Selling MotorSport Photos?

[Lee123]

Hey guys.
I shot a MotorCycle Race the other day and the event secretary said I should post them on their site so I could sell then to the riders.
Do I need anyone's permission to sell them or should I be ok?

Thanks.

[R Mutt]

I'd contact the track as well. They may have vendor policies and you don't want to start on a bad footing with a track you would like to do business at.

[Lee123]

I'd contact the track as well. They may have vendor policies and you don't want to start on a bad footing with a track you would like to do business at.

Good point...thnx.

[kelly andersen]

Yup, you dont want to make the track photog. an enemy.

[Lee123]

Thanks again guys. I did send an email to them and they have no problem with it...they said they wanted some of my photos for their website, so double bonus :D.

Now, can I sell these photos to anyone? Someone told me that I would need the riders permission...but I truly have no idea, or should I just stick to selling them to the riders only?

[DWimages]

If you have the tracks permission to sell photos. Than give it a go, I would make sure that your prices are approiate for the time and effort you put into this project ie: editing, printing etc. You do not need the riders permission unless you are licensing them for commercial purposes or the rider is a recognizable personality such as Wayne Rainey, Valentino Rossi and so on. You might setup a website specific to selling photos online such as the one I use here www.zenfolio.com/mikedoran if you have more questions please feel free to give me a call at the number listed on the website.


Mike Doran
D&W Images
www.2wheeltimes.com

[Lee123]

If you have the tracks permission to sell photos. Than give it a go, I would make sure that your prices are approiate for the time and effort you put into this project ie: editing, printing etc. You do not need the riders permission unless you are licensing them for commercial purposes or the rider is a recognizable personality such as Wayne Rainey, Valentino Rossi and so on. You might setup a website specific to selling photos online such as the one I use here www.zenfolio.com/mikedoran (http://www.zenfolio.com/mikedoran) if you have more questions please feel free to give me a call at the number listed on the website.


Mike Doran
D&W Images
www.2wheeltimes.com (http://www.2wheeltimes.com)

Thanks very much Mike. I might take you up on that offer :cool:. Thanks for the info, that is just what I needed.

Love the shots on your website...

[kelly andersen]

You can sell any pic. you want,but as soon as you put it on clocks, mugs, shirts, keychains ect,then you start running into problems with licensing and copyright permission. There was a drag race calendar put out last year with mustangs in it and ford made a huge fuss about it, not sure how they resolved it. Just stick to the pic and your fine.

[Lee123]

You can sell any pic. you want,but as soon as you put it on clocks, mugs, shirts, keychains ect,then you start running into problems with licensing and copyright permission. There was a drag race calendar put out last year with mustangs in it and ford made a huge fuss about it, not sure how they resolved it. Just stick to the pic and your fine.

Thanks very much Kelly :).

[DennisW1]

I'd contact the track as well. They may have vendor policies and you don't want to start on a bad footing with a track you would like to do business at.


Most tracks' "vendor policies" apply to selling merchandise on site. Unless you're paying for special "photo access" and signing any sort of agreement not to sell your work from that particular venue, what you do in regards to marketing your work on a website is up to you.

If you're planning on setting up shop at the track then you will have to pay their vendor fees and abide by their policies, as well as being geared up to deliver your work on site.

[R Mutt]

Most tracks' "vendor policies" apply to selling merchandise on site. Unless you're paying for special "photo access" and signing any sort of agreement not to sell your work from that particular venue, what you do in regards to marketing your work on a website is up to you.

If you're planning on setting up shop at the track then you will have to pay their vendor fees and abide by their policies, as well as being geared up to deliver your work on site.

Wrong, and seeing as you're in Chicago I'd be interested to know which tracks you know of that work this way

I work out of Blackhawk and Road America and I know they have vendor policies whether you're selling online or onsite. I haven't shot Autobahn but with the stranglehold Sideline Photography has there I bet their are policies to abide by there as well.

[Lee123]

If you have the tracks permission to sell photos. Than give it a go, I would make sure that your prices are approiate for the time and effort you put into this project ie: editing, printing etc. You do not need the riders permission unless you are licensing them for commercial purposes or the rider is a recognizable personality such as Wayne Rainey, Valentino Rossi and so on. You might setup a website specific to selling photos online such as the one I use here www.zenfolio.com/mikedoran (http://www.zenfolio.com/mikedoran) if you have more questions please feel free to give me a call at the number listed on the website.


Mike Doran
D&W Images
www.2wheeltimes.com (http://www.2wheeltimes.com)

Hey Mike...thanks for all your advise the other day.

I have finally posted up the rest of the photos from that shoot.
If you get a chance, could you (and anyone else...) have a look at them and give me your honest C&C?
Thanks.
http://www.leeglide.com/other/autos/autos.html

[jimken61]

In my experience the tracks all have different policies on selling photos on site. At my home town track they dont charge me any fees and give me free admission, in turn I provide them with pics as needed.
I wanted to share a website with you if your interested in selling your pics online. I use them and have been very pleased. I also followed up with my customers and said they were very satisfied with the service. They are definately worth checking out. You can check out my website if you like, I'm working off of one of their templates.
http://www.exposuremanager.com
good luck with it, Jim

[fortisi876]

Can you clarify who the "event secretary" works for?

Aside from the track, I dont think anyone's mentioned the actual racing organization's permission?

That's really the only organization you need to be concerned with if not mistaken???
If they give the nod, I dont see how or why the track management would interfere unless it's regarding vendor fees.

Really nice pic btw!

[Zilly]

Can you clarify who the "event secretary" works for?

Aside from the track, I dont think anyone's mentioned the actual racing organization's permission?

That's really the only organization you need to be concerned with if not mistaken???
If they give the nod, I dont see how or why the track management would interfere unless it's regarding vendor fees.

Really nice pic btw!

not how it works over here
The race organization sanctions the event however press and photography is handled by the event team however it is governed (like the rest of the meeting) by the rules laid out by the sanctioning body. If the event secretary says its cool its good to go.

[Rob Stewart]

not how it works over here
The race organization sanctions the event however press and photography is handled by the event team however it is governed (like the rest of the meeting) by the rules laid out by the sanctioning body. If the event secretary says its cool its good to go.

It depends on the event in my experience. Some events like FIA GT I've only had to seek permission from the circuit but for Formula 1 I had to seek permission from FOM, who incidentally won't even let me show my images on my website, let alone sell them.

If you're a paying member of the public and not accredited it's always worth reading the small print T&C's on your ticket or booking website.

Some race organisers don't really care about these issues too much, others like FOM are 'very aggressive defenders of their copyrights' as my copyright lawyer put it.

[GSH]

FOM and Dorna are notoriously over-protective.

Most of the others don't care and some track owners & clubs are more than happy to buy images shot from the "wrong" side of the fence. That's it in a nutshell for most UK events.

[cdi]

personally, i shoot for a pretty big sprint car sanctioning body and they encourage me to go around and talk to the drivers before and after the races, kinda like market myself. i have never been told i couldn't sell photos and i have quite a few teams inquiring about them when i get to the track and i just tell them it will be a couple days before they are uploaded onto my self and i email the link to all the drivers i have email addresses for.

i also photograph for a couple other major motorsports sanctioning bodies and they just ask that i only market my photos to the participants in the event and not to any fans.

a couple sanctioning bodies actually like it when i sell prints and post their photos on my site, it's kind of a way to raise funds to bay able to make it to an event that is out of my area and i would have to get a hotel room for.