Author Topic: Requests to use images for free (Read 15159 times)

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #25 on:** May 12, 2014, 13:42 »

Quote from: bunhill on May 12, 2014, 13:36

Surely you would not rule out ever doing a thing for free ? Suppose you realised that it would be a really good way of getting a foot in the door somewhere you wanted to.

What is "getting in the door"?

Is that "We'll give you 4 paid gigs if you throw in the first at no-cost as a try out" or "Hey, some random dude shot our main article at no cost - sweet! We'll call him again when we want something for free"?

Dook · « **Reply #26 on:** May 12, 2014, 13:58 »

Quote from: Elenathewise on May 12, 2014, 11:42

I often get emails from people asking if they can use one or few of my images for free on their web sites, blogs, their future company logos, and so on. Usually what's offered in return is "credit" - they promise to put my name next to the photo, or put a link to my website.
It really puzzles me. You can buy a small size image for a price of a coffee these days. No one walks into a coffee shop and asks for a cup of coffee for free and in return just offers to tell their friends that they got a coffee from that shop. It doesn't even occur to people. Why do they think they can use the product of my work for free? I don't understand. I don't care about credit - if I wanted to be famous, I wouldn't be shooting stock, plus I doubt very much that my name on their webpage would make any difference whatsoever. If I was begging on the street, they'd drop a few coins into my cup - but they wouldn't pay the same few coins for the image they like!
How did this attitude even come into existence??

I have the same problem, like all of us. But maybe you get even more of these emails because there is a Free Images section on your web site. I don't know why, but that was the first thing I noticed when I clicked on you web site. I was looking for Images section, but there isn't one, only Prints and Free images. If somebody wants to buy an image it's hard to figure out how.

EDIT. Sorry, there are galleries on the right side, didn't see it at first. But, there is word Free again.

Red Dove · « **Reply #27 on:** May 12, 2014, 14:00 »

Quote from: bunhill on May 12, 2014, 13:36

Quote from: Red Dove on May 12, 2014, 13:13
Quote from: bunhill on May 12, 2014, 13:01
Quote from: Ron on May 12, 2014, 12:59
These are seasoned pros being asked to work for free.

Well then they will know that sometimes working for free is normal in the world of photography.

Can you let me have your details please? Next time somebody asks me to work for free I can politely decline and point them in your direction.

Surely you would not rule out ever doing a thing for free ? Suppose you realised that it would be a really good way of getting a foot in the door somewhere you wanted to.

I won't take my clothes off or have sex with anyone to get a foot in the door either.

EmberMike · « **Reply #28 on:** May 12, 2014, 14:16 »

Quote from: bunhill on May 12, 2014, 13:36

Surely you would not rule out ever doing a thing for free ? Suppose you realised that it would be a really good way of getting a foot in the door somewhere you wanted to.

It depends on how you want to walk through that door, if it even opens after you got that foot in.

I'd rather walk through as the guy who gets paid for what I do, and not as the guy who did a freebie and is now expected to work for nothing or for far less than what I'm worth.

cthoman · « **Reply #29 on:** May 12, 2014, 14:18 »

I could see myself doing more free work or discounted work if I got paid a lot and wanted to work with new or less financially affluent clients. But, I'm typically not getting paid a ton for jobs, so it's hard not to charge most of the time.

I did do a quick alteration to a stock illustration because a mom wanted a robot dinosaur ballerina for her daughter's birthday. Even if it never sells again, I couldn't resist making that.

EmberMike · « **Reply #30 on:** May 12, 2014, 14:29 »

I should clarify... I won't do free work for anyone other than organizations I choose to volunteer my time with. And not for some speculative possibility of future paid work or anything. I do volunteer work (graphic design, marketing support, book layouts) for a non-profit youth scout organization.

But I view that as in a different category of "free".

bunhill · « **Reply #31 on:** May 12, 2014, 14:31 »

Quote from: EmberMike on May 12, 2014, 14:16

I'd rather walk through as the guy who gets paid for what I do, and not as the guy who did a freebie and is now expected to work for nothing or for far less than what I'm worth.

People often take a much more lowly and less well paid position somewhere they want to get in. That's normal. Eg the whole hierarchy of people in kitchens - also artisans etc.

mlwinphoto · « **Reply #32 on:** May 12, 2014, 14:56 »

Isn't Getty advocating the concept of 'free'? It'll be interesting if we start getting more requests, at least from bloggers, for freebies. And, yes, I'm aware of the embed concept but don't really give a d*mn about Getty's reasoning behind this.

I'm in the process of setting up my Symbiostock site. When it came time to decide what to charge for the blog size I actually had to struggle with what should have been a rather easy decision.

