Oh, I'm a Funny Guy? Like a Clown? I AMOOZ You?

A colleague of mine has spent the best part of a day trying to explain to some new clients why them expecting to get a whole bunch of unprocessed images on a CD to do with as they please, for a one-off fee is er...not quite the way things are done.

The response the clients gave was one of surprise, because of course, as they insisted...

Hey, what's the problem? Everybody else does it.

That response, and others I've had myself, make it pretty obvious to me that (in the UK at least) the practice known as the 'Dump & Run' - chucking the whole shoot on a disc and bunging it to a client, for a one-off (and usually low) fee, is widespread, and one of the many reasons why the idea exists in many clients minds, that we're all crummy image fodder.

The amount of image use that goes unpaid because of this practice, must run into hundreds of thousands of pounds, while the dumpers are then scratching their heads wondering why they can't afford to upgrade their gear.

We're often told we should be 'educating' clients in how image licensing works, and indeed many photographers do. But its a complete uphill struggle when many photographers seem happy to drag the rest of us down to their dumping, running, pixel-monkey hack level.

Instead of always looking at the practices of the 'Big Boys', maybe we should be looking in the mirror every once in a while, to see where the problem starts - because none of the oh-so-familiar market busting image entities would have the power they have, without photographers rolling over and selling themselves short again, and again, and again...

In the light of the current Hollywood writers strike, it brings me onto this timely performance from 'speculative fiction' writer Harlan Ellison:

who lays down a classic Joe Pesci-style argument about how it's supposed to work.

Like, hello? Any of this ringing any bells?

Then ask yourself - when are photographers gonna stop acting like mooks, get their acts together and get some fuggin' backbone?

Bada-bing, bada-boom.

Comments

[Anonymous]

You nailed it. Lack of backbone is the root of the problem. People need to grow some balls and learn to stand up for themselves otherwise they're always gonna be earning a pittance & continue to get screwed over. A bit timid? Do a business negotiating course. We're all in business after all.

[Damon]

Still learning the business but am proud to say have yet to sell myself too cheaply, in my opinion at least. Not so proud to say I don`t yet earn enough regular cash to give up the day job but I always wonder as i sit here say yes and occasionally no to the even more occasional client why photographers don`t just cut off the supply of images until people start to value us properly. I know when i say "no" to a low fee that someone somewhere will say "yes" though and when i look around at micro agencies and rights-stealing competitions that massage egos more than wallets I wonder if I am doing the right thing. My kids need food after all! But I feel at some point it must change; and whilst I`m not quite in your league at the moment, I hope to be one day and when I get there I want to have done it right.
Damon