Hey guys , I'm sure Ken will know but please let me know any views you have on this . I entered a long exposure night shot of a local castle in a photography competition for a charity calendar last year . I was 1 of the top 12 and it went in as November . It was a pretty arty image so was chuffed with that. I went on a day trip to a beach side town about 45 mins away from me and walked past a shop who had my photo in the window blown up , framed and for sale . Inside the shop they had it in some smaller sizes as well .i haven't mentioned anything to the store yet as unwanted to find out where I stand first . Sooooo did I give away my photo when I entered it to a competition ? Do I have any copy right type entitlements ? I have no idea how this shop got a hold of my image , was they given the file i entered or is it possible to scan the calendar and blow up the Inge to a high enough quality to sell ?
It's very important to read the terms and conditions of any competition you enter work into Dan, just in case you're relinquishing rights to intellectual property. The publishers of the Calander could indeed have the right to use your image as they see fit. The digital age has created a nightmare with regard to copyright and how to protect it and I don't think anybody has a true handle on all the ins and outs of copyright law and how it stands. As to whether the shop can scan and reprint an image from another source, technically it's a piece of piss. A half decent scanner, a bit of nonce with photoshop and a good printer and that's all she wrote. Legally, that's a different matter. If they have scanned the Calander without consent for profitable gain they will be in breach of copyright law, but, unfortunately, that copyright may not be yours.
also posting your prized pics on sites like facebook also gives up all rights, its all in their small print when you join
If there is nothing in the pot for you Dan maybe you could find the person or company that finds your work to be a marketable commodity and perhaps enquire if you could be engaged to do some new shots of which you could get paid for your efforts .Ps why not pop into the shop and ask if you could put a small card next to the calendar .
Wel that's more on the lines of what I was thinking , I think ill pop in and show them some more work coz iv done way pictures than the 1 they are selling and also of the local area .
Sorry dan but I'm afraid your rights to the picture have long gone , When you sent the picture in you should of stated you still own the copyright and that it can't be used for any posters, prints , publications , I have sold loads of pictures to mcn, the big picture, But state I still own it, and it can't be used by anyone else without my say so,or unless money is thrown my way , but on the other hand if this shop is selling your stuff now maybe they'll want more , it's worth a trip just to ask.
I noticed when i took a few pics of the Red Arrows, some one sent one of my pics to be used on their website. They had cropped out my watermark at the bottom. After a few emails and a phone call explaining i did not give permission, they sent me a cheque as i sold the pic to them. On a few other pics that i took on other subjects, i relinquished rights as the small print said pics could be used in promotional or advertising gumph. You need to read the small print Dan, but i suppose a phone call wouldn't go amiss.
Getting paid for pics.... can you do that ? I give all my pics away, few were in superbike magazine And a ton of them in the road race websites.mind you im Doing that to try and get a few free pass perks which has Worked so far.
Unfortunately that's more and more the case. So many people out there snapping means that, eventually, they'll get the shot they need from dumb luck. When someone, such as your good self provides them with the real deal you're subject to the same bone they throw the iPhone paparazzi. Was a day even an inside quarter page shot could earn you a three figure bung from the publisher plus you'd automatically get 'kiss my ass' passes to the next gig just on the sniff you'd come up trumps again.
When it comes to road racing I dont mind giving my Pics away to the associated magazines and website As I love to see the sport promoted as much as possible But when superbike printed my pics I was promised a few Goodies in return which never happened let alone any Sort of payment. But then I have also had so many pics Stolen from forums etc that its not worth complaining and With the latest photoshop watermarks are easily removed.
havent got many atm, new laptop and trying to recover all the data from my last one as we speak :S here is a lot of my pics 2010 Armoy Road Races Gallery oh and I dont know how they uploaded them as its like 2bit quality lol