I have been asked for freebies in exchange for credit line and have always turned down the requests.....credit lines don't do squat for you, in my experience anyway. They can give credit line in addition to payment.

EmberMike · « **Reply #33 on:** May 12, 2014, 15:05 »

Quote from: bunhill on May 12, 2014, 14:31

People often take a much more lowly and less well paid position somewhere they want to get in. That's normal. Eg the whole hierarchy of people in kitchens - also artisans etc.

Sure that's normal. For people new to a business/career. Should an established, experienced professional have to start over every time they get a new job?

bunhill · « **Reply #34 on:** May 12, 2014, 15:16 »

Quote from: EmberMike on May 12, 2014, 15:05

Should an established, experienced professional have to start over every time they get a new job?

Every time ? No. But should people always be open to potential opportunities without always being bothered about money ? Yes. Of course. Because that is what being positive and open minded and optimistic is all about.

These are not all or nothing scenarios.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #35 on:** May 12, 2014, 15:19 »

Quote from: bunhill on May 12, 2014, 15:16

Quote from: EmberMike on May 12, 2014, 15:05
Should an established, experienced professional have to start over every time they get a new job?

Every time ? No. But should people always be open to potential opportunities without always being bothered about money ? Yes. Of course. Because that is what being positive and open minded and optimistic is all about.

These are not all or nothing scenarios.

I'm positive and optimistic when I'm paid for my work. The more I'm paid the more optimistic I feel.

Professionals get paid by professionals.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #36 on:** May 12, 2014, 15:24 »

Ah, that always makes me laugh.

Mantis · « **Reply #37 on:** May 12, 2014, 16:53 »

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on May 12, 2014, 12:25

I've gotten a couple, but I normally just point them to where they can license it, end of story.

I did give an image to a sorority one time who was doing a charity Christmas cd and they sent me a copy of the cd.

Is that all you were asking for?

Mantis · « **Reply #38 on:** May 12, 2014, 16:58 »

Each year I do charity work for the Epilepsy foundation here in Orange County. I shoot, process and resize for them....into full rez and another folder for web use. The offer to pay me, but it's one way I feel honored to give back. I am currently fighting with a dive mag over a two page spread with one of my images, but no credits given to any agency and they certainly didn't get it from me. It comes across as if it's the author's work and isn't. They somehow got the pic I suspect legit, but ignoring my emails is very suspect. Respect for copyright is getting so loose that it will, if not already, become uncontrollable.

YadaYadaYada · « **Reply #39 on:** May 12, 2014, 17:55 »

Quote from: Ron on May 12, 2014, 13:39

.

Right to the point.

If I could get a free cup of coffee for a free use of my photo I'd call that a good trade.

dingles · « **Reply #40 on:** May 12, 2014, 18:18 »

I've done non-paid work for non profits. I tell myself it is for a good cause, but I often find it that 'free' clients tend to be the pickiest...which seems backwards. There has been several occasions when I finished said work not feeling particularly appreciated. Now giving an image away that is out there for sale, typically I'd say no, unless I felt there could be real exposure... Almost always never feel the latter.

With that said, I am still open to doing non-paid work if I feel the cause is good and if it's something I find interesting or can grow from

Shelma1 · « **Reply #41 on:** May 12, 2014, 19:18 »

I'll tell you my "almost free" story. I was asked to do a brochure for a church, and they had a very tiny budget for design (nonprofit, right?). So I agreed to do the job for next to nothing. Well, the job expanded to 3 times the original size, but the tiny budget stayed the same. Then they invited me to a meeting at the church. It was in one of the most exclusive (rich) communities in NJ, surrounded by huge estates with thoroughbred horses, pet llamas, etc. And they proudly showed off the just-installed MARBLE floors and a three million dollar pipe organ. Not only that, but they decided the brochure should be more luxurious, so they were paying the printer twice as much for heavyweight paper. AND flying in an organist from Italy to play the new pipe organ for the first time in a special concert. In other words, they were paying everyone super-full-price for their super-expensive work...except me.

Elenathewise · « **Reply #42 on:** May 12, 2014, 20:51 »

Quote from: Dook on May 12, 2014, 13:58

I have the same problem, like all of us. But maybe you get even more of these emails because there is a Free Images section on your web site. I don't know why, but that was the first thing I noticed when I clicked on you web site. I was looking for Images section, but there isn't one, only Prints and Free images. If somebody wants to buy an image it's hard to figure out how.

EDIT. Sorry, there are galleries on the right side, didn't see it at first. But, there is word Free again.

