How do you handle charging for pictures you take 'candid' of others?

If I were to take a photo of someone (candid, not a paid session or studio, like in a public place at a sporting event etc..), how would I handle justifying selling that photo to them or others?

I'm in conflict on how best to sell a photo, when its a picture of them, unsolicited, or even selling that picture to another. Common responses I get are: "Why should I have to buy a photo you took of me, after all its me in that photo?", or "Did I give you permission to make money of a photo you took of me by selling it to others, after all its me your selling?"

Open for discussion and feedback please.

I think we might need more context. Are you just taking photos of people on the street and at events and then asking everyone around you to buy them?

"Hey, I just took this photo of you from across the street. Would you buy it?" - is that what you're doing?

This post seems all sorts of wrong - I keep imagining people saying the things you have in quotes, and it's like I'm in bizarro world...

Thanks, as I wrote that I was hoping that I wouldn't have confused everybody, I can see the confusion.. let me give you an example:

Lets say I'm at a sporting event with one of my kids in it..., and take a bunch of photos of my kid and others. I throw the good ones up on my SmugMug site, the next week I get a couple people that come up to me and say: "Hey i saw a picture of my kid on your website, and I didn't give you permission to sell that" or "Can I get a copy of the picture you took of my kid for free? After all its my kid."

Let me add, I'd certainly honor the respects of parents or others if they wanted me to remove any picture that I took from my website.. .just as if I ask people to take their photo, and they say no, I don't.

If you were canadian you'd need a release to be able to sell the images. the parents own a part of the copyright and can tell you where and what you can do with the images.

Personally I would've made sure I had the ground work covered with the event hosts, first, such as securing a release to take commercial pictures of their participants. I'd be wondering "wtf" too if I found some random guy selling random pictures to anybody on the internet of my kids from one of their games.

I'm not sure of those laws as they don't apply to my business, though, so I'm not going to advise past that.

American. This was just an example, I suppose the same situation could be applied to just anything. For events that offer a release, this would be appropriate.

lundgrenj wrote in post #9361736
Common responses I get are: "Why should I have to buy a photo you took of me, after all its me in that photo?", or "Did I give you permission to make money of a photo you took of me by selling it to others, after all its me your selling?"

One of those would be my reaction. Probably the first one.

As long as you get proper model release, there is no problem. If they don't want to sign a model release, you shouldn't sell the photo or you might face legal action.

There seem to be quite a few legal considerations here, many of which would seem to hinge on the venue and whether or not you had permission, and/or whether or not you need to have permission to take photographs at this location at this time. There also might be State statutes to consider. My advice would be to consult with an attorney in your area who is knowledgeable with photographic issues.

Wayne

How do photo journalists handle this issue? Do they ask everybody they take pictures of to sign a release, or do they obtain a waiver from the respective city, county, or country? Is this only a problem with minors. I'm curious what you all do?

I thought you were allowed to sell pictures without a model release, just not be able to use them commercially (such as in advertising). Is this right?

lundgrenj wrote in post #9361842
Thanks, as I wrote that I was hoping that I wouldn't have confused everybody, I can see the confusion.. let me give you an example:

Lets say I'm at a sporting event with one of my kids in it..., and take a bunch of photos of my kid and others. I throw the good ones up on my SmugMug site, the next week I get a couple people that come up to me and say: "Hey i saw a picture of my kid on your website, and I didn't give you permission to sell that" or "Can I get a copy of the picture you took of my kid for free? After all its my kid."

You need permission of the event host to sell photos of the event.
If you have that you don't need model release or parents permission.

Thank you all for your kind replies and feedback.

I guess that depends on how you approach the event. For sports such as little league, I talk to the coaches and umps, tell them why I am there, show them my ID and have never had any problem standing on the field (first or third base). Funny thing, at a 10 yr old all-star game another photog came out on the field on the opposite side form me and started taking pics. The umps stopped the game and asked him to get off the field. Asking first sure helped me.

I think it helps to have the right gear (big lens!) and your ID hanging around your neck. Even if they can't read what it says, it looks official. And if they ask, I hand out business cards so they can find the pics.

I post my pics on Smugmug also. No one has ever asked to have their kids pics removed.

Hope this helps.
Mike

Karl Johnston wrote in post #9362008
If you were canadian you'd need a release to be able to sell the images. the parents own a part of the copyright and can tell you where and what you can do with the images.

Personally I would've made sure I had the ground work covered with the event hosts, first, such as securing a release to take commercial pictures of their participants. I'd be wondering "wtf" too if I found some random guy selling random pictures to anybody on the internet of my kids from one of their games.

I'm not sure of those laws as they don't apply to my business, though, so I'm not going to advise past that.

Source? Individuals commissioning photographs of themselves or others own copyright, but I have not seen any legal documentation where a parent owns any part of copyright for works they did not order and pay for.