Published but no credit.

[Jonny]

Recently a friend of mine won a local sporting competition and the results were published in a national (but fringe/specialist) magazine. He asked for a photograph to acompany his story and i provided him one that i took of him many weeks ago.
I said i didn't mind it being published as long as i got a small credit for it somewhere in the article.Nothing was set in stone and he sent off the article (by email) complete with pic and my request.

This month it was published without my credit and i am a little annoyed.

Should i contact them and express my annoyance? Is it worth it?

I didn't want any finacial reward as it was not what i would call a 'professional shot' more of a snap but i did want some aknowledgement.

What do you think?

[defordphoto]

Since there was not contract there's not much you can do from a legal standpoint, and I know you probably have no intention of considering going that far, but just consider it a lesson learned for the future. Photographers get burned all the time. Especially amateurs that happen to get The Shot and some newsboy hits them up for The Shot and promises this and that.

I wouldn't make a big thing of it as I am a big believer in not burning one's bridges. Just remember that lesson the next time someone asks for a photo. I'd just as soon have that sucker sit on my HD 'till it explodes than give it away for free. Now if it's for a "cause" of some sort, that is an entirely different story.

[Jyoti]

I get irritated when people nick pics from my website and use them with no credit whatsoever, like here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/blast/200...gs/index.shtml

You'd think the BBC would be more diligent about copyright, eh? And the buggers have cropped them badly.

But the couple of times this has happened before and I've complained, little has come of it. Invariably, the pics just get taken down and you still get no credit.

I have thought of watermarking all my web pics but I don't like the whole-pic watermarks and anything at the edge will just get cropped.

...sigh...

[robertwgross]

I was contacted by a start-up regional magazine for an interview. They got my name from another guy of the subject. The writer interviewed me over the phone, and they got the story they wanted. Then, at the end, the writer asked me if I had any photos.

Is the Pope a Catholic?

Of course I have photos. The writer asked me to send her just a few of my best ones, so I sent her three 35mm slides. I asked that they be returned. The writer said that the new issue would be out in a month or so. Then, about six weeks later, the magazine hit the newstands, and I picked up a copy.

The writer had written a good article, and they used one of my slides as the title photo for that article. The "Photo By" with my name was almost microscopic and laid in vertically beside the photo. Then a couple of days later, I got an envelope back from that magazine company. Inside it there were the fragments of the three 35mm slides. They had been torn out of the cardboard 2x2 holders, so they sent me film fragments and cardboard fragments. Needless to say, they weren't going to get anymore of my stuff in the future.

---Bob Gross---

[leony]

Ummm... don't you include a delivery memo along with images(with rules, rights, comp and penalties listed)?!??!! Especially chromes, where there is no duplicate... why would you send an original?! Of course they will rip them out and drum-scan for the print.

[jimtfoto]

Jonny:
You didn't mention what size of picture you provided ... did it run as a headshot? If so, it would be unlikely to receive a credit. One of the other posters mentioned he had received a "microscopic" credit for a pic. Credit lines are generally smaller than the type size used for a picture caption. It's pretty standard procedure. If you want to ensure you receive credit in the future, why don't you attach an info sheet with the pic, along with the line "mandatory credit to ....." etc. etc. That usually makes cutline writers and layout people take notice.

cheers,
jim

[robertwgross]

Originally Posted by leony

Ummm... don't you include a delivery memo along with images(with rules, rights, comp and penalties listed)?!??!! Especially chromes, where there is no duplicate... why would you send an original?! Of course they will rip them out and drum-scan for the print.

This was years ago, before I had any standing as a photographer. I didn't know what tricks they would pull.

Knowing what I know now, I would scan them myself and send them a CDR. I guess that's 20-20 hindsight.

---Bob Gross---

[IndyJeff]

Jyoti I am not sure how things work in the UK but, here in the states if they lifted your image from your website and then published it, with or without credit, that is a copyright violation. Now if that image is registered you can pretty much double the normal rate for thier mag, at least.

[PeterTaylor]

Getting images ripped is part of the course if you are a photographer, not matter how you try to stop-it, it will still happen.

I got ripped twice by a motorsport (now ex-motorsport) publication in the UK some 10 years or so a go now.

First instance was when I was asked by the person who was going to be covering this event to write the report to do the photographs, and this was agreed by the publication. So the publication know who was going as what work to expect. I was quit lucky, because this event was some 200 miles form home, and I only agreed because a friend of mine, his brother was competing and has I had done some work for them in the past. Anyway the work was shot and films dropped of at the local Red Star depot for next day delivery (That being Monday). Come Wednesday or Thursday I went to the shops to see the magazine well it was more of a paper. Their it was full double page spared with accreditation as well. So invoice was duly sent out the same day at the rates agreed. They then wrote back saying that it was an agreement with the person who filed the report who I should ask for payment, but they were not being paid to cover this event.

