A couple of weeks back I received an email from a travel magazine with a proposal along the lines of this :
“For an article I’m writing, I am in need of a few great illustrative photos and found your photo on flickr. Could I add this photo to the article? You keep of course all the rights receive a photo or website credit. Please let me know if you like this idea.”
Needless to say, I didn’t like the idea at all. I did offer a license to use the image but apparently there was no budget for photography in the magazine. I get these sorts of emails quite regularly and I wonder what is it about this profession that emboldens people to ask for free work? The answer is obvious and is tied in with the decline of stock sales over recent years. Of course this is an issue that has been covered many times over in magazines and blogs however I would like to offer my perspective on the matter.
Firstly, I certainly do not blame magazines for trying to score freebies. Why pay top dollar for photographs when you can get them for a pittance or even better free of charge? Yes I can blame saturation of the market, amateur photographers willing to give away stuff for free and the rise of microstock. Can the situation be reversed by crusading against the factors that lead to the decline of the industry? Too late. However this latest request was a good time to reflect on how I feel about giving away free images.
(via magic hour unplugged)
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