It's Time to Evolve

jmphotocraft

I'm seeing a lot of images posted on Facebook these days like this:



(my image, not my usual watermark, just an example)

These photographers would be wise to evolve.

Some of these watermarks have the copyright symbol or wording like "for use only on (mywebsite).com", etc, and all of them are ugly and obtrusive. Sports photographers seem to be the most likely to be doing this. It is the old, soon-to-be-extinct business model of shoot-upload-pray.

These are the times we live in. If your photos are available online, they WILL be stolen and used. People have no qualms about doing this, just like they have no qualms about burning CDs or sharing mp3s. I don't either. A couple years ago I actually had one little league mom come up to me and compliment me that my photos were "all over facebook with your logo". Uhh, that wasn't a logo, it was a watermark, and I had right-clicks disabled. Hmm.

People see photos online and even if they love them many will just enjoy them on their screen, send the link around to family and friends, grab a screenshot for facebook, and then they're done with the photos, they don't need to buy after that. No matter how obstructive the watermark. Or they do intend to buy but then they never get around to it. Next thing they know it's the next season and last season is ancient history.

Photographers need to evolve to a new business model where this free use actually helps rather than hurts. The only answer is to be paid up front. This can take a few different forms:

1. Only taking orders on-site
2. Only printing on-site and not putting photos online
3. Being paid by the event organizer
4. Taking orders in advance and on-site, like a sitting fee

There are surely others. 1 limits you to the people in attendance who go out of their way to come over to you and take the time to do it. 2 writes off all the potential exposure you could be getting from social media, and it requires a lot of capital equipment (printers, computers, tent/trailer) and paid staff.

4 is what I did this past baseball season. I charged $20, $40, $60, or $80 and gave the customer a $25, $50, $75, or $100 print credit coupon to be used in my gallery, respectively. I scheduled each team in the league for a picture day. I shot individual portraits and action shots only of those children whose parents paid in advance or at the field. I took a team shot including all players. Orders taken at the field did not get the discount.

I have a page on my website where parents can place the pre-order via PayPal, and get the details of how this works. The league put the URL to this page on their website, and helped me with email blasts to get the word out in advance. In return, I sponsored the league.

I figured this would be a no-lose situation for me. Either this model would throttle back the workload and make the job more fun and more efficient, or it would make me more money. It made me more money. It's still fun, it's still a lot of work, but now I am being paid fairly.

This model has solved all the problems I was having before - people not interested in photos, people not getting around to ordering, and people using the images for free. I don't worry about people using the images online, now I encourage it. I already have their money. I've enabled right-clicks, and I've moved my watermark to a single corner of the image. They can email them or post them all over Facebook or wherever, and I hope they do. You might say think of all the money you are losing on that usage. 4 years of doing this has taught me they would not pay for that usage anyway. I'm not losing anything, I'm gaining.

Anyway, I know I've been discussing this in other threads this spring, but I just wanted to address the over-watermarking shoot-upload-pray photogs directly. I seem to have seen a bunch of it lately, from marathons to motocross to bmx to all manner of youth sports and beyond. Even baby photos. You're not preventing use, and you're only making yourself look bad. It's time to get paid up front. If you're worth it, it will work.

Cygnus Studios

jmphotocraft wrote: »

Photographers need to evolve to a new business model where this free use actually helps rather than hurts. The only answer is to be paid up front.

Not exactly new, but you are correct. Shooting on spec has never been a sound business model. On the rare occasion that we shoot for an individual or family (non commercial clients), we provide "web" size images as part of the fee that we charge. We create an extra gallery with images sized for facebook, google +, email, etc.

Sam

Your looking this all wrong. While individual photographers all over are struggling thwart the left of their images the solution is clear.

Some uninformed folks continue to complain and rail against the governments vast information surveillance capabilities, yet this is exactly what we need.

Why the government hasn't thought of this is beyond my comprehension. Appoint a new Czar in charge of DUITU, (Department of Unauthorized Image Theft and Use).

While this would create thousands of additional jobs the real beauty of this is all the fines the government would be collecting would actually pay for the program and could even end up with a surplus.

Sure you the individual photographer won't be directly compensated but by freely posting your images online will be helping your country create jobs and improve the economy.

Life is good.

Sam

joshhuntnm

I agree. i think a small watermark is one thing, but this is crazy.

Glort

I like the pre pay model. A LOT.
I have just had trouble getting it to fly here.

One thing is for sure, the work your guts out and put pics on the net model and hope to get any worthwhile compensation for you time is pretty much the realm of the dreamers these days.
I have seen it argued there is no other way to sell images. My reply to that is don't bother trying in that case.

People defend the online model but they never tell you how much they are making for their efforts on an hours basis from it.

jmphotocraft

Cygnus Studios wrote: »

Not exactly new, but you are correct.

I'm sure this notion is not that new, but I just seem to have seen a lot of it on fb lately. People have no qualms posting event pics covered with watermarks to the point they're unenjoyable, AND which say "for use only on imabigprophotographerwhocantgetpaidupfront.com, copyright 2013" etc.

Not that any significant number of event/sports photogs read this forum, but I just wanted to put this out there. Photographers who are willing to shoot events on-spec are only shooting themselves in the foot, and depressing the market for the rest of us.

Snowgirl

Three years ago I stopped shooting horse shows UNLESS I was paid up front - either by individual riders or the show organizers themselves. It has cut my work substantially - BUT I am actually making more money because when I DO shoot I am paid. As much as possible I have moved away from shooting it as a sport and instead taken the approach that "you and your horse are already groomed and gleaming for the show ring - now is the ideal time to book a portrait session in the park" (there's a lovely park behind the show centre) and, if three or more sign up, I offer a nice discount - and it's worth my while to be there. If only one wants it, they pay the full shot - that they would pay if I made a trip to their private barn for a shoot - $250 for the shoot + prints. Also, for every image selected for a print, they also received one sized for Facebook / email etc. with a small, discrete 'signature' in the corner vs. the honkin' watermark I USED to use trying to salvage the on-line business.

I am focussing (pun intended) on those fewer clients who a) appreciate good work; b) have some money to spend; and c) are willing to pay a reasonable price for their 'art'. Love those people. As for the cheapskates? When they ask my rates and I tell them it's $250 to get started, it weeds them out quickly.