Hi fellow DPPers...

I received a flickrmail today from someone who said she represented VH1...

here are the contents of her email:
Hi,
I work for VH1 and we are doing a segment on When in Rome. I saw you had pictures of them. I would like to speak to you about licensing some of the photos. Please contact me at this e-mail - [snipped email]@mtvnmix.com, 212-xxx-xxxx. You would get credit as a photographer.

Please contact me. Thank you.
xxxxx

can someone please tell me if this is legit? how sould i go about this? if this is legit, should i charge them even if they will credit me as a photographer?

ps. i looked up her name and she has an IMDB profile and that she works as a production staff for some broadway plays...

thanks for your responses!

anyway, i did my homework and did a whois lookup of her email's domain. it's owned by viacom intl.

Registrant:
Domain Registrant
Viacom International Inc.
1515 Broadway
New York NY 10036
US
http://www.whois-search.com/text2image.php?id=UjBQPwwyUicIbVE2AC9WYgEwXGBSO1Y4 UhMAZFYmUCpdNVR6UWFbMwFs +1.2122586000 Fax: -

Domain Name: mtvnmix.com

Registrar Name: Markmonitor.com
Registrar Whois: whois.markmonitor.com
Registrar Homepage: http://www.markmonitor.com

Administrative Contact:
Domain Administrator
Viacom International Inc.
1515 Broadway
New York NY 10036
US
http://www.whois-search.com/text2image.php?id=UjADbAM9UicGYwRjBikCNlVkXWFXPgBu BEVXMwZ2BnwDawYoAzMGbgFs +1.2122588000 Fax: -
Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Domain Technical Admin
Viacom International Inc.
1515 Broadway
New York NY 10036
US
http://www.whois-search.com/text2image.php?id=BGYEawM9VSAFYARjVHsDIlFhBTdSOgpK AGxTLgd1VzUELAJhBjoAag== +1.2122586000 Fax: -

Created on..............: 2004-04-29.
Expires on..............: 2010-04-29.
Record last updated on..: 2008-04-04.

and googled her name and found out that she is a member of NALIP or natl association of latino independent producers.


so should i just reply to her email?

Hi Annie,

You may give it a shot. Besides, it's all for you to gain if this turns out good. Worse, your picture will be misused. It's just me, this would be an opportunity.

Either way, as for some sort of compensation apart from just credits. Cash would be best.

Hi Annie,

You may give it a shot. Besides, it's all for you to gain if this turns out good. Worse, your picture will be misused. It's just me, this would be an opportunity.

Either way, as for some sort of compensation apart from just credits. Cash would be best.

Wow thanks for your quick response guys! alright, i will give it a shot, anyway, my flickr photo has my watermark right in the middle and i have restricted download access in flickr. i will send her an email right after posting this. hope this turns out well :)

thanks again :Grin:

You can cite your interest but ask for specifics in return like compensation, copyright information, reproduction details etc.

You can cite your interest but ask for specifics in return like compensation, copyright information, reproduction details etc.

hi David,

I did ask a few questions about it...
here was my reply:
Hi Magdalena,

This is Annie May Valdez of http://www.flickr.com/photos/anniemayvaldez/. I just received your flickr message about using my pictures of When in Rome. I would like to know the details of your request.

Which photos would you like to use?
Which websites will display those photos?
Should I put my watermarks on the pictures?
Will I receive fees for the commercial use of my photos?Thank you very much,
Annie May Valdezthen she replied back:

Hi Annie,
Thank you for responding. I am looking for the pictures of the band When in Rome. I would like the group pictures and the individual ones. I will be showing them to the producer of that segment and she will choose which photos she would like in the segment.
This is a show for VH1 so the pictures will be used in the show.
Please do not put watermarks, you will receive credit on the show.
We are currently only giving credit for the pictures. I do not negotiate any fees that will be handle by the licensing person, Amy Chin.
Please let me know if you have anymore questions.

I think you should contact Amy Chin then :)

Instead of asking "Will I receive fees...," assume that they pay and ask directly how much payment is being offered for this kind of use. I agree with David that you should now deal with Amy Chin regarding fees for licensing use of your photos.:)

I think you should contact Amy Chin then :)

Instead of asking "Will I receive fees...," assume that they pay and ask directly how much payment is being offered for this kind of use. I agree with David that you should now deal with Amy Chin regarding fees for licensing use of your photos.:)

thanks for your responses again! :)

I already replied again and asked for Amy Chin's contact email. I assume it's Amy.Chin@mtvnmix.com but i don't want to appear like a stalker suddenly emailing her :)

I will update this thread as soon as i get another response from them, so that other noobs like me will also be educated in case this happens to them :)

You have to clarify what that "credit" meant.

- are they going to purchase the images?
- are they just gonna mention your name during the program?

