Publuisher wants to use my photo(s) in a book...

Okay, So I recieved a Flickr mail the other day from a guy that is a project coordinator for a publishing company that is hoping to use a few of my photos for an upcoming book on Seattle.

He identified one shot in particular but discuses that he'd like a few others as well. The problem is he is only offering photo credit and a free copy of the book. Here is the conversation so far.

Him-
"The book is the sixth book in a series on cities in the United States. It is designed as a photo tour guide which travelers can use as they tour through Seattle. History buffs will enjoy the historic facts, figures and removable replicas. Photographers will love the interactive, historic-and-present day photo comparison and be able to add there photos into the book. It has a educational element for parents to enlighten their children while on vacation, and it will have a scrapbook feel for those people wanting a special keepsake of their trip. One of the sites is the Japanese Tea Garden and the photos which you took of it would be great.
The price point on the book is under $15.00 and It will be purchased in all bookstores and retail outlets such as Borders, Barnes and Noble and Books-a-Million, Walmart ect. I am looking for any images your may have taken in the Seattle area, such as the Space Needle, the EMP, ect. I have a written agreement I can email you if you feel better about it but your written permission sent to my email address will be good enough for us. You would only give us a one time permission usage to print and you maintain all the copyrights. If give us permission we will credit you with the photograph as well as sending you a free copy of the book. If you would like to visit our website to view the product here is the link. www.whitmanvaultbooks.​com/Sidekicks/Alabama/​SFToolkit.aspx


Me -
So I'm taking that as there is no budget to pay for photography?

Him -
Not at the present time I am sorry to say.

I have yet to respond, but I am somewhat hesitant to agree, even though it would be kind of cool to see some of my stuff in a book...

Your thoughts?

Anybody?

He set the value - $15. Is that what you think your work is worth?

No pay, no pics. You have to draw the line. I had someone that wanted to use one of my photos for free for a large trade show ad; I held my ground and did get paid a fair price for it. If they want it that bad then they'll figure out a way to pay.

You will not get any benefit from having your name next to your image, except for self-gratification or perhaps as a tear sheet for evidence of your having been previously published when you talk to another editor in the future.

I would recommend you charge for your image. They do pay. Go to your library or book store and thumb through a copy of "The Photographer's Market" to get an idea on how much potential income you will be losing out on for a credit line.

Why don't you first ask him to send their written agreement. Never agree to anything that is "good enough for us"

Find out their print run and put it in FotoQuote and see what the image is worth. Then compare whether the fame from the credit or fortune from what the image should be worth is more important. Draw from your Bing experience.

Simply Ravishing wrote in post #10945064
Okay, So I recieved a Flickr mail the other day from a guy that is a project coordinator for a publishing company that is hoping to use a few of my photos for an upcoming book on Seattle.

He identified one shot in particular but discuses that he'd like a few others as well. The problem is he is only offering photo credit and a free copy of the book. Here is the conversation so far.

Him-
"The book is the sixth book in a series on cities in the United States. It is designed as a photo tour guide which travelers can use as they tour through Seattle. History buffs will enjoy the historic facts, figures and removable replicas. Photographers will love the interactive, historic-and-present day photo comparison and be able to add there photos into the book. It has a educational element for parents to enlighten their children while on vacation, and it will have a scrapbook feel for those people wanting a special keepsake of their trip. One of the sites is the Japanese Tea Garden and the photos which you took of it would be great.
The price point on the book is under $15.00 and It will be purchased in all bookstores and retail outlets such as Borders, Barnes and Noble and Books-a-Million, Walmart ect. I am looking for any images your may have taken in the Seattle area, such as the Space Needle, the EMP, ect. I have a written agreement I can email you if you feel better about it but your written permission sent to my email address will be good enough for us. You would only give us a one time permission usage to print and you maintain all the copyrights. If give us permission we will credit you with the photograph as well as sending you a free copy of the book. If you would like to visit our website to view the product here is the link. www.whitmanvaultbooks.​com/Sidekicks/Alabama/​SFToolkit.aspx


Me -
So I'm taking that as there is no budget to pay for photography?

Him -
Not at the present time I am sorry to say.

I have yet to respond, but I am somewhat hesitant to agree, even though it would be kind of cool to see some of my stuff in a book...

Your thoughts?

the author's/publisher's business model is to use photos "free" or at minimal cost. They will find plenty of people to provide photos. If you want to be one of the contributors, then sign on. If you hold out for money, sorry charlie.

It is not worth your time to get all self-righteous and defend the honor of photographers. Digital revolution means that the world is full of lots of good quality photos, and therefore publisher is smart to shop around for free photos.

The publisher is smart, he knows how to get things for free. Free market system, I love it.

My reply would be

Sir,

I myself am in the process of putting a series of photos together to create my own coffee table book. I would be interested in acquiring your services, I have no budget to cover a coordinator but I can give you credit for your help.

Pictures of landmarks? They are.... pretty much worthless to begin with. It would have to be one hell of a shot to have any value to anyone that could visit the said place and take their own picture. If someone posted a picture they were trying to replicate, POTN members would probably help them reverse engineer the shot. A couple thoughts:

You didn't take the picture for money, or were seeking money for it.
Anyone can go and take the same shot you did, and someone probably already has and is willing to give it away free.

The real question is, do you want a few people to see your work, have been published, and would you like a free book for zero amount of extra work.

The photo he asked about is of the troll underneath the Aurora bridge. Certainly not unique subject matter but I still don't think I should just be giving away licenses for free.

really does depend on the shot.

I would say if you are doing it for a hobby then you could technically give it for free..otherwise ask for some money.

I recently sold 4 photos for $10 each to a magazine publication... these were taken during vacation, I could have gladly given it away to the magazine, but they were nice enough to offer me a few bucks in return.

Simply Ravishing wrote in post #10947175
The photo he asked about is of the troll underneath the Aurora bridge. Certainly not unique subject matter but I still don't think I should just be giving away licenses for free.

I'm sure someone will be giving it away for free. If you don't wanna give it away free, then give them a counter offer, but be expecting them to say no and move along. Good luck!

freaking102 wrote in post #10946229
the author's/publisher's business model is to use photos "free" or at minimal cost. They will find plenty of people to provide photos. If you want to be one of the contributors, then sign on. If you hold out for money, sorry charlie.

It is not worth your time to get all self-righteous and defend the honor of photographers. Digital revolution means that the world is full of lots of good quality photos, and therefore publisher is smart to shop around for free photos.

The publisher is smart, he knows how to get things for free. Free market system, I love it.

It's nice for the publisher's business model to go around getting stuff free of charge, but it's not nice for photographers who want the value that is being attached to the photo to be recognised. It's not about getting "all self-righteous", it's about not giving stuff away just because someone expects you to. It's about recognising the material and labour costs that went into the image. Not the image itself, but to the photographer's craft.

Publishers aren't giving away the book, they shouldn't expect the book's contents to be given to them. Even if it's a peppercorn fee - £50 - it's something that sets out a level of respect for the quality of the work. And it helps photographers to experience a value for their work.

Sure, a lot of photographers are in it for the recreation, for the art. And there are a lot of people who have no understanding of the value of their time. But that doesn't make it right to expect to devalue that art or time to zero.

"You want it? You pay for it." End of.