Photo Waiver Help

Digital Killer - Be cautious. They want "High Res" images for the web? Seems iffy. Send them the link (watermark the images), let them pick the two and then send them Web Size images on a CD. They only need something about 600 pixels on the long side to display nicely for web use. Be sure to type up some sort of delivery memo and send it with the CD stating the limitations for their use, in your case, for the web only. If you send the images via email, type up something in the body of the email that says something to the effect of: by reading the email and downloading the images, they understand that they are limited to using the images on their website ONLY and permission should obtained for any other use. Getting a "photo credit in exchange" is not the best deal for you either, it should be a given, they should want to do that for you. What you really want is to get is a link back to your website in the least. Let them know that is what you PREFER but will take the credit in the least. They should easily be able to make your photo credit (your name on their website) a clickable link back to yours.

Good luck.

So they want rights to demand high resolution images and free images for the web?

Well, unless they are paying you, that is the wrong thing to do - even if you personally are OK with it.

could you post the whole waiver they sent you?

so they can not guarantee you a ticket but they can guarantee to take the rights of two photos lol. I wouldn't agree to this unless it said

"* I give permission to Vagrant to use two, high-resolution photos of their
choice, in exchange for photo credit and compensation."

I bet they don't let people use their music for free. Tell them you don't let people use your photos for free. Tell them what the price of a ticket is for their show, and that the value of your photographs are more than the price of a ticket. Say that access to the show isn't a fair trade.

If you hand over two high resolution images and they use them for merchandise and CD artwork and website photos and advertising banners and yada yada yada, you have given them literally thousands of dollars worth of licensing for the price of a ticket. Is that a fair trade?

They should get nothing from you for shooting the show - not even low res web images. You are creating intellectual property completely on your own dime. They should pay you for the right to use your images.

We are in the intellectual property licensing business. If you want to be respected and treated professionally, you have to act professionally and stand up for your rights. I have lost plenty of opportunities to shoot some bands, but I have never shot any band for free. I had an opportunity to shoot a band tonight at the Hard Rock Cafe in Baltimore. The band simply could not afford my fee so I turned down the job.

The thing is, even if they are not taking the rights to the photos, you pretty much gave them a unlimited license to use whatever 2 photos they want for whatever and however. whether it be posters/tshirts/cds/etc. Thats a lot of value and they have the High Res so they can blow it up to use it for a billboard ad if they wanted.

Now I think it may be fair for them to get 2 low res watermarked photos for use on their website only.

...and smell the Coffee.

Digital Killer - You asked for advice and we are giving it to you. DON'T let them have the rights to ANY images. You do that and you are screwing all of us over. Who cares if they got you into the show, it wouldn't cost them anything. You are falling for the old trick that they are doing you a favor by letting you into the show. They should be thankful that they have someone who is interested in their band enough to show up with gear and shoot. Have you ever seen the pictures bands use that were taken by the road manager or a friends friend who took a photo class once? They suck. Tell them they can have two web size images at the most, if they don't like it, DON'T do it. Why do you want to bend over for someone you don't know and who obviously doesn't give squirt about your well being?

I've been shooting shows for over ten years now and I've had to bust my ass to sell the images from the archive I've built. The return ISN'T much my friend. All of the other images you are going to get from shooting the show and the money they generate for you (if you bust your ass), WON'T even come CLOSE to the value of the (2) images the band (that is already well connected to the music industry) will have in their greedy little mitts.

I bid a job once to Dana B. Goods/Warwick Bass for the use of an image I made of P-Nut from 311. After not hearing back for a while I made contact with them again, only to find that they went with an image that was given to them by the band. Probably an image they got from someone who did what you are thinking of doing.

Once again, DON'T do it.

Quote:
I'm sorry but I can't give the rights to two photos away without compensation"? Is that professionally correct?

Yes! That is a very professional and courteous, yet confident response.

Quote:
What's funny is that I'm shooting another Vagrant band next month and I went through a different avenue (asked the band themselves) and didn't have to deal with any of this crap.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. You might be handed something at the venue when you arrive to pick up your credentials.

I was told that an "agreement" would be waiting for me to sign before I would be given my credential. Lucky me, it must have slipped their mind and there was no "agreement" given to me, so I shot the show as usual. I had asked to be presented with a copy a few days before the show but never got it. I would not sign a "Rights Grabber".

Daniel Knighton
Pixel Perfect Images
(760)730-3224/(858)335-4540 cell
Carlsbad, CA
www.PixelPerfectImages.net
www.MySpace.com/PixelPerfectImages

Hi there,

The most important things have already been said, but here's one point: They apparently are making you sign the waiver since they're fishing for free photos from freelancers. Or do you have a print magazine to back you up? If not, their mindset is probably that they want to exploit "hobbyists" (which basically almost anybody who wants to go shoot a band without a magazine or something like that backing them up). So, I'd wager that if you had a magazine to back you up, you would not have to sign the aforementioned contract.

The waiver as you described it is exceptional because it does not restrict photo usage. The main point to every contract I have seen when working for a newspaper or a magazine has been restricting the photo usage (typically you fill the name of the publication and get to use photos only there). So, they're trying to make you sign a non-professional waiver because you have approached them as a non-professional (correct me if I'm wrong, this is just a guess since I don't know much about your situation, if you have a magazine paying for the pics etc).

I see I'm a bit late with this, but I thought it might be an interesting point.

http://www.bjorklid.net/
http://www.huumakuva.net/

Any update on this yet?

Def Leppard's waiver would have restricted my use to just the publication I was shooting for. On the line that I was supposed to list the publication, I listed it and wrote "editorial use". I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but I didn't have a problem shooting and the publicist never said a word about it after the show.