell them what you've got and negotiate a deal--they'll want to see the image. Three hours is an infinity in a newsroom, so I don't see any problem in getting something worked out in short order prior to your flight. They'll either send someone out to meet you or bring you into the office. Either way, you've got to use your best judgment.

[sfaust]

Call around the papers and broadcast outlets, and tell them what you have in detail. They may want a copy to evaluate it. There is no problem with sending it to them, just make sure they understand its for evaluation only, no usage is granted, and it will be registered. If you have the ability, throw an unobtrusive watermark on the image with your copyright, contact, and an 'all rights reserved'.

Let them know it will be non-exclusive, and you will be contacting or have contacted other organizations. If they want it exclusively, make sure the rate is equitable to you based on the usage period. The more unique, significant, and scarce the image is, the more you will be able to get in negotiation. They will probably be little interest in fires, accidents, etc, unless they are very unusual in some way.

Once you settle on a deal, you'll need to find a feed to send the image. Any laptop with internet connection will do. If you have a card reader, you could bribe someone at the airport to upload the image for you from their laptop with a wireless connection. If you sold it to several outlets, you'll need the FTP info, or their web page link for uploads.

Once you know who is interested, willing to pay how much, it may make sense to just forget it and hop on your flight. Or, skip the flight, license and transmit the image, and book a new flight and go first class ;)

[superstes]

Once you settle on a deal, you'll need to find a feed to send the image. Any laptop with internet connection will do. If you have a card reader, you could bribe someone at the airport to upload the image for you from their laptop with a wireless connection. If you sold it to several outlets, you'll need the FTP info, or their web page link for uploads.

Sorry for the additional question, will my card reader work on any laptop, even with no software installed, and what if I only had time to get some shots and realized they were RAW.

Thanks

[sfaust]

Depends on the card reader and OS support but I've found it generally true (although I use all Macs, whats a driver ;), but your mileage may vary. I'm sure you can find a suitable reader that doesn't require installed drivers for windows.

You can always submit the RAW file. They should be well equipped to handle and convert the RAW to whatever they need.

[sacral]

I'll bite...

What did you shoot?? :)

[Lightchaser]

Yeah I wanna know too!

[The Moose]

He's on the plane still, give him time :lol: I wonder if this was real or just a question though?

[Sibil]

just curious here. How much would such an unusual image go for? For example, you are on the way to airport and happen to capture images of mid-air collision of 2 airplanes, or the crash landing of an airplane. Would these be considered unusual images? What would the news media pay for such images, if they are considered unusual.

[Patrick]

One increasingly bad option for photographers would be the news agency having no need to pay for your photo becuase 100 people with cell phone cameras took photos and videos and sent them in to the news for free as part of their "U report" program.

I watch a lot of news and this sort of thing is nearly in every story now.

[sfaust]

Something like that, you have the only image, easily tens of thousands when you license to multiple clients. And you'll keep receiving income from the image for years to come from use for all sorts of uses. In the end, it wouldn't be far fetched for the photographer to earn $100,000 over say 5 or 10 years off an image that unique and newsworthy.

Compare that to say image of a fire or accident that only had local news value. The photographers are routinely paid $25 to $50 for a front page image for local papers.

The range is huge, and it all depends on how unique, newsworthy, and what competition you are up against. The more unique and newsworthy, the higher it goes. If you had the only image of Bin Laden being caught by some elite US forces, you could retire off what you'd make on one image alone. Every news agency would want it, and be willing to pay thousands for it just to use it on their cover once, and then there would be usage fees for a long time thereafter due to its historical value.

But, its like winning the lottery. You can't plan, and could spend your whole life waiting for it an it never happens to you. :(

the news agency having no need to pay for your photo becuase 100 people with cell phone cameras took photos and videos and sent them in to the news for free as part of their "U report" program.

They freely give away that image to the news agency just to see their image on the TV news report. The news agency is laughing all the way to the bank, working photographers are shaking their heads, and the person is gloating with their friends, "Hey look my photo/video is on TV".

What can you say!

[Sibil]

Thanks. What a huge range for the prices one can demand. I understand the lottery thing. Maybe I should carry a P&S on my belt instead of a cell phone, in anticipation for that lottery ticket, LoL.

[Sibil]

This topic kind of reminds me of the Twin Tower tragedy. I have seen dozens very unique images of the that day, which appeared to be shot by casual shooers on the street. I have often wondered what kind of money those images were worth to the news agencies.

Along the same lines, I have also wondered if there are businesses that specialize in marketing very unique images for no-pro people who just happen to be in the right place and at the right time. Does anyone know?

[sfaust]

I did hear of some figures regarding some of the more unique images, in the tens of thousands. But the agencies were also flooded with so many images they really had a lot of options to choose from, and most weren't paid. I'll try to look up the ones I remember that were paid, and see if I can't find the reference to the photographer and amounts paid. It was in an article somewhere (PDN perhaps), or some other photography industry trade mag.


There probably is a business model that would work as a central point for the common person to go to for images like this. The business could then act as their agent in getting them a fair price for a cut.

The issues I see is that in order for it to work, is that everyone needs to know who they are and what they do. Otherwise, people will still submit it to the end user since they don't know there are other options. And if people are doing that, now the agency is dealing with the same issue we are. The cost of making the agency a household name would be huge. The return on investment probably isn't there, and the risk is high. So it will probably never happen.

As cell phone cameras get better and better, and literally are put in the hands of everyone, news images and video clips will eventually be reported by the masses, and the fees for will be very low to non-existent. It will pretty much be a non viable industry for photographers.