This isn't really an art fair discussion, but it stems from an author who visited my art fair booth and wants my art in her new book.
A 72 year old woman called me a few weeks ago asking for a cd of my work for her new book (she has already written 29 books and is an established author). She didn't specify what images she wanted, just to "send some work for her book". I told her I could send some low resolution, watermarked images because of my copyrights, but directed her to my website (which is set up for e-commerce, commercial license downloads available right from the site) and asked her to select which photos she wanted. A week went by and i received a letter in the mail from the author with a list of titles requested and to "please send a cd" message. The titles weren't mine- she mixed them up with another artist, so i called her to straighten the titles out and to get a better idea how my photos were going to be used in her book. she again said just to send a disk with some images. the resolution she wanted was "bigger than an email", so that her editor could pick which pictures and resize them to publish. I asked if I was going to be a featured artist in her book and she replied that she would give me credit. I then turned the scenario around and said that if I were writing a coffee table book about my photographs and need an author to write the text, would she do it for me for free? I explained that I make my living as a photographic artist, and that the honor of being in her book wouldn't buy food or film. Her response was that all the other artists have complied with her request for a cd of their work and that she was not going to pay me for my photographs.
So, the discussion I bring forth today is an attempt to answer some questions I have:
First- why are the other artists giving their work away?
Second- did I make a mistake by not giving away my work, as there would be exposure for me and my work?
Third- is this a dangerous tend happening now- artists giving away (and sometimes paying a fee to be included in a book) their work for exposure?
Forth- has this woman been scamming artists out of their work her whole career, or is it enough compensation just to have your work published?
Replies
You're trying to evaluate the value of "exposure". I agree with Larry - "exposure" in exchange for free use of art or images is rarely worth anything. The only times I've let people use images for free has been through known and established small and micropress journals. They do portfolio features and carry some prestige for the CV, plus the readership is interested in the arts and not all other artists. These journals are also reviewed and written up and they maintain social networks where they promote their writers and artists (with some reach). Artists generally get some free copies of a nice color publication that can act as a catalogue.
On the other hand, what is the value to you from some author who publishes ...??? Coffee table books? Art books? Books with pictures in them? Who is potentially getting "exposed" to your work? Other artists? Unless it's a magazine or catalogue, probably not galleries, dealers or collectors.
Who is the publisher? Amazon carries plenty of vanity press titles, so that's not an indicator that the author can help you in any way. If she's writing a book for one of the big art publishing houses (example Taschen), it's worth a look - they sell art. If not, you're providing images for people who want their images in the coffee table book, on the coffee table, and that's the sum of your valuable "exposure"
Thanks for your replies folks.
Annette- #2 is where I'm having my regrets turning down this book deal. i believe the book would've had a large printing...rutger's press. #4- I believe she's taking advantage of emerging artists wanting exposure and she's making a lot of money off of them.
Larry- licensing, exactly! Even though I regret turning down the exposure, I feel good inside that I stood my ground. And I certainly wouldn't have given her a discount. She was quite vague about the use of my work in her book, went to someone else's webpage instead of mine and insisted that I send her the title's (the other artist's) she asked for. She was very pushy.
I once sold a magazine cover through a stock company I used to deal with in Spain and I received 50% of the license fee. It was a standard stock fee, which was a reasonable amount back then. But it was licensed. Of course, I got no credit as the photographer, just the fee.
Thank you Larry for the information about Fotoquote. It's good to know someone else uses it. It is new to me and is the software used to figure out the type and cost of my licenses in the "my cart" section of my webpage. I just switched my webhost to photoshelter.com after two years of trial and error among webhosts and couldn't be happier. (A shameless plug- please mention me if anyone reading this switches to photoshelter. I get a finder's fee...sorry about that).
Anyway, my point is that as much as we as artists hate to admit it, we are also business people. Business' have expenses, one of ours is advertising (promotion). Should we give away some of our work in hopes of some recognition? Think first of the pushy lady author that knows the vulnerabilities of the emerging artist thirsting for fame. Should we be firm with our copyright protection? Think about the potential opportunities lost. But then again, exposure doesn't buy food and film!
I'm curious, did you ever go to a library and look up her books? I'm a strong believer in the "squeaky wheel" does NOT get the grease. Pushy people bring out the 4 yr. old in me. I say NO!
janet- i didn't go to the library, but found her work online...amazon, rutgers press; i don't believe she was scamming me, just used to getting images for free by taking advantage of artists. i believe she thinks that she's a big deal, and that we should be honored to be in her book for no compensation. i never heard from her again....i'm not sorry.
Read this article:
http://bermangraphics.com/press/value-of-stock-photography.htm
Larry Berman
It's called licensing, not giving away or selling.
I get calls all the time to license images but have a strict policy that I adhere to. Never for free with the promise of a credit. Nothing has ever come of it, ever. I usually charge $300 for a single use license for picture used inside a book. More for a cover. I sometimes give it away for $50 or $75 if the person wanting it is paying for the project out of their own pocket and I liked how they came across in a discussion on the phone.
I have one picture that I've licensed over a half dozen times to a single author who writes text books. Each time it reprints I get a check for $300.
I once licensed a picture for use on a magazine cover. Initially I was told that they never paid for artwork in the past. So I asked why they were coming to me if they had all this free artwork to draw from. Your images are much better was the answer. Well mine aren't free. They paid but said that they would want to keep my image in their library to use again in the future. My answer was absolutely one time use as per the license they had to agree to before I provided the image.
For the most accurate way to figure out what you should be licensing for, I use a program called Fotoquote. I reviewed it a number of years ago and I still use it today. Distribution location, quantity printed size of the image in the publication, cover or inside use. Those are all factors that go into figuring out what to charge. Another way to figure out is to join Getty and Alamy as an end user and put the parameters into their calculations box and see what they would charge. Then charge half to three quarters the price and let them know that you're undercharging the big two stock agencies.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
1 - Perhaps they're flattered at being asked and think the exposure is worth it?
2 - Depends on how many copies she sells!
3 - I'm not a photographer, but yes, it sounds costly when all combined. Considering you often have to pay to use images eg. stock photos, then shouldn't she be paying you too for your images?
4 - She's making money from her book which is being made more attractive to buyers because of the artists images. There will always be someone who thinks the exposure is worth giving their images away.