Ya I should get rid of that. I while ago I tried putting up a page of small res images for free download to see if this can attract traffic (it doesn't really). Don't think it's the cause though - I was getting requests for free image use before that too. I see some people here advocate working for free as a way to get a job or assignment. My question is - who pays your bills while you do free work? My daughter volunteered for community hours and ended up getting a summer job - cool, but I was paying all her expenses while she was volunteering.
I like Shelma1's story. It's what p*sses me off most. People spend a lot of money on everything from food to luxury items, and somehow there is this idea that a photographer will work for free or next to nothing. Try asking your plumber to fix your toilet for free - tell him if he does a good job you will consider paying him next time... I am glad most of the people say no to this kind of thing. Stock images costing a few dollars not a few hundreds these days - why not just pay a very small fee and license image properly? I suspect Getty's image giveaway for bloggers is making things worse - instead of educating people that a stock image is a product and you have to pay for it.

w7lwi · « **Reply #43 on:** May 12, 2014, 21:00 »

Sometimes it does pay off to do free work.

I was doing some free shooting for AARP here in Nevada when they asked me to cover a visit by Pres. Obama where some AARP personnel would be in the audience wearing their organization's shirts. Got an event press pass through them and was one of those guys you see sitting on the ground down in front of the stage/podium. After the formal event he held a short press conference in a private area and I was able to shoot that as well. I gave AARP the images they wanted and they said I could have the rest to do with as I liked. Several hundreds of dollars and downloads later, I think that free gig has more than paid for itself. And the images are still selling once or twice a week.

Now if I could just figure out how to get more well paying free gigs like this, I'd be set for life.

cidepix · « **Reply #44 on:** May 12, 2014, 21:08 »

the same thing happened to me a few times..

on one occasion, I responded very rudely and probably that was the only time being rude made me extremely happy..

now that I remembered it, made me happy again after all these years..

being rude is great when the right person comes along

(it was a face to face conversation.. I don't think being rude on the internet is a good idea.. it's unnecessary)

klsbear · « **Reply #45 on:** May 12, 2014, 21:28 »

Quote from: w7lwi on May 12, 2014, 21:00

Sometimes it does pay off to do free work.

I was doing some free shooting for AARP here in Nevada when they asked me to cover a visit by Pres. Obama where some AARP personnel would be in the audience wearing their organization's shirts. Got an event press pass through them and was one of those guys you see sitting on the ground down in front of the stage/podium. After the formal event he held a short press conference in a private area and I was able to shoot that as well. I gave AARP the images they wanted and they said I could have the rest to do with as I liked. Several hundreds of dollars and downloads later, I think that free gig has more than paid for itself. And the images are still selling once or twice a week.

Now if I could just figure out how to get more well paying free gigs like this, I'd be set for life.

The difference here is that they offered you something of value in return - access to the event that you otherwise would not have and unrestricted use of the remaining images. Additionally, it was something and someone with high commercial value. They were not asking you to shoot a local chapter leader for free. You bartered your time and some images for access access to the event.

shotupdave · « **Reply #46 on:** May 12, 2014, 22:22 »

Years ago, when I was a young pup. I made a mistake by agreeing to do a wedding for free for a old friend. What did it get me, more requests to do the same. I did not get a single paid job for doing that. What it did get me was a whole bag of sorrow because I turned down the other requests. People could nt understand that the wedding season is a short period and I had to put money in the bank during the spring and summer to pay for my bills I had during the winter

ComfortEagle2095 · « **Reply #47 on:** May 12, 2014, 22:29 »

I suppose each of us knows best the value of our work.

elvinstar · « **Reply #48 on:** May 12, 2014, 23:16 »

Quote from: bunhill on May 12, 2014, 12:40

you should never be offended if someone asks - because it is a perfectly normal request.

I agree 100%. People ask physicians and mechanics for opinions at parties, why should photographers or illustrators be any different? Just because you don't say yes doesn't mean that you have to be offended. Think of it as a compliment, turn them down politely, and go on about your business.

nicku · « **Reply #49 on:** May 13, 2014, 02:18 »

I work for ''free'' only in the fallowing situations:

1. Closest family events.
2. Personal photo shoots (but only if they sign a MR)

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Author Topic: Requests to use images for free (Read 15159 times)

Sean Locke Photography

Dook

Red Dove

EmberMike

cthoman

EmberMike

bunhill

mlwinphoto

EmberMike

bunhill

Shelma1

Sean Locke Photography

Mantis

Mantis

YadaYadaYada

dingles

Shelma1

Elenathewise

w7lwi

cidepix

klsbear

shotupdave

ComfortEagle2095

elvinstar

nicku

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