Second instance same publication about 18 months later. I was covering another car rally this time it was a quit large event, although I was not the official photographer this particular year I was supplied with a full mailing list of competitions, as I agreed to do some PR photos for the organising club. I sent out a set of proof prints to all competitors, and one particular drive bought a colour 6x4 print of his car. Now this print was quit distinctive as there was a small scratch/defect on the negative, but this was nothing which would distract from the image its self. The print was marked on the back as being copyright of me. A couple of weeks later I was doing the usual brows of motosport magazines cheeking for photos published and looking for some inspiration. What did I see the very same photograph their in Black and White. So I invoiced them pointing out that they had published copyright material, they just returned the invoice unpaid stating that they do not except my clam in the image. Even when they had published the image with the same defect. When I phoned them the basically said that if I persisted they would make sure that I never did work for anyone else in motorsport again, even my solicitor said that they could make it difficult for me, and that I would not get very much for the picture anyway.

I just marked this up as another part of the learning curve.

Incidentally both events paid for them selves many times over, I got the post of official photographer for one event, a post I held to the next 5 years. And also meet a team who then commissioned me to cover them in the British Rally Championship for the next year and also that years RAC Rally. So even when you get ripped, some times some good can come out of it. Oh yes and the publication when out of business some moths latter! Figure that one out for your self.

[Mike Panic]

everyone seems to have covered this pretty well - now you know for next time - contracts and paperwork is what you need to remember

also consider that not all magazines add bi-lines - its just not how they print all the time - and some of them will just add your name in the front of the mag under "contributors" very very small and not associate it w/ the photo at all

[NILOLIGIST]

I agree with all that has been posted thus far. There is something that you can do, contact the magazine and explain that they are using your copyright image without your credit. They might do nothing and then they might print a correction. Magazines really don't want to be in a dispute. It is not necessarily what you will do but you might do. I had a similar problem and I just told them not only did they not pay me, they didn't give me credit and they sent me a check and printed a correction. You never know.

Lesson learned.

Frederique

[IndyJeff]

My Tony Kannan image of his crash while leading the 2002 Indy 500 ran all over the place thru AP. Some places gave a photo credit with my name and others just said AP Photo. Go figger huh?

Originally Posted by Peter Taylor

Getting images ripped is part of the course if you are a photographer, not matter how you try to stop-it, it will still happen.

While I agree with this statement a magazine should know better. Keep an eye out for publications which may be the kind that would run your images is one way of policing for yourself. However, when it comes to consumer ripping off, we as photographers must educate the public. You would be surprised at how many people think if they buy a 4x6 image there is no problem with going to the local Wal-Mart etc, and getting an 8x10 done. Fortunately a lot of these places are not only educating their staff but, the puclic too.

One of the dads of a hs football team I covered actually told me how much he liked this one image of his son diving into the endzone. It ran in a local township online news service and of course dad right clicked and saved the image. He said that he used it as his wallpaper. I asked how it printed and he must have known at that point that he had done wrong because he said it wasn't all that great because of the lowres. I jokingly said, "By the way, what is your attorney's name?" He got the point and from then on there was an uncomfortable tension between us the rest of the season. I could have made a stink about it but didn't for fear of other parents boycotting me. Now I kind of wich I would have just presented him with a bill at the seasons end.

Oh and BTW, it did print out a very nice 4x6. I saw a copy at the square dance the team had.

[KennyG]

I have only had one incidence where one of my shots was used in a publication without permission. I simply put it in the hands of a personal friend who is a copyright lawyer with a large firm. It never got beyond one phone call and I received far more than I would have done had they paid me for the shot under their normal terms. That publication is not around any more. No fees to my friend, other than a meal out and too much booze for both of us.

Peter, did I perchance meet you at Liverpool Uni during a suppliers exhibition? Oh, I'll pass your best to Steve at OP, who is still doing his watercolours by the way.

[PeterTaylor]

Kenny
Yes that was me.

It nice to meet once again, well even if it is over the net.

Peter.

[KennyG]

Originally Posted by PeterTaylor

Kenny
Yes that was me.

It nice to meet once again, well even if it is over the net.

Peter.

Nice to meet again too. I have had one busy year since we met up, with last month being my best of the year with 20 shots published, including a double page spread. That took me way ahead of my target for 2004. New year, new personal targets and it has started well with a call from the MSA yesterday wanting to use my work for the Autosport show.

Get yourself along to OP any time this year and the lunch is on me.