ART "Going rate" for a "space shuttle through the clouds" picture...proper way to handle

[YourMomOnRyeBun]

The thread about the space shuttle picture from the airplane...and the lady that didn't charge anyone to use the photo...
http://forums.offtopic.com/showthread.php?t=4767202

Got me thinking...what would be the "going rate" for something like this? How SHOULD this have been handled.

As photographers that are good/bad/somewhere in the middle...one of us is bound to be in the right place at the right time to capture something that could go viral. Celebrity doing something stupid, news breaking event, etc.. Perhaps some of us have already been so lucky.

How should this be handled? What is a reasonable $$$ to demand for rights for a photo? Obviously that would depend on what the picture was of...I realize that. What is the process you should go through if you were ever contacted by a media outlet looking to use your image.

Would you grant though exclusive rights and then charge them more? Try to bank with multiple outlets?

 

[Wobistdu]

while i have no input on this really, i will say that i seriously can't fucking stand the term "viral"

most annoying buzz word ever

 

[YourMomOnRyeBun]

I will admit it is annoying...but you get the point. A lot quicker than typing "picture that people will send to all their friends and they will send to all their friends". ;-)

 

[Ty Webb]

Good question. In for thoughts.

 

[Wobistdu]

I will admit it is annoying...but you get the point. A lot quicker than typing "picture that people will send to all their friends and they will send to all their friends". ;-)

lol not blaming you or calling you out

i just hear it 100x a day on news channels anymore

 

[Wobistdu]

if a pic is one of a kind, pure blackmail, or truly difficult to reproduce.... then hold out for big bucks baby

 

[Marix]

Honestly, if I was that woman I would have just said "whatever, have it."

It's probably not the only photo out there (the pilot announced to the whole plane, so she won't be the only one taking a pic), and by being greedy you won't even get the satisfaction of seeing your pic everywhere.

If it was a once-in-a-lifetime shot that only *I* was lucky enough to get, I might ask for something for it.. no idea what though.

 

[YourMomOnRyeBun]

lol not blaming you or calling you out

i just hear it 100x a day on news channels anymore

No worries...


I guess I was wondering more about the process that you would go through, rather than the actual dollar amount that you would attach to it.

I was recently at a sporting event (kids soccer) with my camera and took some nice shots. All the "soccer mom's with cameras" were taking pictures also. I hosted mine and shared the link with the parents on the team. Suddenly the soccer mom p&s photos weren't so "good" anymore. Not that my skill is much to brag about, but you know the drill.

Suddenly the league called and asked to have a few for their marketing purposes. I agreed as long as they gave me credit on their website. Win-win I figure. Traffic on my "little" site has gone up (relatively speaking) quite a bit in the last few days. Good!

This is a small scale example of what the potential could be. What if the next game same amazing play happens during the game and I capture it on video and (sorry but I have to go there) it could go viral and TMZ calls and wants the video. Not saying it would happen...but it sure would be nice to be prepared for such a thing. With as many of us shooting, as often as we do, the odds are in our favor that sooner or later we capture something noteworthy.

 

[ASIGN_Baz]

Yup! I would be interested to see where this goes too.

 

[BBB]

Honestly, if I was that woman I would have just said "whatever, have it."

It's probably not the only photo out there (the pilot announced to the whole plane, so she won't be the only one taking a pic), and by being greedy you won't even get the satisfaction of seeing your pic everywhere.

If it was a once-in-a-lifetime shot that only *I* was lucky enough to get, I might ask for something for it.. no idea what though.

this

 

[AmosBanks]

There have been other threads about rights issues and people who know more than me can chip in. Here's my .02:

If your soccer game shot became news (plane going down in flames in the distance), you could sell photos without having to worry about securing releases from the people in the shots. If one of your soccer photos is just so cute that it could be in a magazine then you'd have to secure rights from any subjects in the shot.

As far as that Space Shuttle shot, a similar photo that went viral was when some guy with a 300mm lens took photos of the Underwear Bomber's plane at Detroit Metro. That photo was sold to one of the wire services for something like $2000 plus 50% of fees earned.

It's probably not the only photo out there (the pilot announced to the whole plane, so she won't be the only one taking a pic), and by being greedy you won't even get the satisfaction of seeing your pic everywhere.

The thing about the Shuttle photo was it happened to be seen by the right person on the day of the event. The photographer originally posted it like, "Hey, look at this". If she got greedy then I doubt the media flunky who asked permission would also call the airline to get a list of other passengers. It probably would've just stayed on Facebook.