Once you released your images to that individual, those pictures are owned(licensed) by them.

thanks for your responses again! :)

I already replied again and asked for Amy Chin's contact email. I assume it's Amy.Chin@mtvnmix.com but i don't want to appear like a stalker suddenly emailing her :)

I will update this thread as soon as i get another response from them, so that other noobs like me will also be educated in case this happens to them :)

You won't appear like a stalker. Just write Amy that her name was mentioned by the person from her company who contacted you. Or you can ask your original contact to introduce you to Amy.

You have to clarify what that "credit" meant.

- are they going to purchase the images?
- are they just gonna mention your name during the program?

Once you released your images to that individual, those pictures are owned(licensed) by them.

Licensing and selling ownership are two different things. You can specify that the license that you are extending is for one-time use only - and indicate the particular usage requested. Of course, you have to clarify first how much they are paying you for this use.

Make it clear that copyright belongs to you, as the creator of those images.

Include in the terms and conditions that the client can exercise the license only after payment has been received by you.:)

You won't appear like a stalker. Just write Amy that her name was mentioned by the person from her company who contacted you. Or you can ask your original contact to introduce you to Amy.

Thanks Harvey.

Apparently, after i emailed back asking for the contact information of Amy Chin, they didn't reply anymore. So I don't think that they're really willing to pay... :(


Thanks all for the advice :Grin:

update:

Amy Chin emailed me!
here are the contents of her email:
Annie - my name is Amy Chin and I am the licensing contact for this show. I can help you with any licensing questions you may have. What type of compensation are you looking for?

now i'm wondering, how much should i charge for this? i'm planning to submit 4 pictures... 3 closeup pictures of the band members and one group picture...

thanks all!

Hi! Hope you don't mind my butting in...

Looks to me like she's already started negotiations. Note that she carefully avoided the notion of upfront payment and instead carefully worded it as "what type of compensation...". I'm a photo-editor myself and am very familiar with how it goes from the buyer's side. I'd say keep it simple and direct.

Something like...

"This is the PAYMENT that I charge for the following enlargement sizes:

1/4th page or smaller :
1/2 page or smaller :
full page :
double page:
Cover:

My terms are one month's usage and I keep copyright of my images. Any additional usage after this will be subject to the same fees."

Regarding pricing - I suggest you look around for similar images. If there are none out there on the net, you could be in for a fiesta. Rule of thumb is, the more similar images out there, the cheaper the image is. The fact that they are trawling the net for images, though, suggest one of 2 things:

1) They cannot find images from their stable of photographers and have to go looking on the net. In which case they'll be desperate for pics and it will be harvest time for you :P

2) They don't have enough money to pay their regular photographers, so they have to resort to getting amateurs to sell their pics for free or for cheap. In which case it'll be your call on whether the exposure is worth the low pay.

Also, don't ever think of it as "submitting" images "for consideration". You're not asking them to publish your stuff. They contacted you, remember? You should be in a better position to negotiate, so don't give that up by asking: "will I get credit?" "how much will you pay?" "do I keep copyright of my images". Instead, TELL them that you want credit, you keep copyright and these are your rates. If I were buying from you I'd treat you with more respect because you know your stuff, and I'd tell you upfront if budget is low because you sound professional enough.

Hope this helps!

Lester

charge them in dollars annie, those establishment have budget for their shows

Wow, great insights! :)

Hi! Hope you don't mind my butting in...

Looks to me like she's already started negotiations. Note that she carefully avoided the notion of upfront payment and instead carefully worded it as "what type of compensation...". I'm a photo-editor myself and am very familiar with how it goes from the buyer's side. I'd say keep it simple and direct.

Something like...

"This is the PAYMENT that I charge for the following enlargement sizes:

1/4th page or smaller :
1/2 page or smaller :
full page :
double page:
Cover:

My terms are one month's usage and I keep copyright of my images. Any additional usage after this will be subject to the same fees."

Regarding pricing - I suggest you look around for similar images. If there are none out there on the net, you could be in for a fiesta. Rule of thumb is, the more similar images out there, the cheaper the image is. The fact that they are trawling the net for images, though, suggest one of 2 things:

1) They cannot find images from their stable of photographers and have to go looking on the net. In which case they'll be desperate for pics and it will be harvest time for you :P

2) They don't have enough money to pay their regular photographers, so they have to resort to getting amateurs to sell their pics for free or for cheap. In which case it'll be your call on whether the exposure is worth the low pay.

Also, don't ever think of it as "submitting" images "for consideration". You're not asking them to publish your stuff. They contacted you, remember? You should be in a better position to negotiate, so don't give that up by asking: "will I get credit?" "how much will you pay?" "do I keep copyright of my images". Instead, TELL them that you want credit, you keep copyright and these are your rates. If I were buying from you I'd treat you with more respect because you know your stuff, and I'd tell you upfront if budget is low because you sound professional enough.

