I'm working on some website projects, for my husband's company (which if you followed the thread posted a few weeks ago you may be surprised to find it's still operating. Well it is, but it's going into a new direction, hence the new focus we have on marketing) and also for a friend of ours with a contracting business. We are going to be co-operating in a new venture, while staying two separate companies, but we're sharing some promotional costs.
These will be two independent websites however.
Now, I registered the domain name, and I'm looking for a host and working on content.
I want to make sure I am in compliance of all copyright laws and such and I come to the issue of photographs. Is it just safer to take all my own pictures? I have seen places that sell royalty free images - what exactly am I paying for there? Is my money going to the photographer, or to the person with the website that sells the photos?
Is there such a thing as public domain photos that you can use without violating the law? If so, where does one find them?
And finally, on another note altogether, how does one sell their photography, besides selling prints of it? I mean stock images, that are used in promotional materials.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
"I have seen places that sell royalty free images - what exactly am I paying for there? Is my money going to the photographer, or to the person with the website that sells the photos?"
Yes. In other words, the person with the website who's selling the photos either paid the original photographer for the right to sell those photos to anyone who asks or simply got the photographer to hand over those rights for free (which amateur photographers do all the time; I've done it myself, in fact).
So once the rights to those photos have been transferred to the person running the website (*grin*), that person then sells the photos and the right to use them to anyone willing to meet his or her price. It's that simple.
This is called "stock photography," and it's one of the biggest graphic design costs for many companies; they'll purchase literally hundreds of various stock photography "packs" so that they have the equivalent of clip art available to them when they need to produce something.
You can also find FREE photographs out there in the public domain, generally ones that have been made available by the original photographer. Note that if they do not EXPRESSLY identify themselves as public domain, free clip art, free stock photos, or the like, that there is still an implied copyright on the image. For legal reasons, you should always contact the source of any image you want to use to secure their blessing (or pay 'em off). In writing.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Check out www.morguefile.com for a lot of free pictures in many categories. The FAQ addresses some of your concerns here .
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
This page has something of an explanation of the overall structure of the industry and practical effects of royalty free vs rights managed, though it misses the legal difference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_archive
Legally speaking, a royalty free image is one which you do not pay a per-use royalty. Once you have acquired a royalty free image, you are free to use it as you desire, subject to the restrictions of the license (usually none beyond what copyright protects the owner from regarding misrepresentation and distribution; that is, you can't distribute the pic or say its yours).
Royalty free images are distributed to many people, so sometimes another place will use the same image; every now and then a particularly amusing coincidence occurs (I remember when it seemed like every computer manufacturer had the same "guy making a heavy duty server" image on their site). However, generally speaking its rare to run into duplicates, particularly in the same market.
A rights managed picture is one in which you do not acquire rights to unlimited uses. Instead, you pay a royalty for sme limited use of the image, typically restricted to a single ad or campaign, though there is considerable variation.
If you want to acquire cheap royalty free stock photography on an individual image basis, I suggest http://www.istockphoto.com/ You can also provide images for sale through there. If you want a wide image assortment at a reasonable price per image, you might acquire a CD, which are usually quite reasonable compared to the per image price, from someplace like Getty Images.
Generally speaking, with a royalty free sale your money goes to the site distributing the pic, though that site may well have paid thousands of dollars to the photographer. iStockPhoto is an exception, photographers get a percentage of the proceeds. WIth a rights managed sale the proceeds are more typically split between the site and the photographer to some degree.
Generally speaking you don't want to take your own photos unless you are familiar with product/stock photography. However, it may be cheaper for certain sorts of photos to hire a photographer (usually under terms where he retains the rights and you acquire royalty free use rights).
And last but not least, if you need backend programming or good, solid, accessible, easily updateable HTML/CSS written at a reasonable rate, feel free to drop me a line. There are plenty of people on hatrack who can substantiate my geek cred .
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Re: morguefile, it has one problem; you're not guaranteed that the people in the pics signed releases. Don't use an image from there that has people in it. Also, I'd avoid pics of the Eiffel tower if they have any (they sue people who use non-authorized pics).
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Thanks!
I appreciate the offer, and I wish I could afford outside help. But, we've already spent a major portion of our promotional budget on other things...not much left for the website, I think I'm on my own.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Also, I'd avoid pics of the Eiffel tower if they have any (they sue people who use non-authorized pics).
I'd heard that, in connection with UVa restricting the uses of images of the Rotunda. I'm still sketchy which legal theory for recovery either one would use.
I don't think it's copyright, although I'll know for sure after next semester. Maybe some form of trademark or merchandising rights.
Dagonee
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
I believe its the Eiffel Tower at night they particularly defend -- the light display is copyrighted.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
k, enjoy, Belle . Feel free to ask questions about anything, though (here or on AIM), as many people can also atest to, I'm a sucker for helping people out -- yesterday I wrote a quick webcomic script for Mackillian because she was having problems finding one which fit her needs.
Belle, if you'd like to use any of my photos, you're welcome to them. Just let me know if you are and a copyright with my name and a link back to my site would suffice:)
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. Feel free to ask questions about anything, though (here or on AIM), as many people can also atest to, I'm a sucker for helping people out -- yesterday I wrote a quick webcomic script for Mackillian because she was having problems finding one which fit her needs.