The value of a high interest photo and how to sell/protect it

So I guess my question needs a little intro...

We all carry our cameras pretty regularly it's same to assume. So what happens if you happen to capture something that a magazine or news paper would be interested in. I have a moderate grasp of model contract and how people are protected from discrimination and public humility but let's use a couple examples

I went to highschool with a famous celeb not gonna use her name but she's very high interest esepeciallu for he actions lately. I have pics of her drinking when she was a freshman in highschool
(now this isn't a photo I would ever concider selling/releasing and I think said celeb is protected agains humility and this seems like a tabloid worthy photo at the very most)

Scenario 2; God forbid there was a mass casualty like a subway crash, a big fire or some similar event that gauges mass amounts of press. How would you go about selling this to the newspaper? I'm sure they have very fixxed free lance rates but is there high $$ for more desireable captures?

What some good rules to follow? I'm moving back into a very busy city and can expect to keep my camera on me all the time. I usually see something once a week that I feel is newpapee worthy.

Thanks in advance

Sell a license to a big agency like the Associated Press, Getty or Reuters to redistribute it. Or go straight to a newspaper and offer them an exclusive. Make sure to watermark the images (I mean straight across) until you actually have in writing that you will be paid this or that amount of money.

The watermark is a no brainer
But even If they paid some graphic artist to remove the water mark or even of it's not water marked it's still my Copyright and I would be in an even better position to get more money if they ran it without my permission as I've been following the McDs thread

If your story is that you hope to someday get a picture that is of such interest to everyone and post it on the internet also in hopes that someone uses it without permission so you can sue them and get rich . . . .


. . . alllllll righty then, good luck with that and remember that there will always be a nice warm corner in hell for you.

Don't sweat it...

You'll likely get pimped by someone with an iPhone who'll upload it directly to the iWitness hotline for free...

AZAlphaDog wrote in post #10752996
If your story is that you hope to someday get a picture that is of such interest to everyone and post it on the internet also in hopes that someone uses it without permission so you can sue them and get rich . . . .


. . . alllllll righty then, good luck with that and remember that there will always be a nice warm corner in hell for you.

Haha I don't believe in sueing people for absurd ammounts, bleeding the system dry is why insurance rates are so high.

My friend got 180k settlement because someone opened their car door while he was riding his bike and he cracked his 2 front teeth. I woulda been happy with a beer and new teeth.

So no, that's not my hopes

I'm simply saying how can I get paid for my work. A picture is only worth what's someones willing to pay for it, so someone may be interested in publishing a picture of Michael phelp in Baltimore doing something he shouldn't (VERY HYPOTHETICAl disclaimer: I have no photographs of Michael Phelps doing anything illegal no mr imply he takes any part in illegal activity)
He just happens to live down the block.

Ok, example came to mind.
Let's sa your driving your car and see tiger woods hypothetically getting the windows of his car smashed by a pretty lady after he hypothetically crashed the car.

How do you go about getting paid?

In that case, contact Tiger's Lawyers. It's worth a whole lot more to him/them than the press...

Hahaha very good point

Ok fine...

Let's say you capture a heart warming moment between a fireman and a child he just rescued from a burning car. Not as high interest but a tear jerker for the papers. Maybe the Boson globe wants to run a story.


Water mark it...quick caption/story and present it to them? Where does the financial exchange come it

So, let me see if I understand this correctly; all you really know is that A) you want take photos and then B) you want someone to give you money for the photos you take?

Is that about it?

AZAlphaDog wrote in post #10753270
So, let me see if I understand this correctly; all you really know is that A) you want take photos and then B) you want someone to give you money for the photos you take?

Is that about it?

Oh man! Finally someone who gets me!!
Listen cowboy I'm pretty sure you just performed brain surgery on my post, so for that I commend you.


In all actuality I'm actually asking how do I go about making a proposal to the newspaper/magazine?

Forget all scenarios for a moment and let's generalize for the slower folk.

Let's say your in the right place, at the right time and are lucky enough to take the only photo of an event or person which become very popular in the press. Actually let's use an example. Let's say you had the one and only single photo of Deepwater Horizon at the time it blew up. How would you go about being compensated for this photo. How would you go about putting a price a price on said photo? What can be expected in return from the news paper as far as trying to take advantage of you? Since I doubt they're going to give you a blank check in return for your photo.

Someone used the photo of Monica lewinsky touching bill clintons shoulder just after the scandal and that the person who took that photo make ridiculously large ammounts of money.

Who paid that person, who did the person present that photo too...ect!

It's called negotiation...

And it's not that some of us are slow, it's more that some of us realize that you can't generalize these things.

- Do you know who the Photo Editors are at your local publications?
- Have you ever researched what "one in a million" photos have actually gone for?
- Do you know any working PJs that you could take to lunch and pick their brains?
- Are you already contributing to Getty?

IOW, you're asking the wider world: "How do I go from "Zero to Hero" with no effort on my part?" and I'm here to tell you there's no free ride.

Luck = Preparation Meets Opportunity. You seem to want to have it work without the Preparation part.

in short, you are asking how those Paparazzi do it...

so yeah, I am curious enough how those photos end up on those reports/news etc. and how do they get paid for it.

Even the Paparazzi have Agents and Agencies who rep them.

(Well, at least the ones who aren't utter scumbags...)

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #10753407
Even the Paparazzi have Agents and Agencies who rep them.

(Well, at least the ones who aren't utter scumbags...)

so how do these scumbags with no agents earn some money? yeah I hate to see them at TMZ shouting yelling harassing those stars.

monk3y wrote in post #10753558
so how do these scumbags with no agents earn some money? yeah I hate to see them at TMZ shouting yelling harassing those stars.

You mean those stars whose agents or PR people contacted the various media agencies to let them know where their clients were going to dinner or shopping?

Or are we discussing the Red Carpet events which would dry up and go away if it weren't for the photo ops?