Hope this helps!

Lester

thank you sooo much for the very useful advice Lester!!! (what a nosebleed moment for a noob like me) :Grin:

i actually tried searching for similar photos but couldn't really find ones that are of similar quality as mine...

do you think $200.00 is enough for a package of let's say... 6 photos? They'll use exclusively for their show and probably the commercials/trailers...

200$ is enough for 6 photos for the show to use only.... prints are different thing you must also specify that you keep the royalty rights of the photos

200$ is enough for 6 photos for the show to use only.... prints are different thing you must also specify that you keep the royalty rights of the photos


thanks a lot Oliver! i already emailed her. I hope she replies soon :)

Hi! Hope you don't mind my butting in...

Looks to me like she's already started negotiations. Note that she carefully avoided the notion of upfront payment and instead carefully worded it as "what type of compensation...". I'm a photo-editor myself and am very familiar with how it goes from the buyer's side. I'd say keep it simple and direct.

Something like...

"This is the PAYMENT that I charge for the following enlargement sizes:

1/4th page or smaller :
1/2 page or smaller :
full page :
double page:
Cover:

My terms are one month's usage and I keep copyright of my images. Any additional usage after this will be subject to the same fees."

Regarding pricing - I suggest you look around for similar images. If there are none out there on the net, you could be in for a fiesta. Rule of thumb is, the more similar images out there, the cheaper the image is. The fact that they are trawling the net for images, though, suggest one of 2 things:

1) They cannot find images from their stable of photographers and have to go looking on the net. In which case they'll be desperate for pics and it will be harvest time for you :P

2) They don't have enough money to pay their regular photographers, so they have to resort to getting amateurs to sell their pics for free or for cheap. In which case it'll be your call on whether the exposure is worth the low pay.

Also, don't ever think of it as "submitting" images "for consideration". You're not asking them to publish your stuff. They contacted you, remember? You should be in a better position to negotiate, so don't give that up by asking: "will I get credit?" "how much will you pay?" "do I keep copyright of my images". Instead, TELL them that you want credit, you keep copyright and these are your rates. If I were buying from you I'd treat you with more respect because you know your stuff, and I'd tell you upfront if budget is low because you sound professional enough.

Hope this helps!

Lester

Great advice, Lester! John and I are very proud of you - not only for the photography and writing that you are doing, and for the adventures that you are having, but also for sharing these tips with your fellow photographers. :)

I agree, great advice Lez, and eagerly awaiting the conclusion to this one, as it might prove useful in the future...

hey everyone, i waited a while before updating this thread because i was still expecting a response from them after i gave them my rates. apparently, they're not willing to pay a dime and didn't email back... oh well... i guess the business of photography is not really for me hahaha :D

thanks for all your advice! :)

Hi!! I think it's pretty late to act now regarding your dilemma, but just for the sake of discussion here's my insight. if your really planning to pursue a business in photography I suggest not to charge them just send the photos and if they planned to use it then great you'll get a recognition from them, even without payment, hoping that they'll get you next time and offer to pay, from there hopefully more projects with pay will come. This is what happened to me, a store wanted to mass produce my pictures with frames included. bec of the budget they gave me I know I can't charge them a big amount for the pictures, so what I did was just to charge them with the frame and printing. technically i did not earn from copyright or licensing or recognition but I did earn from my pictures even though the bulk of the payment was for the frames. from there other projects where offered.

In the early 70's, John and I submitted photos to the Asia Magazine. Like Life Magazine, they used to feature in each issue a photo on the inside back cover, of course with the photographer's name. The magazine called us and asked if they could put together John's photos for an article on John -a spread. They told us the article will be entitled "The Magic Eye of John Chua."

We did not know about payments and did not expect or ask the magazine to pay us - we were just thrilled to have that write up on him but we knew that the magazine was a prestigious one - at that time, it was the only Sunday magazine distributed all over Asia.

What I am trying to say is that there are occasions when we would do that, even now- offer our photos for free or a small fee - if the publication will help promote our career or business as photographers. But today, there are many magazines and/or websites - thousands of them in fact - that just want to use photos without paying photographers even when their use of our photos do not help advance our reputation as photographers. They only need the photos to illustrate a particular article, and will not focus on the photographer. Sometimes, all they offer is a tiny, tiny hardly legible photo credit. This is when I believe photographers should be paid.

It's up to the individual photographer to assess whether or not a publication or website will help promote one's self, or whether or not the publication or website is simply taking advantage of us.

Annie,

I am glad you did not give any photos to them. These companies made millions in revenue alone in tv ads, yet they cannot pay you $200?

Don't feel bad you did not get the deal or get published. Nobody should give their works for free.

Remember, they what to license your photos and you could screwed yourself by entering that deal.

Sorry to sound so blunt.